YuGiOh! Eternal
by Neon Majestic
Summary: Sequel to "Yu-Gi-Oh! Forever." Janus Yuki engages in dueling adventures, along the way facing up to himself, his legacy and his destiny. DISCONTINUED
1. The Evening and the Morning

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, and all the original characters therein do not belong to me. The original stuff belongs solely to Kazuki Takahashi, Shonen Jump, and the various studios that broadcast the anime. I do, however, own the new characters.)

**CHAPTER 1 – The Evening and the Morning**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_JANUS_

_NAME: Janus Yuki_

_AGE: 14_

_HAIR: Blond (think of __**Yu-Gi-Oh GX**__'s Jaden Yuki with blond hair)_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Red jacket, white T-shirt, green camouflage pants, purple sneakers_

_NATASHA_

_NAME: Natasha Truesdale_

_AGE: 12_

_HAIR: Black_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Red jacket, brown blouse, black shorts, black sneakers_

_RICARDO_

_NAME: Ricardo Misawa_

_AGE: 16_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Yellow jacket, blue undershirt, black pants, black shoes_

_DRAKE_

_NAME: Drake Phoenix_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Black (think of __**Yu-Gi-Oh GX**__'s Aster Phoenix with black hair)_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: Dark green trench-coat, black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, sky-blue suede shoes_

SOMEWHERE, A.D. 2018

The room was small, nothing more than a cramped space. The walls were a depressing shade of gray. There were no windows, and only one door in or out. The only light that was available in the room came from a single bulb screwed into the ceiling overhead. There was a ventilation system through which the only access to cool, fresh air came; the shaft could be seen several meters away from where the bulb shone feebly. On the floor, there were only a table and seven chairs; two chairs were on one side of the table, and the other five were on the other side.

In the two chairs on the one side, two men were seated. Both wore formal-looking business suits—one's suit was dark brown, the other's was teal. Due to the poor lighting in the room, both of their faces were partially masked in shadow save for their mouths. And at this moment both men's mouths were set in grim, determined lines.

Presently the door swung open, and three men dressed in brown security apparel entered. One of them was carrying five red folders in his arms; as they entered the room, one by one the folders were set down on the table in front of the two mystery men. "These are the files you requested, sirs," one of them reported.

The teal-suited man reached for one of the files and began flipping through it. He studied it a long moment, then casually handed it to the brown-suited man and picked up another one himself. "Interesting," he muttered as he went through the files.

"Quite so, quite so," the brown-suited man answered, reading through the files as they were handed to him one by one.

A few moments later, all the files had been read and put aside—and still the two men's mouths displayed no sign of emotion. "Is the information satisfactory, sirs?" one of the guards inquired.

The brown-suited man nodded slightly. "Now…bring _them_ here at once."

Nodding, the guards turned and left the room. The teal-suited man then shifted slightly in his seat to face his companion. "It will be worth it, having these five, won't it?"

"I agree," the brown-suited man answered. "Of course, that's assuming they will agree to our offer."

"And if they won't?" the teal-suited man wondered.

For the first time, the brown-suited man's mouth curved upwards in a sinister smirk. "Trust me…they won't _want_ to refuse. Not with what we've got to offer them."

"Well, yes, that's true." The teal-suited man smirked too. "That, and what we'll be getting out of this in the long-term."

"Right." The brown-suited man nodded.

Footsteps in the hallway outside arrested their attention. Immediately the smirks disappeared from their mouths and they were all business again, even as the door opened and the three security guards from before came back in. "That was pretty quick," the teal-suited man remarked.

"Their holding cells were not far from here, sir," one of the guards told him. "I would find it fit to warn both of you, though, be on your guard. These five are highly unpredictable—who knows what they may do to either of you."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be able to handle it," the brown-suited man answered, "but if it'll set your minds at ease, you may remain outside near the door. If there's any trouble, we can always call for your assistance."

"Yes, sir, be sure you do that if you feel the need," the second guard replied.

The third guard looked out the door. "All right—bring them in now."

Then, at that moment, in came five more guards. Each of them was holding someone by the arm…and each someone was clad in deep blue jumpsuits and handcuffed chains. The guards directed each of these newcomers to sit in one of the empty chairs, then extra handcuffs were pulled out and placed on the newcomers, attaching them to the chairs they now occupied. That done, all of the guards stepped back and filed out the door, the last one pulling it up behind him.

The brown-suited man nodded with approval. "Good…now all of you are here."

All of the handcuffed prisoners were quite young, yet all of them bore hardened looks to kill on their faces. The first was a young woman with fiery orange hair and dark-brown eyes. The second was a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a green neckerchief tied so as to conceal the lower half of his face. The third, also male, sported shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. The fourth was female with green eyes, but had her blond hair cut in a boyish style. The last was definitely male, with hair that seemed more gold-dyed than natural blond, and green eyes. And at this very moment, all five of them were regarding the two suits with a degree of curiosity mixed with suspicion.

"Who are you? Why have you come to see us?" the masked man asked guardedly.

The brown-suited man smirked again. "Direct and to the point, now aren't we? I like that."

"What we'd like is if you answered his question," the blond woman growled.

"Got that right," the gold-dyed man nodded in agreement.

The teal-suited man looked at his companion. "Looks like it's a unanimous thing."

"That it does," agreed the brown-suited man. Then, to the five prisoners, he spoke again. "All right, I shall answer your questions. Now…who we are is not important right now. Why we're here…now, that is a different kettle of fish."

He leaned forward a little on the table, though the upper half of his face remained concealed in shadow; he intertwined his fingers underneath his chin. "Now, this is how it is. We know all about your involvement with the Zodiacs, that criminal group that was gunning for world domination via the recently-ended Duel Monsters World Championship tournament. Each of you five held an important role as a member of the organization's special little task force, the most important of the organization's overall membership. Each of you was defeated in the course of the tournament, and after your leader, Gozaburo Kaiba, was killed at Tokyo Dome, all five of you were arrested and brought here…where you've been held in remand for well over a week now…in fact, today makes it eight days since you were brought here, doesn't it?"

"What's your point?" the orange-haired woman asked curtly.

"My point is, your lives right now have hit rock-bottom…and in the weeks to come, it'll only get worse." The brown-suited man's smirk was gone now; he spoke in a serious, cutting tone of voice. "In another week, you'll all be brought to court to answer to various crimes—crimes for which there can be no possible chance for atonement this side of eternity."

The teal-suited man spoke up. "The list of charges against you guys—collective, might I add—is quite long, indeed. Murder, criminal espionage, robbery, terrorism, reckless endangerment of life, obstruction of justice…and that's WITHOUT taking into consideration the number of counts for each of these and other charges the courts will bring against you. Every single one of you will be looking at life imprisonment with no possibility of parole and no chance to appeal—best case scenario. And I do mean, best case scenario."

"Tell us something we haven't already known, mister," the brown-haired guy sighed. "We all know we're destined for hell, anyway."

"Are you, now?" the brown-suited man inquired, seeming amused at the statement just made. "In that case…what if we told you that you could have a second option?"

The masked man scoffed. "A second option? After what we've done? Please. Don't try mocking us, mister. It won't do you any good."

"Oh, but I'm as serious as a judge," the brown-haired man answered. Then he chuckled. "Oops, pardon the analogy. Anyway, what I say is true—you all have a golden opportunity available to you right here, right now."

"Essentially, you all have two options," the teal-suited man added. "The first option is this: You can all remain here, at the detention facility where you're to be held until your case is heard next week. Then, starting next week, you can go before some very hard-nosed judges and a really unforgiving jury, as well as face immense evidence that will definitely not win any of you a not guilty verdict. After that, you'll be locked away in isolation, far away from each other, or—worse yet—you'll probably get the lethal injection, or if your judges happen to be more old-fashioned, the electric chair or the gas chamber, or even the hangman's noose. Even now, I still can't figure out which one will be worse—to be locked in a cold, hard prison cell with rotten food at every meal and no contact with anyone else, never to see the light of day again…or to be locked up on death row, knowing that it's only a matter of time before it's your turn to bite the dust and knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it."

"BUT…that doesn't have to be _your_ reality at all." The brown-suited man took up the speech again. "Which brings us to the second option you guys have. You see, we happen to know some people, who happen to know some people. All we have to do is say the word, and come next week you'll all be out of here—free, back in society once again. You'll never even have to spend one minute of the sentence you're going to get otherwise."

The orange-haired woman's brown eyes now narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"Hmmm?" Both suits frowned.

"You can't trick me so easily. You're offering us a chance to escape prison time…but considering the stuff we've done, there has to at least be something you want in exchange for all this. Nobody in their right mind would just get up and offer us something like what you're serving us…unless they thought they could get something from us in return."

There was a moment's silence as this sank in. Then the brown-suited man chuckled. "I like your insight. You're not nearly qualified to be called naïve." He nodded. "I will state right now that we had no intentions of tricking you, as you claim. But you're right—this offer of ours comes with a price. However, it's a price I'm sure you'll all be willing to pay."

"How presumptuous of you," the blond woman remarked. "But I'll bite. What's this 'price' we'll need to pay?"

The teal-suited man smirked. "When we first learned about your case, we decided to approach the authorities handling you folks with an offer they couldn't refuse. Basically, we want to offer you five a chance to come and work for us. We'll be taking you off their hands, making their workload with the justice system a little lighter, so to speak."

"Unfortunately for you, however, that doesn't mean you'll be taken off their hands _completely,"_ the brown-suited man added. "As much as they'd rather not hear from any of you ever again, those good men and women cannot completely overlook what you have done in the past. Therefore, your coming into our employ will be a sort of…community service, shall we say? Only, in your case it won't be for a few hours, or even for a few days…it'll be for exactly the same length of time as you would've had to serve any prison sentence they would give you. You'll be working for us for life."

"But, again, it's a price I'm certain you'll be willing to pay," the teal-suited man went on. "After all, should you accept our offer, there won't even be a need for a trial. By next week, you'll all be walking out of here free men and women—well, as free as it'll get for you, anyway. You'll be getting all the perks that only our highest employees could ever get: first-class, five-star treatment…a chance to meet and be acquainted with some very powerful people in the worlds of business and politics…oh, and there is one more thing I'm sure we have that you all will want…"

The masked man cocked an eyebrow. "And that would be…?"

The brown-suited man smiled widely. He spoke, and his voice came out in a hiss of a whisper. "The opportunity to take your revenge on the ones responsible for bringing you here in the first place."

The five prisoners all twitched at that—then just as quickly, they glanced around. The teal-suited man chuckled softly. "Oh, there's no need for you to panic—it's not as if the guards are inside with us, after all. They're just hanging around outside in the hall, waiting to barge in at the first sign of trouble. Except…there IS no trouble here, now is there?"

"You said revenge." The brown-haired prisoner spoke. "Are you pulling our legs here?"

"My friend…if we weren't serious, we wouldn't have even brought it up." The teal-suited man nodded knowingly.

"That's right," said the brown-suited man. "So, there you have it. Come and work for us, do 'community service' instead of prison time…and in exchange, you all get to live as big as you could ever hope to live, and also take your vengeance on your so-called comrades who sold you out to the authorities…as well as on those duelists from the tournament who shamed you at what you're best at…you can even take down the Duel Monsters World Tournament Committee with our backing, if you so choose."

The two suits then leaned back in their chairs; and still their faces were partially concealed by the shadows in the room. "Now…our only question to the five of you is…will you accept our offer? Or will you not?" the teal-suited man asked softly.

The five prisoners all looked at each other…and they all collectively nodded. Then the orange-haired woman turned her face back to the two strangers.

"Gentlemen…I do believe you have yourselves a deal."

----------

ELSEWHERE, AT THAT MOMENT

The moon was shining brightly and in full upon the rather large mansion and its grounds. Everything was shown in black and white with varying shades of gray; the front lawn's grass appeared to have been splashed with gray paint. Shadows loomed around the mansion itself; the moonlight gave it a very eerie impression. Were anyone to pass by the mansion's front gates, several minutes down the driveway, and glance up, the very sight of the house under such lighting and with so many sinister-looking silhouettes would have made them think twice about passing there ever again.

At least, that was the effect the house would have had if not for the lights currently shining from its windows.

At one of those windows, up on the second story of the house, a young man stood looking out at the night sky. Based on the view one might get of him from looking at him through the window, the upper half of his face was silhouetted, partly by his jet-black hair and partly by the window drape. His lips were curved downward in a thin line, his hands in his pockets. One might even have been forgiven for mistaking him for a statue or a mannequin at that moment, so unmoving and unflinching was he. In fact, he didn't move even when the door behind him opened and a uniformed young woman entered the room.

"Young master, the hot tub is ready as you ordered," the girl addressed him, in a soft and respectful tone. "Would you care for any of the maids to attend to you while you have your bath?"

"No, that will not be necessary." He did not turn an inch to look at her. "I would much rather have one person tend to me, the only one of my personal servants who is most attentive and loyal to me…and that would be you."

The girl blushed a bit, but otherwise maintained her composure. "Will that be all, young master?" she inquired.

"Actually…" Here the young man's shoulders stiffened a little. "Has there been any news regarding _him?"_

"Yes, sir," the maid replied. "Janus Yuki made it back to Duel Academy three days ago. His classes are scheduled to resume as of tomorrow."

The young man chuckled. "Of course. That would be expected of him, after all…especially considering he managed to clip third place in the Dueltropolis tournament. He'd require time to recuperate, and now…I believe he has, fully."

"Master, will you be going to see him?" the maid asked.

The young master nodded. "But of course."

The maid now looked a little uncertain. "Master, if I may be so bold…?"

Still he had not moved to look at her; he made no effort to do so now. "Speak."

She hung her head slightly. "Must you really continue to do this? Maintaining this rivalry of yours with him, I mean. It just seems so…unnecessary. Besides, you know your sister does not approve of it."

"Pffft. My sister doesn't approve of half the things I do." The young master shook his head. "Besides, all said and done, I make my own destiny. Nobody else can do that for me—not even her. And you know that's saying something, considering how much she and I care for each other."

"I understand, Master." The maid bowed respectfully.

"Good." And still he did not turn to face her. "All right. Please go and ensure that my towels and bathrobe are ready for me by the hot tub. I will be down there in five minutes."

"At once, young master." The maid bowed again, then turned and went back through the door, closing it behind her.

And still the young man did not move from his position at the window…but now his thoughts were swirling rapidly back and forth in his mind. _Janus Yuki…so now you've returned, have you? Well…you'd better hope that your experience with Dueltropolis was worth it, because come tomorrow…I'm coming for you! Just you wait…then I'll crush you with all of my power, and you will regret having ever crossed paths with me!_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, THE NEXT MORNING

"Janus…Janus! Hey, sleepyhead, wake up! Today's the day!"

14-year-old Janus Yuki's eyes barely managed to open; he flinched as a flood of light stung the underside of his eyelids and as he found himself being shaken awake. "Geez, Natasha, isn't a guy allowed to sleep in late or something?" he muttered, defiantly pulling the sheets over his head.

Watching as he flopped over in his bed, Natasha Truesdale reached over and shook him again. "C'mon, Janus, you have to get up! Classes start today!"

"One day of me not being at class isn't going to hurt anybody," Janus grumbled, curling up like an embryo within the sheets.

Silence descended upon the room. Now perfectly tangled up in the sheets, Janus smirked in triumph. _Heh…I've earned a good extra five minutes, for real…_

"JANUS YUKI! GET OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT!"

The sudden unexpected shout, seemingly amplified in volume a hundred times over and blasted out so close to his head, caused Janus to catapult forward. "Yaaaaaah!" he screamed out, rearing himself upward on his knees—and in the process, he found the sheets wrapped around his legs, tripping him and causing him to fall out of bed face-first with a CRASH!

"Ow…that had to hurt…" Natasha spoke up.

Janus sat up, his forehead having a very impressive bump from where he'd landed on the ground. "Okay, who's the wise guy?" he demanded crossly.

"My, my, Janus…you never learn, do you?"

Standing next to Natasha was a boy wearing a yellow jacket and holding a bullhorn in one hand. Janus recognized him immediately and a scowl crept over his face. "Ricardo Misawa…hasn't that prank gotten old for you yet?" he glowered. "You've used that damn bullhorn of yours to wake me up a thousand times by now!"

"1,209 times to be exact, including just a while ago," Ricardo corrected him, a grin on his face.

Janus turned and shot an accusing look at Natasha. "And you just let him sneak in here and scream into that bullhorn—and so close to my ears, too?" he complained, wincing as he now put a hand to one ear. "I swear, I'm still hearing bells!"

"Sorry, Janus, but how else were you going to get up?" Natasha said apologetically.

"Anyway, now that you're up, you should hurry and get washed and dressed," Ricardo told him, speaking more seriously. "In another fifteen minutes, your parents are going to address the entire student body in the auditorium. And it won't look good for them if their son happens to play truant while they make a speech that centers on him."

That got Janus's attention. "What's that? They're going to make a speech about me?"

"And about me and Natasha, too," Ricardo nodded. "As well as James, Cassius and Angel. So, hurry up."

Janus's eyes narrowed at this last bit of information. "I hear you now. All right, you guys go on ahead and save my seat in the usual spot. I'll be there on time, don't worry."

"Good," and Ricardo nodded. "Come on, now, Natasha, let's hurry before the whole auditorium gets too crowded."

"Okay!" Natasha replied brightly. And with that, she and Ricardo turned and hurried out, leaving Janus alone in the room.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

Duel Academy was located on a somewhat isolated island, several hundred miles from the nearest mainland. Built and sponsored by Seto Kaiba, business mogul and CEO of gaming-equipment company Kaibacorp, this school was known as the top school for Duel Monsters enthusiasts who strived to become champion players of the game. The Academy boasted some of the world's best facilities—live-in dorms, top-of-the-line cafeterias, and even the island's own natural sites, including huge forests, waterfalls, and a largely inactive volcano. There were three dorms on the island, for which Duel Academy was well known: Osiris Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue, all named by Kaiba himself, whose respective students wore jackets of the appropriate colors—red, yellow or blue, of course. As far as the school's curriculum went, the courses were mostly focused on Duel Monster-related strategies and theories, though mainstream courses such as Mathematics, English Literature and History were taught as well.

But perhaps what brought Duel Academy its greatest fame was its auditorium, which was built with a seating capacity of roughly between 2500 and 3000. In times gone by that capacity had been considerably less, but in recent years enrollment at the school had gone up, and a complete renovation of the auditorium had been seen as necessary. Still, at least one thing had remained consistent even after the renovation was complete—and that was the huge dueling arena in the middle of the auditorium floor. Thirty feet long by twenty-four feet wide, it served both as a dueling arena and as a platform to deliver speeches from.

And, as the students were filing into the auditorium and taking the seats overlooking the arena, that same arena was now fulfilling the second function. In its center a microphone stand had been set up, and at ringside several seats for faculty members had been placed. In some of those ringside seats, several people were now seated, chatting with each other in low tones.

Presently, one of them stood up and headed for the steps ascending up to the platform. This person was clad in a dark-brown suit, complete with a matching tie. His brown hair was somewhat untamed, but it seemed to fit with the mischievous smirk on his lips. Approaching the microphone, he tapped on it with his finger…and the resounding feedback, though brief, was enough to grab everyone's attention.

"Testing, testing…oh, good, it works. All right…" The man took a deep breath. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of Duel Academy! This is your principal, Jaden Yuki, speaking. Welcome back to all of you, welcome back from your vacation period, and let me just say it's so good to see all your smiling faces here before me today! I know you all had a great time while you were gone, and I know we're going to have an even better time now that we're all back for another year!"

As the students applauded, up in the higher rows Ricardo and Natasha sat together. "Gosh, where _is_ Janus? He's so late!" Natasha remarked fretfully.

"Well, if he does come, he'd better be grateful I decided to save him a seat, at least," said Ricardo with disdain.

But hardly were the words out of Ricardo's mouth when suddenly, from not too far away: "Excuse me…sorry…coming through…oops, sorry about your foot!" And then, just like that, Janus plopped down into the empty seat next to Natasha. "Hey, thanks for holding the seat for me, you guys."

"You just barely made it—Principal Yuki just started talking," Natasha told him.

"Now, to all the new students, I say welcome to Duel Academy," Principal Yuki went on. "You know, just looking at your faces kinda reminds me of when I was a freshman here, back in the day. You're all probably feeling a little anxious, sure…but no need to worry about that! I guarantee, you're going to have a really sweet time with us, and we're all going to make sure, faculty and student body alike, that your stay with us is worth it! And I'll start that off by asking all freshmen to stay back here, after assembly is dismissed, so that I can personally conduct your orientation…which means, for the rest of you, that your first class period will be suspended for today." There was more applause from the students at that announcement.

"And now, students, we have two very important announcements to make today," Principal Yuki continued. "And both announcements have to do with certain select students of our very own Duel Academy. Now, to present the announcements, please help me welcome to the mike, our very own head of the Obelisk Blue dorm…Dr. Vellian Crowler!"

He stepped back from the microphone and started applauding. The action was quickly taken up by the student body, most notably those among the Obelisk Blue students. And as the applause continued, one of the other faculty members stood up from ringside and came up to the mike. This one had blond hair cut in a slight mushroom style, with a long ponytail at the back, and he was dressed in a big blue trench-coat. Oddly enough, he also sported purple lips, giving one the impression that he was wearing lipstick.

"Thank you, Principal Yuki, and good morning to you, dear students," he addressed them all. "Now, as the principal has just mentioned, there are two announcements to be made here this morning—and I will deliver them to you now. And both announcements…" He paused for a moment. "Both announcements have to do with the Duel Monsters World Championship tournament, which ended only last week."

There was a hushed whisper throughout the crowd as this bit of news sank in.

"As you all know, over the summer break six of our students were chosen to enter the tournament, both to earn extra credit for their end-of-year assignment and to represent our illustrious academy with their dueling skill," Dr. Crowler went on. "Those of you who were following the competition on TV will know that, unfortunately, none of the six students chosen won the Dueltropolis tournament…however, one of them did manage to get third place, which is in itself quite an achievement and has placed us in the spotlight of the dueling world once again! Now, students, please help me in congratulating that student…Janus Yuki!"

Immediately, Ricardo and Natasha turned to Janus and started applauding loudly; those closest to them followed suit, until soon the entire student body was clapping and cheering. Seeing all this, Janus scratched the back of his head and blushed…and looking down at the arena, he saw Principal Yuki looking right up at him, a beaming smile on the older man's face.

"Which brings me to the second announcement," Dr. Crowler continued—and the joviality went out of his tone as he spoke. "Unfortunately, three of the other students who went on that assignment—James Truesdale and Cassius Princeton of Obelisk Blue, and Angel Snow of Ra Yellow—will not be returning to Duel Academy for this year. As much as it shames me to admit it, and on the first day of the new school year, too…the three of them were found to have associations with a nefarious group that attempted to overthrow the Dueltropolis tournament. As a result, all three have been judged by Duel Academy's punishment board, and are consequently on suspension for one academic year. So, to their classmates and dorm roommates, do not expect to see them around for now."

Whispers flew throughout the student populace again…and a dark shadow crossed Janus's face as he listened to it all. Both Ricardo and Natasha noticed this, and looked at him pityingly.

"Well…thank you, Dr. Crowler," said Principal Yuki, retrieving the microphone from the other man. "All right, students, that will be all for this morning. Any other announcements will be made over the P.A. system during the course of the day. And remember, all freshmen please remain here after this assembly dismisses for your orientation, and the first class period is suspended for today. Now…everyone else, you are dismissed!"

----------

A FEW MINUTES LATER

Dr. Crowler was walking along the corridor leading away from the auditorium. "Ah, yes…to finally be free of that auditorium…crowds really aren't my thing these days," he muttered.

"Excuse me, Dr. Crowler, could I have a minute?"

"Hmmm?" Dr. Crowler turned at the sound of the voice behind him. "Oh, Alexis, it's only you. How do you do today?"

The person in question was a woman with blond hair tied back in an impressive bun, and blue eyes hidden behind small-framed glasses. She wore a pink suit-jacket with a matching knee-length skirt. "That's Vice-Principal Rhodes-Yuki right now, Dr. Crowler," she said darkly.

"But of course, Vice-Principal. My apologies." Dr. Crowler regarded her. "You're upset about something…could it, by any chance, have anything to do with my second announcement just now?"

"Right on target." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "You spoke of those three students as if they were being expelled and not merely suspended. Do you know all the bootlicking I had to do with the punishment board to ensure that it didn't come to _that_ for any of them?"

"Well, if you want my honest opinion, my dear, it may as well have been expulsion that they got, for all the good the suspension will do them." Dr. Crowler's tone was serious. "Those three were all promising students…and they disappointed us terribly. They were all found to be members of the Zodiac organization, along with the rest of those cretins who infiltrated the World Championships. If not by virtue of the fact that they were willing to testify against their brethren at the appointed time, then expulsion would've been the least of their worries."

"I know." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "But isn't it enough that now, they're all going to have to live with that shame?"

"There's no such thing as crime without punishment, dear Vice-Principal," Dr. Crowler answered. "And as much as those three were well-respected on this campus once upon a time, they've all committed a grave transgression. Look at it from the eyes of those people who they've helped the Zodiacs to make suffer—just living with the shame of what they've done will never be enough. And even their suspension, for all the effort you put into getting that verdict to overrule the expulsion punishment, will never be enough for their victims, either. I'm sorry if it sounds mean, but…well, welcome to life."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki stood firm. "I've already spoken to my husband about this, but I thought you should know, as well. I'm going to arrange for Cassius, James and Angel to be removed from that detention facility where they are at present. If nothing else, it'll give them back some semblance of dignity after what they've had to endure."

"Do whatever makes you feel better," Dr. Crowler replied, turning away from her and walking off. "But in the end, it'll really not do very much. You know this, as well—your problem is actually accepting it."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki sighed and watched as the older man now walked away from her...knowing within herself that he was right.

----------

"Janus, wait up!"

Walking away from the auditorium building, Janus paused as Ricardo and Natasha ran to catch up with him. "Geez, we lost you in that crowd when everybody was leaving…and you left in such a hurry, too," Natasha complained.

"Janus…you're not upset at what Dr. Crowler said about those three, are you?" Ricardo asked, eyeing Janus keenly.

Janus shrugged. "Well…not exactly. I just needed a little chance to think."

"Janus, they were suspended, not expelled. All being well, we'll see them back here next year without fail," Ricardo told him. "As I understand it, your mother worked hard to convince the punishment board to lessen the severity of their judgment. Be grateful for that, if nothing else."

"You know what you need to cheer you up, Janus?" Natasha suggested. "A nice big Super Steak combo! Think about it—two big steak slices covered in special sauce, French fries, rice, coleslaw…"

"Natasha, firstly, you're getting _me_ hungry right now," Ricardo chided her. "Secondly, it's going to be a good while till lunchtime anyway…"

Suddenly he cocked his head to one side. "Say. Do you hear that?"

Natasha and Janus looked at him, puzzled—but all at once, a loud noise above their heads caused them all to look up. "Check it out—it's a helicopter!" Natasha exclaimed.

Janus narrowed his eyes. "Yes…and I think we're about to find out who that chopper belongs to."

The trio watched as the helicopter, beige in color, flew overhead and hovered over the courtyard. Then, slowly, the chopper began to descend, landing a few moments later on the lawn. And…right there on its door, in bold red and gold, was an image of a huge bird. "That's…a phoenix on the chopper's door!" Ricardo breathed.

"Yes," nodded Janus. "And that means there's only one person this chopper could belong to."

With that he strode forward with determination in his eyes, Ricardo and Natasha following close behind him. Stopping a few dozen feet from where the chopper had landed, they watched as the door momentarily slid open—and then, to their surprise, a young woman dressed as a maid stepped out, carrying a Duel-Disk in her arms. Seeing them approach, she headed over. "Good morning to all of you…and special greetings to you, Mr. Janus," she spoke up.

Janus nodded. "Jasmine…it's been a while. Still as loyal to your master as ever, are you?"

"Always, sir," she nodded. "Wherever the young master goes, I will go with him and attend to him as best I can. No exceptions."

"Jasmine, that will be enough of that," a voice behind her spoke up. "It will not do for you to fraternize with that bastard. Now come back over here."

The speaker was a young man, also exiting the chopper. He sported jet-black hair, a green trench-coat and a serious look in his narrowed eyes. On hearing his voice, Jasmine turned and blushed a bit. "My apologies, young master," she said softly, and hurried back over to him.

The newcomer then looked directly at Janus—and his eyes narrowed a little more, with abhorrence burning in them. "Janus Yuki…been a long time," he remarked coldly, crossing his arms.

Janus narrowed his eyes, too…and smirked. "Great to see you again, too…Drake Phoenix."

_**neomage:**_ Here's my story, ladies and gentlemen—re-submitted, and in a whole new format!

Wondering why the re-submission? Well, in its previous incarnation, this story was touching up to 125 chapters, due to the writing format I'd been using for the first couple of chapters or so. It was stretching out too far for my liking, so…I decided to give it the special "author's touch" to shorten the number of chapters while keeping the pace of the story at a sensible rate. At the same time, this revamp will correct a few small problems that were cropping up in the former version…fully so, I hope.

Now, sit back and relax! More of the story to come!


	2. Clash of Heroes

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: You all know what I'm gonna say by now…all the original stuff isn't mine. It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.)

**CHAPTER 2 – Clash of Heroes**

DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS

"Drake Phoenix?" Ricardo raised his eyebrows. "This is interesting…"

Natasha looked a little confused. "Um…who is he?"

On hearing that, Janus nearly fell over. "Whaaaaaaaat? You don't know Drake Phoenix? Natasha, where've you been all this time?"

"Hey, Janus, don't fault her for not knowing," Ricardo remarked in a reasonable tone. "Listen, Natasha. That fellow there, Drake Phoenix…he's the son of a multi-millionaire tycoon, Aster Phoenix. Now, Aster's a world-renowned extreme sports figure and a former Duel Monsters champion, plus he has his own business—Phoenix Unlimited, which specializes in business corporation advisement and has served both big and small corporations for years now. That phoenix on the side of the helicopter door—that's the universal symbol for Phoenix Unlimited. And Drake over there is known for using the symbol as his own personal trademark, as well, especially when he enters Duel Monster competitions. And trust me, in that respect he's good."

Drake closed his eyes and chuckled. "Yes, little girl, it's all true," he confirmed. "I'm a seasoned Duel Monsters competitor—I've been entering tournaments for five years now, no matter when or where they're held. And I've won every single tournament that's been fortunate enough to have me as a competitor."

"But…if that's true, why wasn't he at Dueltropolis?" Natasha wondered.

"Well, young miss, Master Drake wanted to attend Dueltropolis very much," Jasmine assured her. "But a week before the tournament was slated to take place, Master Aster heard rumors of a sinister group of criminals who would be participating and who would especially be targeting the then-champion, Seta Kaiba. So, he had Master Drake withdraw from entering the tournament for his own safety. And, as Mr. Janus may well imagine, Master Drake was none too happy about that security measure."

"I watched the whole tournament on TV—not that I had anything better to do since Dad wouldn't let me participate," Drake cut in. "And since I knew you would be there as a representative for your school, Janus, I made especially sure to keep a close eye on your matches. It was very impressive that you were able to clinch the title of third-best duelist in the world, but…if I had been there, I would've gotten _first_ place, make no mistake about that."

"Hmph." Janus looked at the Duel-Disk Jasmine was holding. "Well, seeing as you have a Duel-Disk there, why don't you try putting that claim to the test?"

Drake's brow furrowed. "Why else do you think I'm here?"

"Okay, then. Just…" Suddenly Janus appeared sheepish. "Give me a minute. Uh, Ricky, Natasha, could one of you guys run back to my room and fetch my dueling gear? I really wasn't anticipating a duel this early in the morning."

"And here I thought Dueltropolis had taught you a thing or two about preparedness." Ricardo sounded disappointed.

"Don't worry—I'll fetch them!" Natasha volunteered. And then she turned and raced off.

Drake's face was like stone. His thoughts, however, were another matter. _All right…now it's only a matter of waiting, and then…!_

----------

By this time Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki was just getting back to her office. Stepping through the door, she slipped her jacket off and placed it on a nearby coat-rack—and suddenly the phone on her desk rang, startling her. "Hmm, guess I got back in the nick of time," she surmised as she hurried over to the desk and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Why, hello there, Alexis; been a long while, hasn't it?" a familiar voice reached her ear.

Her face lit up instantly. "Aster Phoenix? Is this really you? How have you been?"

"Just great, thanks; can't really complain," Mr. Phoenix chuckled. His voice was a smooth, deep baritone with a slight hint of a Southern American accent. "How's the old joy-boy doing?"

"You mean Jaden? Well, he's as good as he can be…being principal of Duel Academy and all." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki leaned against her desk. "So, what brings you to call today?"

"Actually, I just wanted to let you know…" Mr. Phoenix's jovial tone lessened a little. "My son Drake is on his way to the Academy as I speak. If I'm not mistaken, if he hasn't landed there by now, he will shortly."

"Drake, huh?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki managed to stifle a chuckle.

"Yes. And you and I both know why he'll be there." Mr. Phoenix sighed over the phone. "Honestly, this obsession of his is ceasing to be even mildly amusing."

"Hmph…coming from you, that's saying something," said Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "Have you told Jaden yet—oh, wait, I forgot, he's handling freshman orientation today, so you probably wouldn't get him at his office right now. Silly me."

"I'd actually tried calling him a while ago, but his phone was just ringing without answer—although now I understand why." Mr. Phoenix paused for a moment. "Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know. Considering how Drake feels about your boy Janus, it's not likely he'll leave unless he gets what he wants…which, in this case, will be a duel."

"And how do you feel about him getting up on such short notice to pay us a visit out here?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki asked.

"I already told you—his obsession is becoming irritating to me. But what else can I do? I can't talk any sense into the boy, his mother can't—heck, even his sister's failed in that area." There was a hint of disgust in Mr. Phoenix's tone. "And forbidding him to have anything to do with Janus will be just a waste of time—when he has his mind set on something…"

"Believe me, as a parent I know the feeling," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki assured him. "Don't worry, though. If Drake is on the island now, I'll find him and see if I can't try to convince him to give it a rest. Since I'm Vice-Principal of this institution, he'll have to listen to my authority."

"Best of luck where that is concerned. And give Jaden my regards." And then the line went dead.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki hung up the phone—and just then, there was a loud knock at the door. "Enter!" she called.

The door burst in, and standing there was a female student of Obelisk Blue. "Vice-Principal, Drake Phoenix is here—and he's gearing up to duel Janus!" she cried.

"A little birdy told me," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki replied cryptically. "Where are they?"

----------

"Okay, I'm back!" Natasha was breathing heavily as she jogged up to Janus, the Duel-Disk in one hand and the deck of cards in the other. "I had no clue running could take the wind out of you like this!"

By now a small crowd had gathered to watch the confrontation. A few of the girls in the crowd seemed much more interested in Drake, however. "Oooooh, Drakey-wakey! Teach the Osiris boy a lesson! Nobody can beat you—nobody!" several of them were screaming, with hearts in their eyes and blushes on their cheeks.

Ricardo gave the girls in the crowd a perturbed look. "Drakey-wakey?" he asked dubiously.

"So the guy's got his fans here at Duel Academy. So what? It's not going to change the eventual outcome of this duel," Janus answered as he slipped the Duel-Disk on. "All right, Drake, you ready to do this?"

Drake was in the process of slipping his Duel-Disk onto his own wrist, while Jasmine patiently waited with his deck in her hand. "I've _been_ ready ever since I set out to come here this morning," he answered.

"Great! In that case, this duel's really going to be a cool way to start off the new school year!" Janus grinned.

"Hmph." Drake spat to the side with contempt. "Let's see if you'll still be holding that viewpoint in your head or that grin on your face when I utterly humiliate you in front of all these people." Then he smirked and cast a glance at the crowd. "All my fans that are here, if you want me to bury this little amateur punk deeper than six feet, let me hear you make some NOISE!"

The response was instantaneous. "Get him, Drake! You're the man!" several of the male students whooped.

"Go, Drakey! Win this like you win all your duels!" the girls shrieked, still with hearts in their eyes.

Janus hung his head and sweat-dropped. "Oh, brother…have they all forgotten that I came in third in the World Championships already?" he groaned.

"It may have been the World Championships, but third place is still a ways from first place nonetheless," Ricardo pointed out. "And Drake is a consistent first-placer."

"Don't worry, Janus—you still have my support!" Natasha smiled at him. "Just do your best!"

"I will, definitely." Janus nodded, then turned to look directly at Drake. "All right, Drake, I'm ready!"

"About time." Drake turned to Jasmine. "My deck…?"

"Of course, Master Drake." Jasmine took a step forward and held out his cards to him.

"Now, then, Janus, prepare yourself! For you are destined to be crushed under my heel!" Drake shouted as he slotted his deck into his Duel-Disk. "And when I'm done with you, you'll wish you'd never known me, not to mention you'll also be wishing you never even took up dueling!"

"Talk is cheap, dude," Janus replied, placing his own deck into his Duel-Disk slot. "Let's see you back it up!"

"Agreed," Drake nodded. "Let's do this!"

**JANUS: 8000; DRAKE: 8000**

At once the surrounding crowd began cheering. "Whoo-hoo! Let's see some dueling action!" several of the students yelled.

"Man, this'll be a wicked way to kick off the school year for real!" a few were chattering excitedly. "A pro duelist like Drake Phoenix here on our campus, showing off his skills? This is so radical!"

"Draaaaaaake! We're behind you all the way!" the girls squealed.

A holographic coin showed up on the field. "Since you're the challenger here, I guess I'll let you call it," Janus offered.

"Fine, then," said Drake. "I'll call tails!"

Immediately the coin was spun, flipping several feet into the air as both Janus and Drake watched it intensely. Then, by and by it fell back to the ground…and upon landing, it spun around on its edge for a moment, before finally falling flat…and the end result was: tails!

"Hey, congrats, you get to go first," said Janus, drawing his first five cards.

"Save the congrats for when I trample you!" Drake replied, drawing his mandatory five cards as well.

"Yeah, Drakey-wakey! Trample him!" Drake's female fans screamed out.

"Ugh…these girls really need to grow up…" Ricardo grumbled.

At once several of those closest to him pounced on him. "What was that, you bastard? Are you trying to say something about our devotion to Drakey-wakey?" one of them demanded menacingly, as fire blazed in all their eyes.

"…ulp…not really…forget I said anything…" Ricardo had three sweat-drops on his head.

"Poor you," Natasha shook her head.

In the meantime, Drake drew a sixth card from his deck to start the first turn. "Okay, first I'll activate the magic card, Destiny Draw! Now, by discarding one Destiny Hero monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards from my deck!"

Quickly he held up one card from his hand, and everybody saw immediately what it was: the monster card, Destiny Hero – Malicious (ATK 800, DEF 800). Then, placing it in his Duel-Disk's Graveyard slot, he proceeded to draw two more cards from his deck. "But that's only the tip of this iceberg," Drake remarked. "Next, I'll activate the magic card, D – Spirit! If there are no face-up Destiny Hero monsters on my side of the field, then I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my hand! And I choose…Destiny Hero – Fear Monger (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later, there appeared on his side of the field a fiendish-looking warrior with a blaster in place of one arm. But Janus merely frowned at the sight of it. "Well…so far your deck seems to follow the theme of Destiny Heroes. You know, I actually faced a guy during the Dueltropolis competition who had a similar strategy…"

Drake bristled at that. "Oh, you did, did you? Well, that certainly had to have been a copycat deck, because _these_ cards…" and here he waved his cards in the air. "…they're the original Destiny Hero deck, the first and only true cards of the set. And I'm willing to bet that that guy, whoever he was, couldn't even use the cards properly, could he? Well, now I'll show you what these cards can do in the hands of a true master of destiny!"

He then pointed a finger at his Graveyard slot. "And now, time to activate my Destiny Hero – Malicious's effect! When he's in the Graveyard, if I remove him from play, I can Special Summon another Destiny Hero – Malicious from my deck to the field! And I'll summon this second one in Attack Mode!"

A ghostly image of Destiny Hero – Malicious—a creature with bat's wings, curved horns and two tails—appeared on Drake's side of the field for but a moment…then in the next instant another one like him emerged, holding up the claws on his hands in a threatening gesture. Then Drake held up one of the four cards remaining in his hand. "Next, I'll take advantage of my Normal Summon and bring forth to the field…Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (ATK 300, DEF 300) in Attack Mode!"

A second later a masked, silver-armored warrior with razor-sharp compact disks attached to his back, wrists and waist appeared on the field. "And finally," Drake finished, "I'll set one card facedown, and that's it for now."

"But—that's hardly fair for Janus! Drake's managed to summon three monsters in his first turn!" Natasha cried.

"Reminds me of something my father once told me about the Destiny Hero cards," said Ricardo. "You see, the Destiny Heroes and their support cards do just that—they support each other. Back in the Dueltropolis finals, we saw Zander Zabel using the Destiny Hero cards also, but his fluidity with them was not as in sync as we're seeing here, because his deck wasn't a pure Destiny Hero deck. But this…this is a whole different ball game now."

As it was now Janus's turn, he drew his card to give him six in hand. "Okay! Now, I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then, a bright burst of flame erupted on his side of the field as a woman clad in skin-tight red leather appeared. "Now, attack his Disk Commander with Burstfire!"

Burstinatrix formed two massive fireballs in her hands, then drew her hands back and flung them at the flinching Disk Commander. But suddenly Drake shouted: "Big mistake, runt! I activate my trap card, D – Counter!"

As Drake's card flipped face-up, a huge shield appeared around Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, deflecting the attack right back at Burstinatrix! Before she could respond, she got blasted away with a massive explosion! "WHOA!" Janus cried out. "What the heck was that?"

"That, amateur, was the effect of my D – Counter trap," Drake replied, a triumphant smirk on his face. "It activates whenever one of my Destiny Heroes is selected as an attack target—then, the attacking monster is destroyed. Tough break."

"Hmph…Zander definitely didn't have THAT card in his deck," Ricardo recalled.

"Urgh…" Janus took a look at the five remaining cards in his hand. "All right, then. I'll set two cards facedown, and that's it for the time being."

"You mean, that's all you _can_ do at all!" Drake mocked him as he drew his next card. "Well, Janus, you may have somewhat made it big in the World Championships, but now it's time somebody forced you back into the kiddy league where you belong—and that somebody is going to be me! And I have just the card to do the job right…"

He held up the card he'd just drawn. "Now, watch and learn! I'll sacrifice Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, Destiny Hero – Fear Monger, and Destiny Hero – Malicious, to summon an even more powerful monster to decimate you…come forth, Destiny Hero – Dogma (ATK 3400, DEF 2400)!"

All at once Disk Commander, Fear Monger and Malicious all transformed into balls of shining light! As everyone looked on in awe, the three light balls swirled around the field, then suddenly collided into each other as one—and an even brighter light shone from Drake's side! "Ack! Turn down the lights, man!" some of the students complained even as they shielded their eyes.

Only Drake and Jasmine didn't seem much affected. "Young master…" Jasmine breathed.

"Yes. He is here, now." Drake nodded and smirked, showing teeth.

At length the light died down, enough for everyone to lower their arms…and what they saw astounded them. "Oooohhh…"

For now, on Drake's side, was a giant in dark armor, with humongous bat's wings spreading over the entire width of his side of the field and a sharp blade protruding from his right wrist. "And now, little cretin," Drake announced, even as his smirk grew wider, "your destiny is written and sealed—to be punished by me! Now, time to take you out of dueling for good! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

As the duel between Janus and Drake continued with everyone watching in awe, the stats were shown: Both players still had an intact 8000 life points, but now Drake had two cards in hand while Janus held three, and on the field Drake had his just-summoned Destiny Hero – Dogma in Attack Mode while Janus only had two cards facedown in his magic/trap slot. And it was still Drake's turn.

At length Drake stopped laughing. "True, Destiny Hero – Dogma's summoning conditions are rather hefty…I have to offer three monsters, including at least one other Destiny Hero, on my side of the field in order to Special Summon him…but his power more than makes up for that. So, Janus…wet your pants yet?" he needled Janus.

"Why? Just because you summoned that guy?" Janus scoffed. "Please—like I'm going to scare so easily."

"Seems you're not fully aware of your situation…but don't worry, I'll bring it home to you, even if it's by force!" Drake held up another card from his hand. "Now, I activate the magic card Monster Reborn, to bring back my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander from the Graveyard!"

At once Disk Commander reappeared in a blaze of light. "Uh, excuse me, but why'd you bother bringing him back?" Janus asked, frowning.

"For his special effect, that's why!" replied Drake. "You see, if my Disk Commander is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I get to draw two cards!" And this he did swiftly, so now he held three cards in hand. "But now it's about to get significantly worse for you…"

"What?" Natasha said in disbelief. "What does he mean? How can Janus's trouble possibly get any worse than it already is?"

"Perhaps, Natasha…it would have been better if you didn't ask…" Ricardo said slowly.

"Now…" Drake held up one of his cards. "I'll use my Normal Summon and offer Disk Commander as a tribute to summon a stronger monster—Destiny Hero – Dasher (ATK 2100, DEF 1000)! Come forth, Dasher!"

Disk Commander vanished from the field again—then suddenly a loud screeching sound of tires on pavement could be heard as, out of nowhere, a robotic monster with wheels for hands and feet zoomed into view! "Okay! Now everything's in place for me to kick your ass! Go, Dasher—use your Battering Slammer!"

Destiny Hero – Dasher crouched down to such an extent that he almost resembled a car, and his tires screeched on the ground again. Then suddenly, he shot forward, slamming into Janus so hard that the young duelist was knocked to the ground and his life points sharply depleted to 5900! "Aaaagh!" Janus cried out in pain.

**JANUS: 5900; DRAKE: 8000**

"Janus! Hang in there!" Natasha cried.

"Wrong advice to be giving him, twerp—you should be telling him to give up and beg for mercy!" Drake sneered. "Now, Destiny Hero – Dogma, do your thing!" And Dogma spread his wings, rocketing forward and slashing Janus across the chest! Janus got knocked back down to the ground, wincing with his agony even as his life points went down even further.

**JANUS: 2500; DRAKE: 8000**

"Ouch…that HAD to hurt…" Ricardo flinched at the sight of Janus on the ground in pain.

"Now, I believe I'll end my turn," said Drake. "Oh, and before I forget, at the end of a Battle Phase during which Destiny Hero – Dasher attacked, he switches to Defense Mode." And just like that, Dasher crouched down so that he resembled a car once again. "Now you can go ahead, little Janus…not that it'll do you much good."

"Yay! Go, Drakey-wakey!" the girls in the crowd cried out.

Slowly standing up, Janus shook his head to clear it. "Pfft…that all you got? The other Destiny Hero user I fought in Dueltropolis packed a meaner punch than this!" he grunted.

Now Drake scowled. "I'd mind my tongue if I were you," he warned Janus. "Especially considering what your odds are right now—you're faced with two of my strongest Destiny Heroes, so it's not a good idea to badmouth them any. Got it?"

"Yeah! You tell 'im, Phoenix!" several of Drake's fans shouted.

Janus gritted his teeth. "All right, it's about high time I shut your little fan club up! And I'm gonna do it with this turn!" With that, he drew his next card, giving him four in hand…

…but suddenly, taking everyone by surprise, Destiny Hero – Dogma dashed forward and slashed Janus yet again! "AAAH!" Janus screamed as, inexplicably, his life points went down to 1250.

**JANUS: 1250; DRAKE: 8000**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What happened? Janus, are you okay?" Natasha exclaimed.

"Yeah…I'm fine…I think…" Janus held the place where Dogma had just assaulted him, wincing as he felt stinging pain course through his entire body.

"Oops, looks like I forgot to mention Dogma's other effect," Drake remarked with mock concern. "When he's Special Summoned, then during my opponent's following Standby Phase he cuts their life points in half. But by duel's end, that's not all he'll be cutting in half…" And his eyes flashed with warning in them.

"Yeah, well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm still in one piece—and this duel's still on!" Janus announced. "And now, it's time I took back the advantage! First, I'll activate the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards from my deck!"

Swiftly he drew his two cards, so now he held five. "Ahhh—I like what I'm seeing in my hand!" he grinned. "Okay, Drake…now I'm gonna summon my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (ATK 800, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later, there appeared on the field a red-feathered humanoid hummingbird with big white wings. "Ha! And that's your grand play?" Drake taunted Janus. "He's barely got any ATK points worth mentioning!"

"It's not always about the ATK points, Drake," Janus told him. "Observe! My Air Hummingbird's effect allows me to, once per turn during the Main Phase, increase my life points by 500 for every card you're holding in your hand…and since you've got two cards right now, that's 1000 points added to my life points!"

"WHAT?" Drake exclaimed in disbelief. But just then—much to his consternation—honeysuckle plants seemed to grow out of his cards! Air Hummingbird wasted no time, swiftly flitting from one flower to the next…and Janus's life points, in the meantime, rose by 1000 points.

**JANUS: 2250; DRAKE: 8000**

"Whew! Janus got his life points back up in the nick of time!" Natasha heaved a sigh of relief.

"Yes, but it's not over yet," Ricardo told her. "Unless Janus has a plan in mind, he's just made himself a sitting duck."

"Hey, Ricardo, have a little more faith than that, huh?" Janus called to him. "If you really must know, I _do_ have a plan! And it's going to come in the form of a certain magic card I'm holding in my hand right now…"

"Bah! You've got nothing!" Drake scoffed.

"Don't I?" Janus returned. "Then perhaps I should show you directly! Now…I activate the magic card, Fake Hero!"

"Fake Hero? What the hell is that?" Drake wondered aloud.

"It's a magic card with a nifty power," Janus explained. "It allows me to Special Summon one Elemental Hero monster from my hand to my side of the field. And right now I have one I'd like to summon…my Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000) in Attack Mode!"

A bright cone of light shone on Janus's side of the field…and then, when it subsided, right there in front of him was a white, humanoid alien creature with red markings all over his body and a blue gem in the center of his chest. But Drake just looked at the new arrival with contempt. "Is that supposed to impress me? Because I'm telling you right now, it's not!" he roared.

"Well…I will admit that Fake Hero carries a side effect with it," Janus acknowledged. "The monster it allows me to Special Summon can't attack this turn, and is also returned to my hand at the end of the turn. And in any case, it's also true that your Dogma's got more ATK points than Neos does. But with what I've got planned, that's nothing I need to worry about!"

"What?" Drake cocked an eyebrow.

"Let me tell you a little something about my Elemental Hero Neos," said Janus. "He's got a nice little power that sets him apart from any other Elemental Hero—a power called Contact Fusion. See, when he's on the field with a Neo-Spacian monster, in this case my Air Hummingbird, then I'm able to perform a Fusion Summon using them as the Fusion material that's needed—without having to use a Polymerization card!"

Drake's eyes widened at this revelation. "No way!"

"Got that right!" Janus was smiling now. "All I have to do is return the two monsters in question to my deck to perform the Contact Fusion—and that's what I'm going to do now! Neos, Air Hummingbird, use the power of Contact Fusion and form…Elemental Hero Air Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird both jumped up high, flying into the sky and colliding with each other. And—a shower of colorful sparks exploded from their collision! Drake looked at the spectacle with his eyebrow still cocked. _All right…now what?_

A moment passed…then, floating down to the ground was a completely different monster. He had Neos's physique, but sported crimson-red feathers all over his body and two angelic white wings on his back. "Oh, wow…that's so utterly cool…" Natasha breathed.

"Indeed," Ricardo nodded. "Too bad Janus never got to use this form of Neos during the Dueltropolis tournament—it might've especially made the difference between loss and defeat during his duel with Yugo Muto in the semi-finals."

Drake carefully scrutinized Air Neos—and scowled. "And here I thought he was actually going to be a threat," he remarked. "But he's no stronger than regular Neos was just now."

"Really?" Janus smiled at Drake. "Because as far as I recall, Air Neos has a special effect: if my life points are lower than yours, which they are at the moment, his ATK is increased by the difference."

Behind Drake, Jasmine's eyes widened. "But…Master Drake's life points are 8000 right now…and 8000 minus 2250 leaves 5750…"

Drake blanched. "Which means that featherbrain's ATK will be…8250!"

"Glad to see you can do math!" Janus laughed, even as Air Neos's ATK skyrocketed to 8250. "Okay, Air Neos, show his Destiny Hero – Dogma who's the real tough guy! Vermillion Typhoon!"

Flapping his wings, Elemental Hero Air Neos took flight, going several meters over the playing field. Then, he began flapping his wings with a fury, creating a vicious hurricane-force wind that tore into Dogma and ripped him apart! "AAAGH! MY MONSTER!" Drake bellowed, even as his life points shot down drastically.

**JANUS: 2250; DRAKE: 3150**

As the life point score changed, Air Neos's ATK shifted accordingly, to 3400. "Great! So even though Drake's life points have been brought down, Janus's monster still gets extra ATK because his effect's still active!" Natasha noted.

"Yes, since Drake's got 900 life points more than Janus at present, Air Neos's ATK is likewise increased by 900 points," said Ricardo. "This is really working in Janus's favor! He just may still have a chance now!"

"Okay, then," said Janus. "Now, I'll set one more card facedown, and end my turn…"

As he said that—all of a sudden Elemental Hero Air Neos vanished in a burst of red light, startling everyone! "O…kay…" Ricardo blinked.

"Uh—what just happened?" Natasha wondered, dumbfounded.

Janus hung his head a little; his hair partially overshadowed his brow. "During the End Phase of a turn when I initiated a Contact Fusion with Neos and a Neo-Spacian, the resulting Fusion monster is returned to my Fusion deck. That's the only real weakness of the Contact Fusion, generally speaking."

Initially as surprised as everyone else at Air Neos's disappearance, Drake slowly formed a grin on his lips. "Well, well, well…so after all that, your Neos monster didn't have any guts to stick around. He was just for show. Well, too bad." Then he took his turn and drew his next card, giving him three in hand. "And that's a weakness that you're going to pay for now—with your life points!"

"Oh, dear," Ricardo's eyes narrowed as he observed the scene.

"All right—here I go!" Drake declared. "First, I'll shift my Destiny Hero – Dasher back into Attack Mode!" And just like that, Dasher stood up tall, ready to fight again.

Then suddenly Drake grinned. "Hey, Janus—remember the Destiny Hero – Malicious that I tributed to summon my Dogma—you know, the one I Special Summoned from my deck by removing his twin in the Graveyard from play? Well, now I can remove that second copy of Malicious from my Graveyard to Special Summon a third one from my deck…in Attack Mode!" And as the shadowy silhouette of the second Malicious vanished from the Graveyard, the third one appeared, spreading his wings and raking his claws along the ground.

"And together, they've got enough power to take you out of this duel for good!" Drake announced. "Now, my Destiny Hero – Malicious! Lead the way and chop his life points down to size!"

Malicious pounced forward, flapping his wings to grant himself an extra burst of speed as he flew towards Janus's side of the field. "Janus, watch out!" Natasha screamed.

"Don't worry – I got it covered!" Janus yelled. "Now I activate the trap card, Negate Attack! This'll stop your monster's assault and bring an end to your Battle Phase at the same time!"

Almost instantly a huge red vortex opened up on Janus's side of the field. Unable to stop in time, Malicious disappeared right into it—and reappeared moments later, back on Drake's side, even as Destiny Hero – Dasher gave him a confused look. Drake himself did not look pleased. "That card…that was the card you set just a moment ago," he groaned. "Still, you lucked out there—not gonna happen again. Well, anyway, I'll set one card facedown, and that'll do for the moment."

"Hey, kid! Just let Drake whip you and be done with it, already!" some of the students were now shouting.

"Ricardo…the crowd's getting ugly…" Natasha whispered in a fretful voice.

"Then that simply means Janus will have to bring this duel to an end, and quickly," Ricardo replied.

In the meantime, Janus was drawing his next card, so now he had two in hand. "Hmmm…okay…well, then. I guess I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn for now."

"Unfortunately, shrimp, this is going to be your last turn!" Drake vowed, even as he drew his card to again give him a total of three. "And now, I'll tribute Destiny Hero – Malicious, and summon in his place…Destiny Hero – Double Dude (ATK 1000, DEF 1000), in Attack Mode!"

Malicious vanished from the field—then standing in his place was a thin man clad in a fedora and a dark suit, wielding a stylish walking cane in one hand. "But that's not all I've got," Drake assured Janus. "Next, I'll activate my trap card: D – Chain! This card will now be treated as an Equip Magic card, and I'll equip it to my Double Dude to increase his ATK by 500 points!"

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a long length of chain with a curved blade on one end wrapped itself around Double Dude's cane, at the same time increasing his ATK to 1500. "And now, time to attack you once again!" said Drake. "And just in case that monster of yours has a high DEF, I think I'll take it out with my Destiny Hero – Dasher first!"

Dasher transformed into his car mode again and zoomed forward, ramming into Janus's facedown monster and revealing it to be a huge rock golem with a red helmet for a head. The golem was swiftly broken into powdery pieces by the force of Dasher's attack! "Ha! That was your Elemental Hero Clayman (ATK 800, DEF 2000)…and now he's nothing more than rubble!" Drake chuckled. "Now your life points are wide open!"

"Not quite, Drake—for you've triggered my trap!" Janus rebutted. "I activate—Hero Signal! When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, this card allows me to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my hand or my deck to the field…and I'll use it to summon another Clayman from my deck, in Defense Mode!"

From Janus's activated trap, a huge searchlight with a stylized letter H shone out over the field…then, the next thing Drake knew, a second Clayman was crouched on Janus's side of the field. "But I'm not done yet," Janus continued. "Next, I'll activate my other trap card, Hero Ring! Now, when this card's activated, it's treated as an Equip card and gets equipped to one of my Warrior-type monsters that has 1500 ATK or less…and as long as it stays on the field, your monsters that have 1900 ATK or more can't attack that equipped monster!"

"Heh…those two cards have been sitting on Janus's side of the field for a good while now," remarked Ricardo. "And now, he finally gets to use them. Good for him."

"Yeah, right! You just got lucky, is all!" Drake snarled. Then just as suddenly, he took a deep breath. "Well, all right. I can wait. Kicking your butt is only going to take a little while longer, but I can afford to wait. So, I'll just end my turn now." And as he said this, Dasher shifted into Defense Mode as per his effect.

"Willing to wait to finish me, are you? Well, keep waiting!" said Janus, drawing his next card so he now held two. "All right—now I'll summon my Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" And then, moments later a flash of lightning shot down on his side of the field, taking the form of a man in blue and gold armor that crackled with electricity.

Then Janus held up the last card in his hand. "And now, I can activate this Magic card, Light Laser! It can only be equipped to a Light-attribute, Warrior-type monster…and since Sparkman fits the bill, he'll be the one I'll equip it to!"

A moment later Sparkman found himself holding an oddly-designed laser gun. "And here's the best part about it," Janus went on. "If a monster is equipped with the Light Laser, any monster that does battle with that equipped monster is removed from play at the end of the Damage Step! So, Sparkman, blast his Destiny Hero – Dasher into oblivion!"

"NO!" Drake yelled out.

But Sparkman was acting quickly on his master's call, pointing the business end of the Light Laser at the defending Dasher. He fired a massive beam of light from the gun, consuming Dasher and causing him to explode into a million pieces! "And now, that major threat's gone for good!" Janus announced.

"Way to go! You got him good, Janus!" Natasha cheered.

Ricardo, however, didn't look so ready to celebrate. _Sure, he may have gotten rid of that Destiny Hero – Dasher, but Drake's not out of the game yet…_

Drake's hair overshadowed his eyes. "Why…you…little…prick…!" he hissed between his tightly clenched teeth. "How DARE you do that to my monster? I'll grind your face into the dirt just for that little stunt you just pulled!"

"Oh, sure, throw a fit because you're _losing,"_ Janus scowled. "You may be a champion duelist, but you're definitely not a sporting one. What kind of image are you trying to portray for your fans, dude?"

Drake raised his head; his eyes were narrowed into slits. "Listen to me, and listen well," he said darkly. "Losing at the game I'm best at is an annoyance. Losing at the game I'm best at to an amateur is an embarrassment. But losing at the game I'm best at to YOU—_**THAT IS AN UNPARDONABLE SIN!**_ And I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to make sure that THAT does not happen! Now, I draw!"

Swiftly he drew his next card so that he now held three—and stopped short. Then, ever so slowly, the angry look on his face melted away…replaced by a sadistic grin. "My, my, my…guess now I'll be able to pull out all the stops…"

"Huh?" Janus blinked.

"That's right, buddy-boy," Drake replied. "As soon as I play this card I've just drawn…you had better be aware that your destiny will come here and now, and will be made a reality even if I have to shove it down your throat! Now, prepare yourself!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ And here's the end of this new Chapter 2—an amalgamation of Chapters 3 and 4 from their original format! And now, those of you who remember this duel can enjoy this new, longer format…and the next chapter's coming up shortly, so stay tuned!


	3. Childhood Grudge

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The action's getting hot! But like I said before, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.)

**CHAPTER 3 – Childhood Grudge**

DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS

**JANUS: 2250; DRAKE: 3150**

Janus's life points stood at 2250, he had no cards in his hand, and on the field he had Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode and equipped with the Hero Ring trap card, and Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode and equipped with the Light Laser magic card. On the other hand, Drake had 3150 life points, three cards in his hand including the one he'd just drawn, and on the field he had his Destiny Hero – Double Dude in Attack Mode and equipped with the D – Chain trap card.

"All right, Janus…the buck stops here!" Drake declared venomously. "Now, time for me to activate the field Magic card…Clock Tower Prison!"

All at once there was a loud rumbling noise…then suddenly, all around them sprung up a massive courtyard with a huge clock tower directly behind Drake. On seeing this, several of his fans in the crowd began to whoop. "All right! The Clock Tower Prison! Now Drake's really gonna give it to him!" they cried out.

"Let me explain for your benefit what this card does," Drake spoke up, crossing his arms and smirking triumphantly. "From now on, during each of your Standby Phases, the clock tower behind me will get what is known as a Clock Counter. What does that mean, you ask? Well, you'll find out in due time. For the moment, though, I'll just set one other card facedown. Your move, now."

"All right, then!" Janus drew a card to replenish his hand…and suddenly froze as the clock began to chime loudly. "Whoa…what on earth…?"

"Did you forget what I said already?" Drake asked derisively. "I told you, during each of your Standby Phases, the Clock Tower Prison will get a Clock Counter! Observe!" And he pointed to the face of the clock; its minute hand was pointing to the numeral 1, where a big blue orb was now suddenly glowing. "Right now, though, that Clock Counter shouldn't concern you too much. Just continue your turn."

"As you wish," said Janus. "Now, time to take that Double Dude out! Go, Sparkman—blast him away!"

Sparkman raised the Light Laser again, firing a shot at Double Dude. But suddenly Drake exclaimed, "And now I can activate the effect of a card from my hand: Destiny Hero – Blade Master (ATK 300, DEF 600)! During your Battle Phase, by discarding Blade Master from my hand, all Destiny Hero monsters on my side of the field get 800 ATK points this turn only!"

As Drake discarded his last remaining card to the Graveyard, the silhouette of a blue-haired man wearing bladed armor and a dual-bladed weapon on his arm appeared behind Double Dude…and in turn, Double Dude's ATK shot up to 2300! "No way!" Janus cried—but much to his dismay, Double Dude raised his cane, blocking Sparkman's attack somewhat, and charged forward. As he did, suddenly Double Dude's muscles seemed to bulge and ripped his clothes off, revealing a ferocious hulk of a man as he barreled into the hapless Sparkman, swiftly lowering Janus's life points.

**JANUS: 1550; Drake: 3150**

"Argh…well, at least the effect of the Light Laser holds out," Janus reminded Drake. "Any monster that battled a monster equipped with Light Laser is removed from play after the Damage Step." And then, just like that, Double Dude vanished from existence. "Now your side of the field is wide open," Janus continued. "All I need to do now is summon a powerful enough monster, and you'll be in some serious trouble!"

"Oh, will I?" Drake asked mockingly. "We'll soon see about that, now won't we?"

"I guess we will," Janus nodded. "Anyways, I end my turn now."

Immediately Drake drew another card. "Well, I can't risk leaving my life points wide open for you to assault me. So, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn for now."

Again Janus drew his card—and again the clock chimed as its hand pointed to the numeral 2 and as the Clock Tower Prison got another Clock Counter. _Okay, that's two of those things now…I have to beat this guy soon, before any more of those Clock Counters appear! And I've got just the card I need to deal with his case!_

"All right now," Janus spoke aloud. "I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900) in Attack Mode!" And then he called to the field a glowing humanoid amoeba-moss creature. "And never mind his stats; he's got a really useful effect…"

"And what would that be—taking up valuable space?" Drake sneered.

"Nope!" Janus chuckled. "Here's how his effect works. When he attacks or is attacked, you get to draw a card from your deck. Then, you reveal that card, and what happens next is based on the type of card that it is—if it's a Monster card, the Battle Phase is automatically ended; if it's a Magic card, then Glow Moss's attack is changed to a direct attack on your life points; and if it's a Trap card, Glow Moss is automatically shifted into Defense Mode. And now…Glow Moss, go!"

Glow Moss swiftly shifted into a watery form and slid towards Drake's side of the field. "All right! Now I'll draw a card for that creature's effect!" Drake cried, immediately drawing his card as he did so. "And I should show it to you, right? Well, here it is!"

He swiftly held up the card for all to see—and it was revealed to be a Trap card, D – Shield. "Now, your Glow Moss is changed to Defense Mode!" Drake announced…and Glow Moss swiftly did a U-turn and went back to Janus's side of the field, transforming into a miniature shield as he did so.

"What was the point of that? Drake managed to get a card from his deck regardless!" said Natasha.

"Perhaps Janus was hoping to use Glow Moss's effect and do a direct attack on Drake," Ricardo reasoned. "But you're right—whichever way Glow Moss's effect went, Drake would still have gotten to draw a card regardless. And allowing your opponent to draw a card is not always a safe tactical choice."

"Well, so much for that pathetic attempt of yours at a decent move just now, man," Drake laughed. "Ha! Well, now it's my turn again!"

He quickly drew another card from his deck. "Okay…now, first I'll activate my facedown trap card, Eternal Dread! This allows me to put two Clock Counters on the Clock Tower Prison!"

At once the clock chimed twice more, its hand swiftly spinning to the numeral 4, even as two more Clock Counters made themselves visible. "Now, the circle is complete," Drake said smugly. "When there are four or more Clock Counters on the Clock Tower Prison, I take no Battle Damage whatsoever. Which basically means, even if you can destroy my monsters, you can't hurt me at all."

"Oooooh! Drakey-wakey's so tough! He's not gonna be beat so easily!" the fan-girls among the spectators cooed loudly.

"Next, I'll set one card facedown," Drake continued. "Then, I'll summon my terrifying Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800) to the field in Attack Mode!" And he brought forth a white-faced man dressed in spiky gray armor and a maroon cape, and sporting claws on his gloved hands. "And now, time to utilize his effect…"

"What?" Janus's eyes widened.

"You see, if Doom Lord is in Attack Mode, then once per turn I can remove one of your monsters from play!" Drake explained. "All right, Doom Lord—send his Clayman packing!"

Doom Lord's eyes opened wide—and then the next thing Janus knew, Clayman got sucked into a mysterious vortex, even as the Hero Ring card he'd been equipped with got destroyed! "Aw, crap!" he cried.

"Calm down, little man—it's not permanent," Drake told him. "In my next two turns after this, you'll get your Clayman back in the same battle position he was just in. Plus, I'm not allowed to attack you in the same turn I use Doom Lord's effect. So, go ahead…I end my turn now."

"In that case, my move!" Janus swiftly drew his next card, so now he again held two in his hand…and again the clock chimed, putting a fifth Clock Counter on the Clock Tower Prison even as the clock hand pointed to the numeral 5. "Okay, that's getting really annoying…but what do you know! All right, Drake, now I'm going to activate the magic card, Soul Exchange!"

Drake reared back in shock. "What the hell? Not THAT card!"

"It seems you're familiar with what the card does," Janus remarked with a smug expression. "But I'll say it out loud, anyway. Soul Exchange allows me to select one of your monsters, and…this turn, if I would need to tribute a monster on my side of the field, then I get to tribute your monster that I selected instead. And I choose your Doom Lord as a tribute to summon…Elemental Hero Necroshade (ATK 1600, DEF 1800)!"

Green mist emerged on Janus's side of the field, then swiftly crossed over to Drake's side and engulfed the hapless Doom Lord entirely. And then…coming from that mist was a red-skinned being with bone plates all over his body. "Now, most unfortunately, Soul Exchange prevents me from attacking in the same turn I used its first effect," Janus added. "So now, I'll end my turn for the moment."

"All right—that was a lowdown, dirty trick, using that card!" Drake stormed. Several members of the crowd roared in agreement.

"Well, it was a legit lowdown, dirty trick," Janus smirked. "So stop fussing and make your move already."

"Fine!" Drake drew once again. "And now, I'll summon my Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought forth an orange-haired warrior wielding massive spiked shield-gauntlets on his arms. "And…that'll do for now."

Janus narrowed his eyes at this even as he drew his next card, pointedly ignoring the chiming from the Clock Tower Prison as it got its sixth Clock Counter and its hand pointed to the numeral 6. _Hmmm…why would he throw his Captain Tenacious into Attack Mode…unless…wait a sec! He must want me to attack him!_ He looked at Drake's side of the field more carefully. _Of course—his D – Shield trap card that he drew earlier when I activated my Glow Moss's effect! He must be waiting to spring it on me when I attack Tenacious! Well…I'll take care of that!_

"All right, Drake!" Janus announced. "Now, it's time for me to activate this magic card: R – Righteous Justice! Now, I can destroy a number of Magic and Trap cards on the field equal to the number of Elemental Hero monsters I control—and since I've got one on the field at present, that means I can destroy one of your Magic or Trap cards! And I choose your facedown card!"

All at once, to Drake's horror, his facedown card exploded! "No! I needed that!" he cried.

"Oops, looks like I spoiled your strategy," Janus chuckled. "Well, now I'll attack your Captain Tenacious with my Necroshade! Attack with Mist Corruption!" And in response, Necroshade vanished in the same mysterious green mist he'd first appeared in—then second later emerged behind Tenacious, shoving his clawed hand right through the other warrior's chest!

Drake gritted his teeth as he watched his monster's demise. "Why, you…that was so uncalled for!" he spat.

"C'mon, man, would you relax?" Janus asked in exasperation. "After all, your Clock Tower Prison's still preventing you from getting any battle damage, right?"

Drake huffed. "Well, no matter…I'll get you back. It's only a matter of time before I have you on your knees at my feet like the mongrel you really are!"

With a vengeful flourish, he drew his next card…and all at once, the removed-from-play Clayman reappeared on the field, crouched in Defense Mode as he'd been before. "Hmph…it's been two turns since I used Doom Lord's effect to remove Clayman from the game," Drake noted. "And now he's back, defending you…like that's going to stop my warpath!"

Then he took a look at the card he'd just drawn…and a huge grin spread over his face. "All right, then! Now, time for some payback!" he cried. "Remember my facedown monster that you seem to have been ignoring up to now? Well, it's time for me to reveal it! I Flip Summon the mighty Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude (ATK 1400, DEF 1600)!"

His facedown monster was immediately revealed: a man with huge diamond chunks protruding from his body, and sporting a green cape. Then Drake held up the card he'd just drawn. "And next, I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn for now."

"Your loss!" Janus drew his next card—and the Clock Tower Prison's clock chimed as it got its seventh Clock Counter and its hand pointed to the numeral 7. "Now, I'll set one card facedown as well…and attack your Diamond Dude with my Elemental Hero Necroshade!"

Necroshade got covered in his mysterious green mist once again—but suddenly Drake shouted, "As if! I activate my trap card…another D – Shield!"

In that instant a burst of electrical energy surrounded Diamond Dude, and he in turn went on his knees in a defensive stance. "Crud…you had a second D – Shield trap card even though I destroyed one already," groaned Janus.

"Got that right, shrimp," said Drake. "And I could only activate D – Shield when a Destiny Hero, like Diamond Dude, was in Attack Mode and was targeted for an attack. Then, I treated D – Shield like an Equip card, equipped it to Diamond Dude, and he simply got switched to Defense Mode…and in addition, as long as D – Shield is active, he can't be destroyed in battle."

"Well, all right, then. Make your move," Janus invited.

"Ever hear the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for'?" Drake asked as he drew a card to replenish his hand again. "Well…this time it'll apply specially to you! For now I'll activate another field Magic card—Dark City!"

All at once several shadowy buildings burst out of the ground, upsetting the structure of the Clock Tower Prison and breaking it apart! At the same time, a huge full moon appeared in a rapidly-darkening sky overhead. "Now…vengeance will be mine!" Drake announced triumphantly. "Because if Clock Tower Prison is destroyed while it has four or more Clock Counters, I'm allowed to Special Summon one of the greatest monsters of my whole deck, either from my hand or deck! Now, come forth from the deck…Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?)!"

As Drake said that, suddenly a massive, hulking figure burst out of the ground and landed on the field next to the unflinching Diamond Dude. This new arrival wore only pants ripped off at the knees, shackles on his hands and feet, and an iron mask on his face. "Ooooohhh! Look at that BODY!" several of the girls were swooning over Dreadmaster's muscular physique.

Ricardo ran a hand over his face. "I wonder if they realize it's only a Duel Monster?"

"And I hate to bear even more bad news, chump," Drake addressed Janus, "but when Dreadmaster is summoned via the Clock Tower Prison's effect, he allows me to call up to two other Destiny Heroes from the Graveyard. And I have the perfect two in mind: Destiny Hero – Fear Monger and Destiny Hero – Malicious!"

A few seconds later both Malicious and Fear Monger emerged on the field, ready to do battle once again. "And to make matters even worse for you," Drake finished, "Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF are determined by the total ATK of all other Destiny Hero monsters I've got on the field! So, take Diamond Dude's 1400, Fear Monger's 1000, and Malicious's 800…and Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF both become 3200!" And, as if to underscore the point, Dreadmaster's body began to glow with a malevolent red energy as his ATK and DEF were adjusted accordingly!

"My goodness! That thing's got enough power to take out both Necroshade and what's left of Janus's life points!" Ricardo exclaimed.

"Janus! Do something!" Natasha cried out.

"Come on, Drake! Finish the guy!" Drake's fans screamed.

Janus gritted his teeth upon seeing Dreadmaster's stats. "No way!" he shouted. "I activate my trap card, Elemental Recharge! This will give me an extra 1000 life points for each Elemental Hero I have on the field—and I have two!"

All at once a burst of electricity flooded Janus's entire side of the field, and his life points instantly shot up to 3550! "WHAT! No way!" Drake yelled.

**JANUS: 3550; DRAKE: 3150**

"Afraid so," Janus chuckled. "Looks like your 'finishing' me will have to wait a while longer."

"Grr…in that case, why don't I set the precursor for you?" Drake demanded. "Because I'll now shift my Diamond Dude into Attack Mode! And you better listen to this: If Dark City is active and a Destiny Hero monster does battle with another monster that has higher ATK, then that Destiny Hero's ATK increases by 1000 for that Damage Calculation only! So, Diamond Dude, get rid of his Necroshade with Diamond Fist!"

Diamond Dude rushed forward, Dark City increasing his ATK to 2400, and slammed his fist into Necroshade's chest, wiping him out and lowering Janus's score again.

**JANUS: 2750; DRAKE: 3150**

Then: "Go, Dreadmaster! Take down his Clayman once and for all!" And Dreadmaster, with a howl, lunged forward and slammed a fist into Clayman, reducing him to nothing more than pebbles.

"And now, Fear Monger, continue the charge and attack the Neo-Spacian Glow Moss!" Drake continued. "And don't think I've forgotten about his effect, Janus—but the bulk of it only really works when it's your turn! Meaning, if that effect makes me draw a card, and that card is anything but a Monster card, then it's curtains for your Glow Moss!"

Fear Monger raised his blaster and prepared to fire as Drake drew a card due to Glow Moss's effect. "And I was right! This here's a Magic card—which means Fear Monger's going to blast your monster away for good!" Drake held up the card for everyone to confirm, and indeed it was a Magic card, the card Misfortune. "Now, Fear Monger! Continue with your attack!" And Fear Monger's blaster fired right then, blowing Glow Moss into numerous tiny pieces.

"And now, your life points are wide open for a direct assault!" Drake laughed. "Go, Destiny Hero – Malicious! Spiteful Claw Attack!" And Malicious wasted no time in flying over to Janus and slashing him repeatedly, dropping his life points even further.

**JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 3150**

"Way to go, Drake! That's showing him!" several of the spectators cried out.

"Beat him, Drakey-wakey! Beat him!" some of the girls screamed.

"Humph." Drake contemptuously rubbed his nose with his thumb. "The only thing that saved you just now was your Elemental Recharge trap card—if not for that, Dreadmaster would've been able to take out your life points with just one blow. As it is, you've gotten lucky for one more turn, but…luck will only keep you going for so long. Come next turn, my Destiny Heroes will all be able to attack you with full force! And then when that happens…you'll pay for trying to upstage me!"

"Nice going, Phoenix! Now kick his ass!" several of the spectators screamed.

"Drakey, Drakey, you're our boy! Beat this guy and bring us joy!" the fan-girls sang out.

Hearing the fan-girls' song, Ricardo grimaced. _Do they even know how BAD that song sounds?_

Natasha was much more concerned with what was happening on the field. _Janus…!_

Drake, however, laughed. "You hear that, brat?" he asked Janus. "Your own schoolmates are calling for your defeat! And who can blame them? After all, your chances of victory at this point are non-existent! You've got no cards on the field to help you out, and I've got four Destiny Heroes just gunning to destroy what's left of your life points! You may as well just surrender now—at least you can still keep a little of your dignity…not that you had any to begin with when this duel started."

"Oh…yeah…?" Janus said slowly, managing to straighten up after the assault he'd just suffered from Destiny Hero – Malicious. "Well, I'm not going down without a fight! I still have one draw left, and I'm gonna use it…no matter what it gives me in exchange! I have faith in my deck to win me this duel!"

"Faith in your deck?" Drake scoffed. "What a babyish idea! Well, fine. Go ahead. Draw your next card. Let's see if this 'faith' of yours is worth the price of mud."

Janus then looked down at his deck slot. _Okay…it all comes down to this one draw. If I don't get a good card now, Drake's gonna win on the next turn…and the students here will never let me live it down! _He placed his hand on the deck, preparing to draw. _But I have faith in my deck, for real…I know the cards won't let me down! So, then…my loyal deck…let's win this together!_

Then he drew. And he looked at the card he now held…and smiled. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Drake—but I'm still in this duel after all!"

"What? But how do you figure that? You're only holding one card!" Drake exclaimed.

"One card can make all the difference in the world!" Janus answered. "Now I'll prove it to you! I'll Special Summon from my hand in Defense Mode…my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200)!"

A shower of bubbles burst out from the ground on Janus's side of the field…then there appeared a man clad in a blue outfit with a helmet and a white cape, sporting twin blasters on his arms, kneeling in a defensive stance. Drake took one look and laughed scornfully. "Ha! That's your big move? So much for your faith!"

"Actually, that's only the start of it all," Janus replied. "See, if Bubbleman is the only card in my hand, I can Special Summon him like I did just now—and, if there are no other cards on the field or in my hand when I summon him, I get to draw two more cards!"

That said, he swiftly drew two cards…then started laughing when he saw what they were. "Ha, ha, ha! Listen up, Drake…looks like my faith in my cards is worth a lot more than gold, after all! For I'm holding the two cards that'll ensure your defeat right now!"

"No way!" Drake snapped.

"Then allow me to show you!" Janus held up one of his cards. "I summon in Attack Mode…Elemental Hero Neos!"

To Drake's astonishment, Neos appeared on the field in a burst of energy! "WHAT! But—how'd you get _him?"_ Drake demanded. "And besides that, he's a Level 7 monster! You can't summon him without giving up two tributes first—you're cheating!"

"Let's take it one at a time," Janus said coolly. "Remember when I did the Contact Fusion between Neos and my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird? Well, as you should recall, when I did that Contact Fusion both of those monsters were returned to my deck instead of going to the Graveyard. And as for Neos's summoning just now…I have the effect of Elemental Hero Necroshade to thank for that—for when Necroshade's in the Graveyard, then I'm allowed to summon any high-level Elemental Hero monster once without offering any tributes!"

"This can't be!" Drake cried out.

"And that's not all I'm gonna do," Janus continued, holding up the very last card in his hand. "Now, I'll equip Elemental Hero Neos with this Magic card—Neos Force, which will increase his ATK by 800 points!" And as he played the card, Neos's fist suddenly started glowing with an immense white light as his ATK rocketed up to 3300!

"Aw, crap! That's enough to take out any of my monsters!" Drake yelled.

"That's right! And I've got my sights set on your Destiny Hero – Malicious!" Janus replied. "Go, Neos! Strike down Malicious with your Neos Force Fist!"

Neos jumped high in the air, then came right down fist-first on the flinching Malicious. As his punch connected, Malicious exploded in a burst of light, and Drake got pushed several feet back by the force of the attack as his life points drastically shot down. "ARGH!" he cried.

**JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 650**

"And there's a little bit more," Janus went on, a grin on his face. "When Neos destroys a monster in battle while equipped with Neos Force, my opponent gets life point damage equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster! So go ahead, Neos—end this duel now!"

Neos promptly jumped up and went airborne again as his fist glowed with power once more. He punched downward, in the direction of Drake's side of the field—and unleashed a hail of light energy that exploded all over the field, consuming Diamond Dude, Dreadmaster and Fear Monger in the process! "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Drake screamed out in horror as the attack hit him head-on, knocking him back and to the ground as his life points dropped to 0.

**JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 0**

"Merciful goodness…he actually did it…" Ricardo said softly, though his face sported a look of great and obvious surprise.

"Great one, Janus! You won! You really won!" Natasha cheered.

"Oh, no! Drakey-wakey!" the fan-girls cried out in disappointment.

Jasmine quickly ran over to where Drake lay on his back. "Young master!" she cried, kneeling by his side. "Are you all right? Please, say something!"

Groaning, Drake struggled to sit up. "Argh…no way…I lost?" he grunted.

"I'm afraid so, Master Drake," Jasmine nodded solemnly. "But only barely…"

"It doesn't matter—a loss is a loss," Drake replied harshly. "But it doesn't make any sense…how could he possibly have gotten just the right cards to beat me? It isn't logical!"

"Seems you really still haven't changed a single bit, little Drake."

All heads turned at the sound of the voice. "Vice-Principal!" the students spoke in subdued whispers.

Indeed, standing not far away from the gathering was Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki; now she stepped forward. "Okay, everyone, fun's over! Get to class, all of you!" she shouted, waving her arms to disperse the crowd. Then she cast a sideways glance at Ricardo, Natasha and Janus. "YOU three, wait just a moment."

The rest of the students filed away, chattering excitedly about the duel that had just ended. In a few moments, only Janus, Ricardo and Natasha were left, with Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki standing mere feet away from Drake and Jasmine. "Hello there," she addressed them.

"Madam…" Jasmine bowed her head slightly.

"Mm-hmm," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki acknowledged her. Then to Drake: "So, little Drake, up to your old tricks again, are you? You may have gotten a couple inches taller and become more handsome since last time I saw you, but you're still the same spoiled brat from eight years ago. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, after all."

Drake narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been watching?"

"Not too long, actually," she replied. "Your father called and alerted me that you'd stop by, probably to challenge Janus to a duel. So I decided to take a little time and find you guys...and here you were, dueling."

"H-h-huh?" Janus walked up to his mother. "So…you really were watching the duel, then?"

"I was." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "And I saw enough to know that in spite of his status, Drake here isn't deserving of the devotion his fans shower on him. Not only was his manner unsportsmanlike, but his motivation was less than honorable, as well."

Ricardo and Natasha, walking up to the group, looked at each other on hearing this. "His motivation?" Natasha queried.

Drake's eyes widened as he glared at Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "You wouldn't…!"

"I would, I can, and I will." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki then turned to the children. "Listen, you guys. This isn't the first time Drake has challenged Janus to a duel—and lost. It's been a recurring thing over the last eight years…although I have to admit, this is the first time I've seen him use the Destiny Hero cards. I wouldn't have expected his father to pass them on to him just like that."

"Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, you said it's been a recurring thing…how did it all start?" Ricardo asked.

"Well, now, that's a really interesting story." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "Of course, Drake here might not think the same way, but then again…"

"No! Stop!" Drake exclaimed, in a sudden panic.

"Oh, be quiet, you. It wasn't a secret back then—why should it be a secret now?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki rebutted.

Then she turned back to Ricardo and Natasha. "You see, kids, eight years ago both Drake and Janus were participants in the under-12 division of a Duel Monsters tournament sponsored by Kaiba Corporation, in New York City. There was a cash prize and a trophy up for grabs, but the two of them were in the tournament for another reason: to impress a girl, named Racquel." She chuckled as she recalled this.

Janus, listening, suddenly looked thoughtful. _Racquel…_

"What? Oh, that's so sweet!" Natasha exclaimed, stars in her eyes.

"Quite so," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki agreed. "The three of them had met a few months earlier, at a Duel Monsters children's camp sponsored by Maximillion Pegasus, the head of Industrial Illusions. Janus and Drake both fell into puppy-love with her, but unfortunately she couldn't choose between the two since she liked both of them equally. To settle the matter, the boys entered that tournament, and the two of them worked their way right up to the final round…"

----------

NEW YORK CITY, EIGHT YEARS EARLIER, 2010

_Janus and Drake were staring each other down, standing across from each other on the dueling floor, their Duel-Disks active. Janus's life points were at 700, he held three cards in hand, and on the field he had Petit Angel _(ATK 600, DEF 900)_, a cute little fairy with a halo and blue wings. On the other hand, Drake had 2500 life points, one card in hand, and on the field he had Needle Burrower _(ATK 1700, DEF 1700)_, a mechanized red scorpion with a dangerous stinger and pincers._

_ "Now what're you gonna do, crybaby?" Drake teased Janus. "All of your monsters are weak! You don't have any cards that can beat my Needle Burrower! You're nothing but a loser!"_

_ "Am not!" Janus shouted._

_ Nearby, in the stands, Racquel was watching. She was a pretty little girl with long red hair and blue eyes…and on her face was a worried frown. "Drake, that's not nice! Janus, you're doing great, really!" she called out._

_ "Yeah, right!" Drake yelled back to her. "His life points are way lower than mine, and his monster's weaker than mine! How's he possibly doing great, huh?"_

_ "I can beat you! You'll see!" Janus exclaimed._

_ "Whatever," Drake scoffed. "Make your move, crybaby."_

_ Janus defiantly drew a card. "Ha-ha! Now I'm gonna win for sure!" he said joyfully. "I summon Shining Friendship _(ATK 1300, DEF 1100)_ in Attack Mode!" And then he summoned a pudgy green fairy with brown wings._

_ "What? Geez, how did you EVER get this far in the tournament with such weak monsters?" Drake wondered aloud._

_ "They're not weak! You take that back!" Janus cried._

_ "Make me!" Drake puffed himself up._

_ Janus then held up two of his cards. "Okay! I activate my Silver Bow and Arrow, which'll increase my Shining Friendship's ATK and DEF by 300 points!" Then, in the next instant Shining Friendship found itself wielding a bow and arrow as its ATK and DEF went to 1600 and 1400 respectively. "And then I'll activate another Silver Bow and Arrow, to increase my Petit Angel's ATK and DEF by 300!" And Petit Angel was soon holding a similar bow and arrow as its stats rose to 900 ATK and 1200 DEF._

_ "That's a stupid play! They're both still weaker than my Needle Burrower!" Drake laughed mockingly._

_ "Not for long, he isn't!" Janus then held up the last card in his hand. "Because now I'll activate the magic card Acid Rain, to destroy your Needle Burrower!"_

_ Drake suddenly turned white. "What? But—that card destroys all face-up Machine monsters! This isn't fair!"_

_ But even as he complained, suddenly a corrosive rain cloud emerged over Needle Burrower's head—then a sudden shower melted its metallic surface away into nothing! "Which means now, you're wide open for a direct attack!" Janus grinned._

_ "NO! MOMMY!" Drake screamed as Petit Angel and Shining Friendship advanced on him…_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS, THE PRESENT DAY

"…and so, Janus managed to come from behind and defeat Drake," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki finished her tale. "He'd been watching all the matches carefully, taking note of the types of cards the various other kids were using—quite insightful for his age at the time. And since Drake was using mostly Machine monsters, Janus had enough sense to put that Acid Rain card in his deck for preparation…and it won him the cash prize, the trophy, and a girlfriend. Although, I think Racquel would've chosen Janus even if he had lost—Drake's constant put-downs of weaker duelists back then were enough to make even the referee of that tournament fed up with him, so imagine how she must have felt."

"Unfortunately…" Janus spoke up quietly. "I…lost contact with her a year after that. I haven't heard from her since."

Natasha regarded Janus as he spoke. _Whoa…all of a sudden he looks so…sad…_

And Ricardo's eyes narrowed. _They may only have been little kids back then, but this Racquel must've been really important to Janus…for him to look the way he does right now…_

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki noticed Janus's change in mood, too. "And ever since then, Drake here has been harboring a grudge against Janus—always goes on about how Janus stole his one true love from him and all that. The makings of a kiddy soap opera, if there is such a thing." And now she allowed herself a chuckle.

"Please, madam, don't say such things," Jasmine spoke up quite firmly. "It's not as if Master Drake comes to your doorstep every single day to challenge Mr. Janus—the last time was three years ago, when Master Aster brought the family to your school reunion…"

"Quiet, Jasmine. There's no need to explain anything to these…people." Drake's voice was acidic as he now stood up and leveled a glare at Janus. "Listen, you. You got lucky today, that's all. But next time, things will definitely be different, you hear me?"

Janus shrugged. "Well, if you want a rematch, Drake, just come and look for me here. I'll take you on anytime. Just remember, though…your cockiness is only gonna get you so far."

Drake scowled at that. "I don't have to take advice from _you._ Just know that you and I will duel again, in the very near future…and next time, you will _**fall.**_ Mark my words on that." Then he turned and started walking toward the helicopter that had brought him there. "Let's go, Jasmine."

"Right away, young master," Jasmine answered. She paused to bow briefly to the group, then turned and followed after Drake.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki and the kids headed away from the helicopter as its rotors started up and as Drake and Jasmine boarded. Moments later, the chopper was lifting up into the sky and turning its nose seaward as it flew off. "Well…seems you were right, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki," Ricardo remarked. "He really IS a spoiled brat."

"But he's a real better duelist now, too, no joke," added Janus, "especially with that new Destiny Hero deck of his. And if he's gonna use it again next time he and I meet up, I think it'll be very entertaining."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki smirked. "Well, you want to know what else will be entertaining? Seeing you run like mad kids to get to your next class period!"

Suddenly the sound of the school bell caused all their heads to turn. "Eek! We're gonna be late for second period!" Natasha squealed. "Guys, let's go!"

"Got it!" Janus answered. "See you later, Mom!" And with that, he, Natasha and Ricardo ran off.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki just smiled as she watched them leave. _Now that's the Janus I like to see…guess that duel really was just what he needed to start off this new school year! Well…things are bound to be as interesting as ever from here on out, I think…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ This revamped chapter was originally Chapters 5 and 6…but what a difference under this revamped format, eh, folks?

Anyhow, the duel is now over, the reason for Drake's hate is revealed…and the school year is off to a great start, wouldn't you say? But what new challenges await Janus and his friends? Stay tuned for the next set of chapters to find out!


	4. The Libby and the Jerk Jock

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The workplace calls… **(grumbles)** and I don't own anything to do with either Yu-Gi-Oh series.)

**CHAPTER 4 – The Libby and the Jerk Jock**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_VASHA_

_NAME: Vasha Morrison_

_AGE: 16_

_HAIR: Dark_

_EYES: Dark brown_

_CLOTHES: Blue jacket, silver blouse, silver skirt, white shoes_

_CASSARA_

_NAME: Cassara Blackstone_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Brown_

_CLOTHES: Red jacket, blue blouse, black skirt, white sneakers_

_CALHOUN_

_NAME: Calhoun Vincente_

_AGE: 17_

_HAIR: Blond (think of __**Rurouni Kenshin**__'s Aoshi Shinomori with blond hair)_

_EYES: Green_

_CLOTHES: Blue jacket, purple shirt, black jeans, black boots_

DUEL ACADEMY LECTURE ROOM, AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER

"…and so, according to legend, the priests of the pharaoh Aknamkanon were able to create seven magical artifacts to help repel the enemies of the Egyptian dynasty. It is said that with the creation of these artifacts came the ability to summon creatures from another realm to do battle on behalf of the summoner. This, it is said, was the birth of the game of Duel Monsters…"

Janus leaned forward at his desk, sighing as he listened to the history teacher rambling on. _Man, Professor Crosskill just goes on and on…does he EVER shut up?_

He surveyed the class. This room, like many of the other classrooms on campus, was built in a conical pattern with the teacher's floor space making up the "point" of that cone. Students' desks and seats were placed on inclined planes slanting downward, with those desks at the highest point being closest to the exits. There was another exit near the teacher's desk; that one was, of course, usually reserved for instructors. The students were seated in rows, with steps leading to the exits and placed between every tenth row. As far as this class itself went, the students of Osiris Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue were scattered here and there; there was no special seating segregation by dorm, although it was noticeable that a number of special cliques had their members sitting together.

Off to his left, Janus took note of one particular clique—an all-female group made up mostly of Obelisk Blues, though there were a couple of Ra Yellows and at least one Osiris Red. He smiled broadly as he rested his elbow on the desk, propping his chin into his palm in the process as he surveyed the group in question. _Wow…guess Vasha's group didn't waste any time getting new members…but still…_

His gaze shifted to one particular girl in the group, one of the Obelisk Blues. This girl had dark brown eyes and curly dark hair that went down her back, and there was a touch of fiery red lipstick on her mouth. Her facial features appeared at once delicate and steadfast; there was not a hint of a blemish on her skin, or if there was then it was very well hidden. As Janus looked at her, she happened to reach into her bangs and brushed the hair back behind her ear—and instantly Janus's eyes turned into hearts. _Vasha…you're still as sweet and beautiful and sexy and hot and pretty and cute and fine and gorgeous as always…_

"MR. JANUS YUKI!"

"H-h-huh?" Startled out of his reverie, Janus looked in the direction of the voice—and paled. "Yes, Professor Crosskill?" he asked weakly.

Professor Crosskill was standing rigidly, hands on his hips, staring straight at Janus. "Good, your mind's back on Earth," he said coolly, but with an undertone that hinted at a no-nonsense attitude right about now. "Well, if you're done daydreaming, perhaps you'd like to answer the question just posed…or perhaps your fantasy session just now had something to do with the lesson, in which case you'd care to share with us?" he added with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Janus's face turned as red as his jacket as he heard snickering from the other students around. "Uh…well…actually, I, ah…I didn't really hear the question so well, sir," he said lamely.

"Ah, auditory problems, is it?" Professor Crosskill asked, venom creeping into his voice. "Well, then, perhaps a session of detention after school will help to sharpen your hearing more, hmmm? Because I know just about everyone else heard what I—"

"Actually, Professor, I didn't quite get the question either," a polite-sounding voice several rows behind Janus spoke up. "If it's not too much trouble, could you repeat and clarify for _everyone's_ benefit?"

Spinning around in his seat, Janus looked for who had spoken—and beheld an Osiris Red girl standing in her place, even as all eyes had turned to her. She had lightly tanned skin, dark brown hair with a few bangs over one eye, and a serene look on her face. _Cassara…_

Professor Crosskill heaved a loud grunt. "Well…I suppose I _can_ repeat for the benefit of the students sitting near the top of the room," he answered in a begrudging voice.

"Thank you, sir," Cassara nodded as she sat back down.

Janus heaved a huge sigh of relief. _Saved…!_

Professor Crosskill cleared his throat. "I was asking if anyone could tell me how the seven artifacts that were used by Aknamkanon's priests were created. And I assume that _all_ students have heard the question now…?"

Janus frowned. _Oh, great…even when I hear the question, I still can't answer! Shit…don't call on me again, please don't call on me again…!_

"Mr. Yuki, would you be so kind as to answer now?"

Janus nearly fell over in his chair. _WHAAAAAAT? Is Crosskill out to get me or something? Geez…!_

_DING-DING-DING-DONG! DING-DONG-DONG-DONG!_

Professor Crosskill automatically glanced at his watch. "Hmph, look how time flies," he remarked. "All right, everyone—for assignment I want you all to write an essay on how the Duel Monsters game of modern times may be compared to the games played in ancient Egypt as discussed in class today. No less than 800 words, works-cited and cover pages to be included! Good day!"

----------

"Hey, Janus! Wait up!"

"Huh?" Walking down the hallway, Janus turned and saw Cassara approaching him. "Oh, hey…uh, thanks for that rescue in class just now."

"Yeah, well, you brought that problem on yourself," Cassara scolded him. "You BETTER be grateful I saved you."

"Whoa, whoa, why so hostile all of a sudden?" Janus asked in surprise.

"If you're not going to pay attention in class, at least _look_ like you're even slightly interested in the material, would you please?" Cassara asked. "You can't have people bailing you out every single time something like that happens—it won't always work."

Janus shrugged. "Well, who in their right mind wants to listen to anything Crosskill says?" he queried. "The guy's a world-class jerk-ass, anyway. And besides that, he's so boring he makes budget debates sound like fun!"

"Well, that's true…" Cassara frowned as she considered this point. "But at least _**I**_ don't go spacing out like you were doing when you were ogling the Bitch Brigade."

"Huh? The Bitch Brigade? Why do you call them that?" Janus wondered.

"Isn't it obvious, Janus?" Cassara rolled her eyes. "Vasha Morrison's little groupies are all nothing but a bunch of rich, spoiled bitches—hence the name. All they care about are hot boys, hot fashion, and themselves…as a matter of fact, I think the only reason some of them are even here at Duel Academy at all is because their parents sent them here. They'll never give us 'commoners' the time of day, much less any selfless consideration."

Janus sighed a heartfelt sigh. "Well…Vasha can ask me for the time of day, any time she likes…"

Cassara fell over in shock. "JANUS! Have you not been hearing a word I just said?" she exploded, jumping back up and shaking her fist in Janus's face. "Vasha isn't worth wasting your time or energy on! Face it—she's nothing but a—a—"

"Nothing but a what, little girl?"

Janus and Cassara spun around simultaneously at that…and Janus gulped. "Uh-oh."

Standing not more than two meters away was Vasha Morrison herself. Beside her was a tall, blond-haired Obelisk Blue male with a cold expression on his face. "Nothing but a what?" Vasha repeated haughtily. "C'mon, kiddo, say it. You know you want to, so you might as well."

"You know, I _was_ going to, but I don't think I'll bother now," Cassara replied darkly. "I don't think your puffed-up skull could handle it."

Vasha gasped and put a hand over her heart, pretending to be stricken. "Oh, woe is me! The little fifth-rate runt's mediocre attempts at insults have wounded my poor, ailing heart! Oh, whatever shall I do?" she cried in a mock sorrowful tone.

"You can crawl into a hole and die," Cassara muttered.

Vasha's companion narrowed his eyes. "I'd watch what I say around my girl if I were you, kid," he warned. "As far as I'm concerned, you could practice for a thousand years and you'd never be able to come close to her level of class."

He strode forward with swift steps—and before Janus knew what was happening, he found the guy grabbing him by the front of his jacket and forcing him against the wall. "And as for you, you little turd," the guy snarled, his tone taking on a very ugly undertone, "you think I didn't see you ogling Vasha in class just now? Germs like you don't even deserve to think about her, let alone look at her!"

"Disgusting," and Vasha wrinkled up her nose as though an offensive odor had just passed. "Calhoun, teach this little brat a lesson!"

"No!" Cassara grabbed Calhoun by the arm. "C'mon, just leave him be!"

"Get off me!" Calhoun leveled a glare at her, even as his grip on Janus's jacket tightened further.

"Is there a problem here, ladies and gentlemen?"

All four teens froze at the sound of the sharp, commanding voice. Slowly, as one, they all looked in the same direction. "…cripes…" Vasha muttered under her breath.

Standing there was a big, muscular man with a yellow bandana tied around his head. He wore a yellow vest, gray jeans and combat boots. "I repeat, is there a problem here?" he asked again, his eyes narrowing.

Casually, Calhoun released Janus's jacket and pulled his arm out of Cassara's grip. "No, Coach Hassleberry, there's no problem here," he said coolly. "None whatsoever."

Coach Hassleberry looked from Calhoun to Cassara. "Ms. Blackstone, is Mr. Vincente right? There's no problem here, is there?" and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Cassara shook her head. "No, Coach…no problem at all."

"Can we go now, Coach? We're going to be late for our next class," said Vasha, putting on an innocent air.

Coach Hassleberry looked from Vasha to Calhoun and back again. "Affirmative, Ms. Morrison. You and Mr. Vincente are dismissed."

"Thank you, Coach," Vasha nodded. "C'mon, Calhoun, let's go." And with that, she turned her back and walked off, Calhoun following behind her.

Cassara and Janus turned to leave as well, when suddenly— "TEN-HUT! At attention, you two—you haven't been dismissed yet!" Coach Hassleberry yelled.

Almost instantaneously the two stood as if frozen to the spot, their arms rigidly at their sides even as both of them heavily sweat-dropped. "…shit…we're screwed…" Janus whispered.

Coach Hassleberry walked around until he was facing them. He shook his head as he surveyed them—and at once his militant demeanor gave way to a chuckle. "At ease, little troopers; you're not in trouble," he assured them.

Immediately both Cassara and Janus heaved heavy sighs of relief. "Wow…thank heavens for that…" Cassara mumbled.

"So…which one of you wants to explain what was really going on just now?" Coach Hassleberry asked. "Because I know I'd never get it out of _those_ two that I just dismissed."

"Um…how do we put this forward in a nice, polite way?" Janus wondered, scratching his chin.

"Don't, little sarge," Coach Hassleberry answered.

"Okay," said Cassara. "In that case, Vasha was being a witch as usual, and Calhoun was going to pound Janus's brains out."

Coach Hassleberry nodded knowingly. "I thought as much. Those two always somehow manage to bring trouble into the barracks, don't they?" he asked, disgust evident in his tone.

"At least someone else has noticed…" Cassara shot a dirty look at Janus.

"Hey, what're you looking at me like that for?" Janus protested. "I mean, I know Calhoun's a jerk, but…"

"But you're not nearly so willing to admit the same for Vasha because she's the supposedly hottest girl in school, is that it?" Cassara hissed.

"Stand down, little lady, stand down!" Coach Hassleberry interrupted. "You guys aren't enemies here, you know."

"Hmmm…yeah, Coach, you're right about that," Cassara said thoughtfully. "It's those two bullies, Calhoun and Vasha. They need to be taught a lesson—they're not the bosses of us!"

"But what're your tactics gonna be?" Coach Hassleberry inquired. "You can't just storm 'em—they've already got quite a lot of defenses set up. And besides that, outright fighting will get you a dishonorable discharge from this here Academy, so that particular tactic is a no-no, anyway."

"Another point right there," Janus sighed dejectedly. "And in any case, Calhoun's the sports king of Duel Academy—give him a sport to do, he'll ace it, no problem. And right now he's the top duelist of Obelisk Blue…everybody's scared to duel him."

"And Vasha's got the smarts to go with her looks, plus she's got her own little fan-club by her side." Cassara leaned against the wall and exhaled hard. "Everything's stacked in their favor…this isn't fair!"

"Now, now, little soldiers, don't give up just yet—you just haven't thought about your strategy long enough, is all," Coach Hassleberry told them. "Tell you what—take the rest of the day and think about it. Just make sure that whatever you plan, it'll be enough to put those two in their place. Because honestly, I'm not gonna tolerate divas and bullies in these barracks as long as I'm around. You have my word on that." And he thumped his own chest to emphasize the point.

"Ten-four!" Janus grinned and saluted.

"Well, let's think about it later—we gotta get to class! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Coach!" Cassara turned and ran off down the hallway.

"H-hey, Cass! Wait for me!" Janus ran after her, leaving Coach Hassleberry behind with a knowing smirk on his face.

----------

In an isolated section of the hallway…

"Mmmm!" Vasha moaned as Calhoun's lips were pressed tightly against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting him to come even closer to her; he, in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her in to him as their kissing intensified in heat.

"Heh…you liked that, didn't you?" Calhoun asked throatily, once their mouths finally parted.

"Hell, yeah," she panted. "Calhoun, baby, you know how I get when I see you ready to smash somebody's face in for me…it's so hot and sexy!"

"You're a crazy bitch," Calhoun smirked playfully.

"And that's why you love me," Vasha grinned. "But you know what would get me even crazier?"

"Taking you right here in the hallway?" Calhoun barely suppressed laughter.

"Close enough, big boy," Vasha replied, tapping his nose with her finger. "What I'm thinking of is you finishing what Coach Hassleberry interrupted back there…"

"Heh…just say where and when you want me to do that little bastard," said Calhoun.

"How about today, after final class period, in the dueling arena in the auditorium?" Vasha suggested.

Calhoun stopped short at that. He stared hard at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, baby; think about it," Vasha coaxed him. "Now that James Truesdale isn't here right now, you're Obelisk Blue's top duelist. And sure, that little punk Janus got a high place in the World Championships, and beat Drake Phoenix this morning—but all of that was a fluke, it had to be. So, crush him in the very thing he claims to be best at, and that way you'll really be able to humiliate him. Make him grovel. Make him beg for mercy. And show him none."

"Since when have I ever shown anybody mercy who was enough of a dumbass to challenge me?" Calhoun queried.

"Exactly. So, big boy, you up for that?"

Calhoun seemed to consider it for a moment. Then suddenly a grin flashed across his face. "Aw, what the hell. It HAS been a while since I showed off my dueling skills for you, Vasha."

"There you go," said Vasha. "Now come here and kiss me again." And she put her hand behind his head and drew him in for another smooching session.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY CAFETERIA, LATER THAT DAY

"Okay! Hello, food room—Janus is in the house!" Janus shouted in singsong as he burst into the cafeteria.

"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Big Gut himself," a few Ra Yellow students remarked good-naturedly. "Yo, Janus, they've got the apple pie special today!"

Janus's eyes went as wide as saucers. "A…a…apple pie special?" he whispered. "With the cinnamon crust…?"

"The very same, man!" one of the Ra Yellows replied. "Better get 'em before they're done!"

"I'm on it!" Janus nodded rapidly, quickly grabbing a tray from a nearby table and hurrying to one of the lines.

In the early days of Duel Academy's history, each of the three dorms had had its own cafeteria, with varying degrees of quality in food preparation and appeal. Nowadays, however, there was one big building flanking the main auditorium that served as both kitchen and cafeteria. The cafeteria section of that building was built to seat at least one third of the student populace; quite a number of the students usually preferred eating lunch outside as opposed to eating in the cafeteria. As for the original dorm cafeterias, they had since been converted into extra living space for students.

Now, as Janus waited to be served, he felt a poking in his back. "Huh?" He turned—and came face-to-face with Ricardo. "Oh, hey there, dude. What's up?"

"Soup's up today, that's what," Ricardo chuckled. "They've got red pea soup on the menu."

"Red _pee_ soup? Shouldn't you go to the doctor about that?" Janus grinned.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Ricardo scowled. "Oh, looks like you're up."

Janus nodded and stepped forward to the counter where the cook, a heavy-set woman in an apron and chef's hat awaited him. "Okay, kid, what'll it be?" she asked in a gruff voice.

"I'll have the Super Steak combo…and a side order of the apple pie special, please," Janus said as politely as possible, and handed in his tray.

"All right…be right back, then," and the cook disappeared.

"You seem quite gung-ho about the apple pie special," Ricardo remarked.

"Why not? It's possibly THE best thing on the cafeteria's dessert menu!" Janus exclaimed.

"I'm afraid I have to disagree on that point," Ricardo answered. "The corn pudding is what's _really_ good."

"Nuh-uh! It's the apple pie!" Janus frowned.

"I say it's the corn pudding," Ricardo reiterated.

"Apple pie!"

"Corn pudding!"

"Apple pie!"

"Corn pudding!"

"HEY! QUIT IT!"

Startled, Janus and Ricardo saw immediately that the cook was back with Janus's tray piled with food. "Here you go, kid," she said in her gruff manner. "And it's real flattering you guys like my pastries so much—but I've still got people to serve, so take your squabbling somewhere else, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Janus and Ricardo said in subdued and humbled voices.

"Hey, Janus, Ricardo! Come on over here when you guys are done!"

Ricardo turned in the direction of the new voice. "Ah, Cassara! All right, we'll be there in a jiffy!"

Janus swiftly picked up his tray and hurried over to Cassara's table, where she was sitting with Natasha. On the table in front of the girls were their own lunch trays, their food untouched. "How long have you been here? You haven't eaten anything yet!" Janus remarked as he sat down.

"It was Natasha's idea," Cassara explained. "She wanted to wait on you and Ricardo before eating…and I couldn't conscientiously eat in front of her, so…"

"Now all we need is Ricardo to hurry up and come over here, and then the whole gang is set!" Natasha said happily.

"Okay, then…while we're waiting on Ricardo, let's see what you guys got to eat," and Janus now surveyed their trays. Cassara had a baked potato and some fried chicken on her tray, as well as a cup of juice; Natasha had spaghetti and meatballs on her tray, with a side order of a tomato salad. "Hmmm…okay…"

"Oh, so, what, you're a food critic now?" Cassara eyed him.

"Maaaayyyybeeee," Janus teased.

"Well, to be a food critic you have to actually _taste_ the food," Cassara told him. "And NO, Janus Yuki, you are NOT getting any of my fried chicken! No way, no how!"

"Like I'd ask you for any of your burnt bird, anyway," Janus scoffed.

"W-what? My chicken's not burnt!" Cassara sputtered. "Just look! Do you see any signs of burning on it?"

"Hmmm, I can't tell from this angle…" Suddenly, before Cassara could blink, Janus's hand was in her tray snatching up one of her chicken pieces! Then the next thing she knew, he was casually chewing away at the stolen piece. "Nope, guess it's not burnt after all," Janus remarked between bites. "In fact, it's perfect!"

Cassara's face turned red. "You little thief! You did that on purpose!"

"Hey, you said it yourself—to be a food critic…" And Janus took another bite of the chicken.

"Well, I'm paying you back in spades for that!" Cassara swiftly grabbed her fork and stabbed at Janus's tray—but ended up hitting the bare table instead. "What the…!"

"Nya-nya!" Janus teased, holding his tray safely out of harm's way. "Janus: 1; Cassara: 0! I win again!"

"What's going on here all of a sudden? Why the hyperactivity?" Ricardo's voice reached the trio. Looking up, they saw him approaching the table with a bowl of steaming-hot soup.

"Janus just stole a piece of my fried chicken!" Cassara complained. "And it was my favorite piece, too!"

"Well, that's Janus for you," Ricardo shrugged, sitting down. "What else were you expecting?"

"Okay, guys! Now that Ricardo's here, we can really eat! So let's dig in!" Natasha said gleefully, picking up her fork and digging into her spaghetti and meatballs with gusto.

"Way ahead of you there!" Janus started chewing into his steak with relish.

Cassara eyed Janus with disgust plain on her face. "To say you eat like a pig would be an insult to pigs," she grumbled.

"What are you, my mother?" Janus asked even as his mouth was full of chewed-up food. "I'm a healthy, well-developing boy! It's only right that I should have such a good appetite as this!"

"Ugh…Ricardo, you mind switching seats? I'd like to be able to eat and not watch Janus eat at the same time," Cassara pleaded.

Ricardo calmly sipped at his soup spoon. "Sorry, Cassara," he said matter-of-factly. "I would, but then I'd have to risk Janus's chewing splashing food particles into my soup. At least where I'm sitting right now, the soup's relatively safe from that danger."

"…you're of no help…" Cassara sighed.

Janus paused in his chewing. "Oh, yeah, almost forgot—I was meaning to ask you girls," he spoke to Cassara and Natasha. "Which is better—the apple pie or the corn pudding?"

"Oh, geez—not this again," Cassara rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

"Yes, Janus, was there even a need to bring that up?" Ricardo wondered. "Honestly…"

Natasha shrugged. "Well, if you ask me, they're both okay, I guess," she remarked. "Personally, though, I prefer the cherry cheesecake."

"Ew! Cheesecake is GROSS!" Cassara made a face.

"Doesn't stop you from eating other things with cheese in them," Natasha pointed out. "Like the cheeseburgers, or the cheese-steak sandwiches, or the cheese-dogs, or the macaroni and cheese, or…"

"Okay, okay, I get the point!" Cassara grumbled. "It's just that 'cheese' and 'cake' don't mix in my book!"

"Well, whatever," Janus sighed. "As far as I'm concerned, the apple pie is the best of all…" And he looked fondly at his tray, at the slice of pie which was neatly wrapped in foil paper.

"Which is why a runt like you doesn't deserve it!"

All at once, taking all four of the kids by surprise, a heavy hand reached down in front of Janus and snatched the pie slice from his tray! "Hey! What's the big idea?" Janus demanded, swiveling in his seat to confront the perpetrator.

Standing there was Calhoun Vincente, the pie in one hand. Behind him were several sneering Obelisk Blue boys. "So, you lust after my girl, get bailed out of a face-pounding thanks to Coach Hassleberry, and then expect to have a taste of the cafeteria's apple pie?" Calhoun scoffed. "I don't think so, kid."

"Give back my pie!" Janus snapped.

"Hmmm…" Calhoun rubbed his chin in contemplation. Then he turned to the Obelisk Blue lackeys behind him. "What do you think, boys? Should we give him back the pie?"

"No way, Calhoun!" one of them immediately replied. "I say you go ahead and eat it yourself!" That suggestion was met with whoops of approval from the others.

"I swear, if you even dare to…" Janus started.

Ricardo swiftly got up and put a hand on Janus's shoulder. "Janus, don't do anything stupid now," he warned. "Even the apple pie's not worth it…"

"You can talk—you don't even LIKE the stuff!" Janus shot at him, fangs in his mouth.

"Hey, kid, you can relax a bit," Calhoun spoke up. "I'll give back your pie…" This elicited a groan of disappointment from his lackeys. "…but only on one condition!"

Janus cocked an eyebrow at him. "And that is?"

Calhoun opened the foil paper with his fingers, gradually revealing the apple pie slice—a big, thick-looking slice with a golden-brown crust. His eyes bore directly into Janus's. "You and me, in a duel, after final period today, down in the auditorium's arena. And also, I'll be setting up a few terms and conditions for that duel, when you arrive. If you agree to duel, I'll give back your precious pie. If not…"

"I accept!" Janus snapped. "And I'm gonna win, for real!"

"Janus, are you crazy?" Cassara demanded. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into here?"

"Yeah, Janus—it could be a trap!" Natasha added worriedly.

"I'm not scared of this bastard," Janus declared. "If it's a duel he wants, then it's a duel he'll get! All right, Calhoun…after final period today, I'll be there!"

"You'd better be," said Calhoun. "Oh, and about this pie…"

All at once, without warning, he put the pie slice to his mouth and took a gigantic bite! "AH! NO! MY PIE!" Janus cried out.

"That was low, Calhoun!" Natasha exclaimed. "You said you'd give it back if Janus accepted your challenge—and he did!"

"Yeah, I did say I'd give it back," Calhoun nodded while still chewing. "I just didn't say I'd give it back in one piece! Okay, runt—here's your pie!"

Leaning over the table, he set the uneaten portion of Janus's pie next to the tray—then spat out what he'd been chewing, right into the middle of Janus's food! "There you go, just like I promised!" he jeered.

"Good one, dude!" his cronies laughed out loud. And with that they all whooped and hollered in glee as they stomped out of the cafeteria.

Janus and the gang watched as Calhoun and his cronies made their exit. Then, one by one, they turned to look at the blob of chewed-up apple pie resting neatly on top of Janus's food, with the uneaten portion set beside the tray. "Ew…" Natasha flinched at the disgusting sight.

"Um…suddenly I'm not so hungry anymore," Ricardo said quietly.

Cassara looked at Janus's tray for a long moment, then turned to look at Janus himself. "Janus…?"

Janus's hair was overshadowing the upper half of his face. Without a word, he turned and started to walk away. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Cassara cried.

Janus stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn to look back. "I…am going…to spend the rest of lunch period structuring my deck for later." And then he resumed walking away, even as the curious eyes of other students followed him.

Ricardo sighed as he watched Janus leave. "Well…I guess the old saying is true. A hungry man is an angry man, indeed."

Cassara shook her head. _Janus…_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY TEACHER'S LOUNGE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"So…that's what happened, huh, Hassleberry?"

The question was posed by Principal Yuki, even as he took a pot of coffee off the stove and brought it over to the dining table. There were several teachers milling around the rather large teacher's lounge, most with sandwiches, several in small groups chattering amongst themselves. At the dining table itself, besides Principal Yuki, there were also Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, Coach Hassleberry, Dr. Crowler, and Professor Crosskill, all with various trays holding sandwiches or complete meals in front of them.

"Yeah, Sarge, that's just what happened," Coach Hassleberry answered, pausing to chomp into a huge hero sandwich. "Calhoun Vincente and Vasha Morrison were acting too high-and-mighty for their own good, as usual."

"Pass your coffee cups forward," said Principal Yuki as he waved the coffee pot.

"Cream and two sugars for me, please," said Professor Crosskill, pushing his cup toward Principal Yuki. Then he took off his glasses and polished the lens with a handkerchief. "I do hope you're not going to use your, ahem, parental powers to deal with this little squabble. Any conflict between students stays between students…and in any case, that kid Janus has brought it all on himself, if you ask me—stepping on the toes of the Obelisk Blue elite, so to speak."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about Jaden and me intervening just because we're Janus's parents," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki assured him. "And you don't have to worry about him getting preferential treatment, either. The first day we had him enrolled here, we made sure to let him know we weren't going to treat him any differently from the rest of the students."

"A wise move," Dr. Crowler nodded with approval, and he picked at his cucumber salad with his fork. "Although I wonder if it was wise for Coach Hassleberry to give Janus and Ms. Cassara Blackstone the kind of encouragement that he did. After all, Mr. Vincente and Ms. Morrison are among the highest-respected students in the Obelisk Blue batch."

"Oh, come off it, Crowler—they get on your nerves every single week, too, and you know it," said Coach Hassleberry. "Two creams for my coffee, please."

"I admit, they do tend to be overbearing at times," Dr. Crowler shrugged. "I suppose it's just that they show more respect to me than to anyone else on campus, seeing as I make and enforce all the rules governing the whole Obelisk Blue dorm."

Professor Crosskill bit into his sandwich and chewed. "So, what's your verdict on this, then?" he directed the question to Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki.

"Let's just see how far this goes," she replied, applying two sugars to her coffee. "If it looks as if it's going to get out of hand, then we can step in. And…could you NOT talk while you're chewing, please? It really upsets my appetite." And she flashed Professor Crosskill a withering glance.

"To table manners, good people," Principal Yuki chuckled and held up his own coffee mug.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Yep! The gauntlet is thrown and several appetites are ruined!

yamikriz: You were just using this chapter as an excuse to talk about food. Greedy bastard.

neomage: WAH! When did you get back?

rampagerkriz: Not just him—I'm here, too!

neomage: What about the others?

rampagerkriz: They'll be along in due course. In the meantime, get the fans geared up for the upcoming showdown!

neomage: True, true. REVIEW SOON!


	5. Fight for a Friend

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Kudos to Kazuki Takahashi for being the one to come up with the wonderful series that is Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 5 – Fight for a Friend**

DUEL ACADEMY LECTURE ROOM, AN HOUR LATER

"…and as he stepped off the windowsill and into empty space, all he could see waiting for him…were the smiles of his parents…just as they had used to smile for each other and for him, all those years ago," Natasha read from a big green book.

"Well done, Ms. Truesdale," the teacher nodded approval. "You may sit. Now, class, let me hear your interpretations of how tragedy may play a vital role in defining literature, based on the reading we've just heard."

Several hands shot up—mostly from the male students. Seated in one of the middle rows, Janus took note of this with an amused grin. _Boy, all the guys really want to get into Professor Flannigan's good graces, don't they now?_

It wasn't difficult to understand. The teacher, Professor Flannigan, was a real knockout—tall, with slick black hair hanging down a little past her shoulders, and something of a hypnotic smile on her cherry-red lips. She wasn't dressed provocatively at all—in fact, the closest to provocative that she currently had on was her knee-length skirt and a blouse that seemed to have reached a grudging truce with her sizeable bust. Yet she could easily pass for anyone's highly-desirable older sister or even a girl next door, even though Janus was sure that she was actually much older than her face suggested.

_Come on, Janus, stop thinking like that! Sure, she's a hottie, but she's also a teacher! And no doubt her husband would kill you!...wait, does she even have a husband, or at least a boyfriend? Maybe…ACK! QUIT IT, YOU IDIOT!_ Janus mentally chastised himself over and over, just barely refraining from slapping himself in the face openly. _At least act like you're even remotely interested in the lesson!_

Putting on his most attentive face, Janus leaned forward at his desk as he tried to listen to the discussion. He could hear Cassara's voice, at the far end of the room: "But, Professor Flannigan, couldn't it be said that the events of literary tragedies are just as likely to building a person's character as they are to breaking down character?"

"What makes you say that, Ms. Blackstone?" Professor Flannigan inquired.

"All right," said Cassara. "Take, for example, the passage that was just read. The boy in the story was distraught at his parents' divorce, and couldn't live with the knowledge that the perfect family he'd had for so long was disintegrated, so he chose to end his pain with suicide. But if someone else were to live that same experience, they might be just as likely to, for the sake of argument, take that experience as fodder for a future career in psychological or psychiatric counseling—by drawing on their own painful experience, they would be better able to relate to their clients and give more sound and lasting advice."

Professor Flannigan rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Interesting view…would anyone else care to add to that?"

Suddenly Janus felt something tapping on his elbow. "Huh?" He turned and saw a Ra Yellow student beside him, holding out a folded piece of paper to him. "What's this?"

"Someone said to pass this to you," the student whispered.

Puzzled, Janus took the paper from the student and examined it. The paper was folded well, and stapled together. On one side it read: _To Janus Yuki._ Cocking an eyebrow, Janus gingerly pulled the staples out and unfolded the paper…

…and when it was fully open, his eyes widened at what he saw. On the paper was a very graphic drawing of his own face, with a knife sticking through the skull and blood squirting out of both ends! _Holy crap!_

Janus looked up, his eyes swiftly scanning the room…and then his gaze rested squarely on Calhoun Vincente, who was sitting in one corner with his flunkies flanking him. Looking up at that very moment, Calhoun noticed Janus looking his way…and waved at him, a sneer on his face.

_Why, that bastard…_ Janus's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth as he glared at Calhoun. _All right—more than ever, you're gonna get that duel today! Trust me on that!_

"Mr. Yuki…Mr. Yuki!"

"Huh?" Janus snapped his head in Professor Flannigan's direction. "Yes, ma'am?"

Professor Flannigan smirked. "Would you please read the next piece for discussion—on page 134? Begin from the second paragraph."

"Yes, Professor," Janus nodded. Crumpling the drawing-threat in his fist, he shoved it into his pocket, then took up his book and stood, flipping to the designated page.

----------

AN HOUR LATER

The students milled out of the classroom, all talking excitedly to their respective friends. Cassara was mixed in with the crowd—but in stark contrast she was feeling far from jovial, for a slight frown was on her face. _Janus…I hope you're not still upset about what happened at lunch today…_

She'd seen his demeanor when Professor Flannigan had called on him to read. Even as he'd read the passage asked of him, Cassara had noticed how tense he looked; that there was a dark expression in his eyes similar to that look on his face when Calhoun had spoiled his lunch. _Come on, Janus, don't let them get to you…you know better than that!_ she mentally scolded him.

At length she walked up to a restroom door. _Well, no use worrying about the whole thing with Calhoun now…that's all for later. Better just freshen up and head back to the dorm for now, since I don't have any more class for the day…_

She stepped through the doorway, heading for the female section of the restroom. Going to the sink, she turned on the tap and splashed some cold water on her face. Running her wet hands through her hair, she then reached for the paper-towel roll sitting nearby…

…just as someone grabbed her from behind, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle any noise she might make…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, LATER THAT DAY

Janus sat on the grass outside the Osiris Red dorm, looking down at his Duel-Disk and his deck. _Okay…just another ten minutes before I have to go to the auditorium. Good thing I didn't have any class for final period—gave me a chance to go through my deck again…_

Mechanically, he shuffled through his deck again, counting off the cards as he glanced at each one. _Only question is, though, CAN I actually beat Calhoun? I mean, he's the top of the tops of Obelisk Blue now! I may never have actually seen his deck strategy, but he's got to be really good for him to have the prestige he's got in the Blue dorm…_

Suddenly a loud growl could be heard—and Janus grimaced and held his middle. "And on top of that, I'm starving…they can't possibly expect me to duel on an empty stomach…" he moaned, rolling about on the grass.

"Ah, there you are, Janus!" Ricardo's voice reached him. "I was hoping to find you before your duel with Calhoun."

"Oh, yeah?" Janus questioned, looking up at his friend. "Well, please tell me you've got some food on you…even a candy bar will do wonders…" and then he grimaced and held his middle again as his stomach rumbled.

"As a matter of fact…" Ricardo reached into his jacket. "Seeing as how Calhoun spoiled our appetites at lunchtime today, I managed to get a few things from the fridge in my room. Here you go." And then he pulled out a huge sandwich, wrapped in towel-paper!

Janus was instantly on his feet, his nose wiggling. "Beef! Cheese! Pepper sauce!" he gushed, his mouth drooling. "GIMME!" And he snatched the sandwich from Ricardo and promptly chomped into it with feverish haste.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Ricardo laughed, pulling out a juice box and opening it. "I only have one juice box here, so don't go choking yourself to death." And he took a sip from the box.

"Janus! You can't spend time eating—you have to duel Calhoun, remember?"

Looking up, Janus saw Natasha running from her dorm room towards him and Ricardo. "I've still got time, Natasha, don't worry about," he called back to her. "Anyway, we can always jog to the auditorium—it's not like it's a big distance off."

"I guess," Natasha answered, now approaching the boys. "And by the way, has either of you seen Cassara? I went by her room a while ago, but she wasn't there."

Janus shrugged. "For all we know, she could be at the auditorium already, waiting for us," he suggested. "I'll bet you anything she's going to yell at me for being late for the duel."

"That's a bet I'd rather not take—we know how vocal she can get when she's ready," Ricardo laughed, albeit a tad nervously. "So, then, let's hurry and skedaddle, shall we?"

"Yeah, what he said!" Natasha nodded. With that she turned and ran off in the direction of the auditorium.

"Hey, hold up! Can't I at least finish my sandwich first?" Janus protested.

"Eat while you run!" Ricardo, already running behind Natasha, flung over his shoulder.

"Oh, great…" Janus grumbled as he hurried after the other two.

----------

A few minutes later they arrived outside the auditorium, Janus still munching on his sandwich. "How late are we, really?" he asked between bites.

Ricardo glanced down at his watch. "By two minutes," he reported. "But then again, perhaps Calhoun might decide to do a fashionably late entrance—he's done it before, after all."

"I just hope Cassara doesn't miss this," Natasha worried as they went in.

"Don't be so worried about it, Natasha," Janus told her. "Like I said, she's probably already inside waiting on us. You know how strict she gets with punctuality, after all."

The trio continued into the auditorium—and stopped. The hall lights were off, and there was no sign of anyone around. "What did I tell you? Fashionably late," Ricardo chuckled.

"But Cassara should be here, at least," Janus surmised. "Hey, Cassara! You in here? Where are you?"

A brief echo throughout the auditorium followed his shout. "Hmmm…guess she's not here yet, either," said Natasha. "But where could she be?"

_CHA-CLANK!_ All at once the overhead lights turned on, flooding the entire room in illumination. "Hey!" Janus yelled out, as he and the others instinctively shielded their eyes from the sudden glare.

"Glad to see you and your friends could make it, twerp…I was starting to think you'd chickened out at the last minute," a familiar voice spoke up from seemingly nowhere. This was followed by devilish snickering.

"Hey, Calhoun! Come on out here and fight like a man!" Janus snapped.

"As you wish." Then, the next thing they knew, the trio heard footsteps coming from the other exit on the opposite side of the dueling platform…and there, approaching the arena, was Calhoun Vincente himself, a confident smirk on his face.

Swiftly Janus pulled out his Duel-Disk and strapped it on. "All right, then! Now that you're here, bring it on!" he challenged.

"Ah-ah-ah—not just yet," Calhoun reprimanded him, wagging a disapproving finger. "Or did you forget what I told you at lunchtime already? Remember, I said there were going to be a few conditions and terms attached to this duel that I'd explain once you came."

"Oh…oh, yeah, you did say that, didn't you?" Janus frowned. "All right, then, fine. What are your terms?"

Calhoun raised one of his hands and snapped his fingers. "Boys and girls…?"

Then, from the shadows behind Calhoun, there came his lackeys from the cafeteria incident, all of them grinning maliciously at Janus. With them were more boys, some from Ra Yellow, a few from Osiris Red. Alongside the boys were several girls, the same girls from Vasha's clique, with Vasha herself at their head. And…with the group was Cassara, her mouth gagged and her hands bound behind her back, forcibly marched ahead of one of the bigger boys!

"Oh my god…" Ricardo's eyes widened with shock.

"Cassara! Are you okay?" Natasha cried.

Janus turned on Calhoun's group immediately. "You bastards! What have you done to her?"

"Nothing yet, dweeb," Vasha spoke up. "But that can change in an instant if you don't listen to what our dearly beloved Calhoun has to say." And as she said that, the boy herding Cassara along suddenly pulled out a ratchet knife, flicking it open and holding the blade to her neck!

"CASSARA!" Natasha screamed, ready to run forward.

"Natasha—stop!" Ricardo managed to hold her back. "There's no telling what they might do if we make a false move. We have to keep our cool here."

"Keep our cool? How can we do that, Ricardo? They've got a knife to her throat!" Natasha cried, frantic.

"Natasha…calm down."

"Huh?" Both Ricardo and Natasha turned to look at Janus.

Janus gave Calhoun a steely look. "What…are…your terms?"

Calhoun chuckled. "You and I will duel right here, inside this arena. If you win, then I'll release your little friend, safe and sound, no strings attached, and all of you get to leave without any interference from us. However…if you _lose…"_ Here his eyes flashed.

"Yes? If I lose, what happens?" Janus prompted him.

Calhoun nodded confidently. "If you lose, Janus…you must turn over your Duel-Disk and all of your cards to me, swear never to have anything to do with Duel Monsters ever again, and do all of my boys' homework for the rest of the year. In addition to that, your little friend here…" He gestured toward Cassara. "…she will become the personal slave for Vasha and her group of girls for this whole school year, and neither you nor your friends must interfere with anything we do with her."

"That's right," Vasha laughed. "That last bit will be _perfect_ revenge for her calling me and my girls the 'Bitch Brigade.' Isn't that right…" She reached over and took some of Cassara's hair in her hand. "…little _bitch?"_ And as she emphasized the last word, she yanked hard on Cassara's hair, prompting a gagged yelp of pain from the girl.

"…and here I actually held a crush on YOU…" Janus growled with utter distaste.

"A waste of time and brainpower," Vasha shook her in mock sadness. "Calhoun's all the man I'll ever want or need. As far as I'm concerned, you haven't even reached puberty yet." And all the other students laughed when she said this.

"Enough time-wasting, now," said Calhoun. "Let's get on with the show…or maybe you're going to change your mind about dueling me, now? Of course, if you do that, it'll count as an automatic loss, and the terms will still apply."

"Crap…" Ricardo gritted his teeth. "If Janus loses, then both his and Cassara's freedom will be stripped away by these guys! And if he forfeits…!"

"There's no way out of this…is there?" Natasha asked sadly, falling to her knees.

"Oh, come on—you guys really think I'm going to lose or back out now?" Janus demanded.

The two looked at him with astonishment. "But, Janus…!" Natasha began.

"No buts about it," Janus interrupted her. "It's very simple, really. If I lose, or if I surrender now, they'll turn me and Cassara into their personal slaves and beating sticks. That simply means, then, that I have to win this…" Suddenly he grinned. "And trust me, that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

Calhoun laughed loudly. "Ha! You sure sound confident…for a kid who wins his duels through fluke victories!"

"Fluke victories, huh?" Janus eyed him. "Why don't we put that to the test, then? I'll show you and everybody else here that my third-place achievement in the World Championships and my win against Drake this morning weren't flukes at all—and I'll prove it by defeating you with THIS deck!" He held his deck aloft for all to see.

"Interesting," Calhoun smirked. "Very well, then. Let's get into this!"

All eyes were on the two as they climbed up on the dueling platform from their respective ends. Cassara, in particular, had her eyes focused on Janus. _Janus…please win!_ she silently implored him.

Vasha crossed her arms and smirked boldly as she watched Calhoun. _Go ahead, baby! Show this brat why you and you alone are king of the hill!_

Both boys placed their decks into their respective slots. Both their life points came on display, at 8000 apiece. Then they both yelled out: "Bring it on!"

**JANUS: 8000; CALHOUN: 8000**

The holographic coin appeared on the field. "Since you're the one being challenged, the least I can do is let you call the toss," Calhoun remarked.

"Fine, then," answered Janus. "I call tails!"

Then the coin was flipped…and spun in the air. It came back down to the ground with a loud _plink…_and on its face was tails! "Awesome! Then I get the first turn!" Janus said gleefully, drawing his first five cards.

Calhoun merely drew his first five cards as well, and smirked.

"Now, to start things off," Janus announced as he drew his sixth card, "I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Then he called forth a winged warrior with green feathers all over his body. "Then I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn for the moment."

"That is your opening move? I can do much, much better than that with the deck I wield!" Calhoun swiftly drew his card. "And you've just made it even easier for me, too!"

"What?" Janus asked.

Calhoun then held up one of the cards in his hand for Janus to see. "You see this card here? This is my Alien Skull (ATK 1600, DEF 1800). It's got an effect that allows me to Special Summon it from my hand to your side of the field…by tributing one of your Level 3 or lower monsters! And your Avian is a Level 3 monster, so…"

To Janus's astonishment, suddenly a bright light seemed to shine on Avian from above—and then the winged warrior disappeared! Then…in his place there stood a skeletal-looking creature with liquid-like limbs and mysterious blue orbs protruding from its body. As it raised its head and let out an ear-piercing shriek, suddenly a light green orb emerged and began to circle around the alien's body.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Calhoun added. "If Alien Skull is Special Summoned in the way I just summoned him, he gets what is called an A-Counter. And, in addition to that, I'm not allowed to Normal Summon or Set any monsters the same turn. So…I'll place two cards facedown, and end my turn for a little while."

Vasha smiled as she observed all of this. _Perfect, Calhoun…you've got him right where you want him!_

"Hey, thanks for the stronger monster…I think," Janus said to Calhoun as he drew another card, giving him five in hand. "Well, anyway, now I summon Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin (ATK 600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" He then called forth a humanoid blue dolphin with black boots on its feet.

"And now, it's time for me to act!" Calhoun spoke up suddenly. "For now I activate my trap card—Brainwashing Beam! If you have a monster with at least one A-Counter on your side of the field, this card allows me to take control of that monster!"

Suddenly, from Calhoun's flipped card, there shot a bright yellow beam that hit Alien Skull smack in the middle of its forehead. Alien Skull balked a moment, then—right before Janus's astonished eyes—it seemed to teleport from his side of the field to Calhoun's! "Aw, hell, no!" he exclaimed in dismay.

"And there's more," Calhoun told him. "As long as Brainwashing Beam remains on the field, I have control of this monster. Of course, there is a drawback…I have to remove one A-Counter from the controlled monster each time I end my turn, and if all A-Counters are removed from that monster, or that monster is destroyed, then the Brainwashing Beam card is destroyed as well. But I won't have to worry about that little side effect—for I've got this card! I activate my other trap card, Crop Circles!"

In an instant a mysterious eye design showed up on the floor under the duelists' feet even as a strange green light shone overhead. "Now, here is how the Crop Circles card works," explained Calhoun. "I activate it by sending any number of monsters from my side of the field to the Graveyard…" And as he spoke, the Alien Skull got sucked up into the green light. "Then I search my deck for any monster with 'Alien' in its name whose Level is equal to the combined level stars of the monster or monsters I sent to the Graveyard, and then I Special Summon that selected monster. Of course, the only drawback is that if I don't find a suitable monster, I take 2000 points of damage…but that won't be a big hurdle to overcome as far as I'm concerned!"

Pulling his deck out of its slot, he swiftly thumbed through his card—and his grin grew wider as he stopped on one particular card. "Now, then! Since Alien Skull was a Level 4 monster, Crop Circles will let me Special Summon one Level 4 Alien from my deck…and the one I choose is my Alien Warrior (ATK 1800, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" And then—a moment later, the green light seemed to beam down on his side of the field a massive, muscular alien creature with huge claws and a mean temperament to match!

"Oh, dear," Ricardo commented from behind Janus. "Calhoun's got Janus in a rough spot! Janus has already summoned his Aqua Dolphin in Attack Mode, which makes him vulnerable on Calhoun's next turn!"

"Come on, Janus! Do something!" Natasha cried to him.

Janus scowled as he surveyed his cards. "Well, all right, then…I'll set two more cards facedown, and that's it for now."

"Such lousy playing!" Calhoun laughed mockingly as he drew another card, giving him four in his hand. "Well, fine, then. I summon Alien Hunter (ATK 1600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And he called forth a reptilian creature in brown armor, wielding a huge spear-like weapon. "Now, Alien Hunter, destroy the Aqua Dolphin! Exterminator Skewer!"

Alien Hunter began stabbing forward with his spear at blinding speed, cutting Aqua Dolphin apart and reducing Janus's life points as a result.

**JANUS: 7000; CALHOUN: 8000**

"One weakling down—and you're next!" Calhoun jeered Janus. "Alien Warrior, attack directly!" And Alien Warrior raised its claws, ready to slash the opposition!

"I don't think so!" Janus shot back. "I activate my trap card—A Hero Emerges!"

In a moment, one of the cards he'd just set flipped face-up. "Now, you have to choose a card from my hand," Janus explained, holding up the two cards he had left. "If the card you choose is a Monster card, it gets Special Summoned to the field—otherwise, it goes to the Graveyard. So…which one will it be?"

As Alien Warrior paused in its attack, Calhoun narrowed his eyes. "Damn it…this is a real piece of work," he growled. "All right, fine! I choose…the card on the left!"

Janus examined the card that had been chosen…and smirked. "Bad choice, man! Now I can Special Summon from my hand…Elemental Hero Bladedge (ATK 2600, DEF 1800)!"

A shower of golden sparks exploded all over Janus's side of the field…then, standing there was a tall warrior in gold body armor with huge blades attached to his wrists! "Shit…that's a whole lot of ATK points…" Calhoun growled. "Alien Warrior, stand down." And Alien Warrior lowered its arms, snarling at Bladedge all the while. "I end my turn."

Immediately Janus drew another card, giving him a total of two once again. "Okay, so I didn't get off to much of a start," he acknowledged, "but that doesn't mean I can't still beat you! And I've got the cards in my hand to prove it!"

"Do you, now?" Calhoun asked.

"I sure do!" Janus nodded. "Now, first I'll activate the magic of Pot of Greed, to draw two cards from my deck!" And he did so swiftly, so now he held three cards. "Then, I'll activate the magic card, O – Oversoul! This card allows me to Special Summon one Normal monster from my Graveyard that happens to have 'Elemental Hero' in its name…and I choose Avian, in Defense Mode!"

A huge gust of wind blew up from the ground underneath Janus's feet…then seconds later Elemental Hero Avian was back, this time crouched in a defensive stance. Then Janus held up one of the two cards remaining in his hand. "And now, I'll activate the Magic card, Polymerization! This will let me fuse my Avian with the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) in my hand to form an even stronger creature…"

"Say what?" Calhoun exclaimed in surprise.

A ghostly silhouette of Elemental Hero Burstinatrix appeared on the field next to Avian…then both monsters got sucked into a mysterious whirlpool vortex that seemed to appear from out of nowhere! "And here he is, ladies and gentlemen!" Janus announced. "Say hello to…Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK 2100, DEF 1200)!"

As Janus finished speaking…there stepped from out of the portal a green-feathered warrior with a single white wing on his back, a big red dragon's head for his entire right arm, and a spiny red tail. "Damn it! Now I have to contend with _two_ powerhouse monsters?" Calhoun cried in dismay.

"You better believe it!" Janus nodded. "Okay! Bladedge, slice his Alien Hunter apart!" And in response, Bladedge dashed forward at superhuman speed, slashing downward with one of his blades. Alien Hunter lifted his spear to block—but ended up getting cut in two anyway, even as Calhoun's life points went down to 7000, tying him with Janus.

**JANUS: 7000; CALHOUN: 7000**

"And now, Flame Wingman, it's your turn!" Janus commanded. "Burn his Alien Warrior with your Skydive Scorcher Attack!" And Flame Wingman, flapping his one single wing, suddenly flew high up into the air, his whole body turning into flame as he rocketed back downward and crashed into Alien Warrior with a massive explosion! Calhoun was forced back a little by the scorching heat of the blast even as his life points went down further.

**JANUS: 7000; CALHOUN: 6700**

"Oh, and there's still Flame Wingman's effect to deal with, as well," Janus added. "When he destroys a monster in battle, his power deals damage to my opponent's life points equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster!"

"NO!" Calhoun cried out. But to his horror, Flame Wingman raised his dragon arm and blasted him with a full hot sheet of flame; Calhoun screamed out in pain as his life points dropped by 1800 points.

**JANUS: 7000; CALHOUN: 4900**

"No! Baby!" Vasha cried.

Cassara breathed a sigh of relief through her nostrils, as her mouth was still gagged. _Nice comeback there, Janus! Now hurry up and get me away from these creeps!_

As smoke rose off his body from Flame Wingman's attack, Calhoun's hair partially overshadowed his eyes. Then—he began to chuckle. "Heh, heh, heh…"

"Huh?" Natasha blinked. "Um, Ricardo, why is he laughing?"

"Maybe he's laughing out of disbelief that his monsters were just destroyed," Ricardo suggested.

Then Calhoun looked back up. "Hey, nerd, that was a pretty decent attempt there, I'll give you that…but see what your effort has given you in return! Take a good look at your Flame Wingman!"

Janus turned to look at his monster—and his eyes widened in shock. "Whoa! Where—where'd those things come from?"

For now, circling around Flame Wingman were two green orbs of light! "That's what he gets for destroying my Alien Warrior," Calhoun answered. "For when Alien Warrior is destroyed in battle, its effect puts two A-Counters on the monster that destroyed it…in this case, your Flame Wingman."

"Damn…again with those A-Counter things?" Janus groaned.

"Don't worry, they won't be getting on your nerves for much longer," Calhoun assured him as he drew his next card, giving him four in hand. "Or then again…you just might have to contend with them a while longer."

"Oh? Why's that?" Janus demanded.

"Because of what I'm going to do next!" Calhoun held up one of his cards. "I activate the Magic card, Corruption Cell 'A'! This allows me to place one A-Counter on one of your face-up monsters…and since your Bladedge doesn't have any yet, he's gonna get one right now!"

The next thing Janus knew, a green orb of light was circling around Bladedge's body, too. "This is highly annoying," he grumbled.

"Maybe not as much as this is going to be!" Calhoun answered. "Now…I summon my Alien Psychic (ATK 200, DEF 100) in Attack Mode!" And then there appeared on his side of the field a worm-like alien—but all of a sudden it lowered its body and curled up in a defensive stance!

"H-huh?" Janus exclaimed in surprise. "Did that thing…just go into Defense Mode? But that's not right!"

"Actually, it is," Calhoun informed him. "That's Alien Psychic's effect—when it's Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, it's automatically shifted into Defense Mode. And, another thing…as long as Alien Psychic is face-up, monsters that have A-Counters on them—like your two Elemental Heroes—can't declare an attack!"

"Hmmm…ingenious," Ricardo said thoughtfully.

"No, it's not!" Natasha turned and kicked him in the shin. "Just whose side are you supposed to be on, anyway? At least cheer for Janus or something!"

"Ouch…go, Janus…!" Ricardo cried, wincing from the pain in his shin as he hopped about on one foot.

"And next, I'll set one card facedown, and then I think I'll take a break," said Calhoun. "So, runt? Still believe your wins up to now weren't flukes?"

"I don't just believe it—I KNOW it!" Janus answered, drawing his next card to replenish his hand. "And now, I activate the magic card, E – Emergency Call! This allows me to add one Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." Swiftly he pulled out his deck and thumbed through it, eventually finding the card he was looking for. "And the one I choose is…Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

"And, once again, that's a lousy move!" Calhoun taunted him. "Because now I activate my trap card—a second Brainwashing Beam! Hopefully you remember what it does…and I'll use its effect this time to take control of your Bladedge!" And as he said that, a beam of light shot out from his trap card, hitting Bladedge in the forehead…and Bladedge jumped over to Calhoun's side of the field, the A-Counter he sported glowing wildly!

"Shit—not this again!" Janus exclaimed.

"Ha, ha!" Calhoun laughed loudly. "Your Elemental Hero Neos needed two tributes to summon, right? Well, too bad—he won't be given the opportunity to come to the field now! And as for you, you can kiss any hope you may have had of winning this duel goodbye!"

He drew his next card, giving him two in hand—and his eyes lit up as he saw what he'd just drawn. "Heh…now things are about to get very interesting, indeed," he chuckled. "Now, then! I'm going to offer Bladedge as a tribute to summon something that'll make you shit your pants! Come and claim this field as your own…Cosmic Horror Gangi'el (ATK 2600, DEF 2000)!"

Bladedge and the Brainwashing Beam card vanished in a shower of sparks…and then suddenly a massive shadow engulfed the field. "Um…what the hell is going on…?" Janus asked warily.

Calhoun crossed his arms and chuckled. "Just look up."

Janus turned his head upwards—and his jaw dropped. "Holy…!"

Ricardo and Natasha were looking on with shock on their faces, as well. "My god…!" Ricardo whispered.

Slowly descending to Calhoun's side of the field was a massive alien creature with numerous tentacles protruding from the lower half of its body. "Impressed?" Calhoun queried. "Now, normally I'd need two tributes to summon him since he's a Level 7 monster, but…if I happen to tribute a monster on my side of the field that belongs to my opponent, like I did with your Bladedge, then Gangi'el only requires one tribute to be summoned. And now…time to knock your Flame Wingman out of existence! Go, Gangi'el—show him why you are the king!"

Gangi'el raised two of its tentacles, then brought them flying down upon Flame Wingman, intent on crushing him! "No! Janus!" Natasha screamed.

Cassara, watching from her captive place beside Vasha and the rest of Calhoun's gang, looked on with eyes growing in fear. _Janus…!_

"LIKE HELL!" Janus snapped. "I activate my trap card, Hero Barrier! If I have an Elemental Hero on my side of the field, I can negate one enemy monster's attack!"

All at once one of his two facedown cards flipped face-up—and a massive shield of energy emerged in front of Flame Wingman, just as Gangi'el's tentacles came crashing down. The shield easily deflected the tentacles, forcing them back to their main body. "So there!" Janus said triumphantly.

Ricardo and Natasha heaved sighs of relief. "Geez…that Janus…making people worry so much…" Ricardo breathed.

Cassara let loose a sigh of her own from under her gag, too. _Nice one, Janus…you really had me worried for a minute there…_

Vasha glanced over and saw the relief in Cassara's face. "Oh, I hope you're not entertaining any thoughts of that little punk winning this duel," she said mockingly. "Calhoun! Get rid of that twerp, already!"

"All right, all right." Calhoun waved away her concern. Then he turned back to Janus. "Seriously though, kid, you're really starting to piss me off. Most duelists would've just given up or lain on the ground in defeat by now. You should follow their example."

"Yeah, well, I'm not most duelists," Janus answered. "And I'm not stopping till you're beaten. Then I'm taking Cassara from you guys, and we're getting out of here."

"I don't think so," Calhoun growled at him. "Sure, you may have saved yourself this turn, but now what? You don't have a single card that can help you against my Alien force…and anyway, what are the odds of you actually getting a card that will do you any good at this point?"

Janus smirked. "Considering how well-synchronized my deck tends to be…and considering my motivation to kick your ass…I'd say the odds are pretty much in my favor."

"Ha! Like I'm going to believe that load of crap!" Calhoun scoffed. "Well, go ahead and take your turn…not that it'll be worth it."

Janus cast a glance at his deck. _I hate to admit it, but he's got a point…my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman's got two of those blasted A-Counters on him, and thanks to that Alien Psychic's effect he can't attack…and unless I get something good this turn, that Gangi'el monster will totally cream my Wingman and pave the way for my life points to get squashed! And when that happens…Cassara and I are gonna be at these bullies' mercy for the whole year!_

He closed his eyes and placed a hand over his deck, readying himself to draw. _C'mon…please let me get something good…!_

----------

_**neomage:**_ So, then…WILL Janus get something good? Or…will he lose and be forced to endure the cruelty of Calhoun and his lackeys for the whole year?

yamikriz: YES HE WILL LOSE! MWA HA HA!

rampagerkriz: NO HE WON'T! HE'S THE MAIN CHARACTER!

yamikriz: SO? HE WAS A SUPPORTING CHARACTER IN "Yu-Gi-Oh Forever"! THAT MAKES HIM JUST AS LIKELY TO LOSE!

krizrampage: neomage…where'd you put the shotgun?

neomage: Just a sec, let me go search for it… (starts rummaging through Hammerspace)


	6. A New Comrade

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: "AHHH! THE MARTIANS WANT TO KILL US ALL!" Uh…yeah. Anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.)

**CHAPTER 6 – A New Comrade**

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM

**JANUS: 7000; CALHOUN: 4900**

As far as life points went, Janus was currently in the lead with 7000, while Calhoun had 4900. However, on the field it seemed that Calhoun was the one with the advantage—he had Cosmic Horror Gangi'el in Attack Mode and Alien Psychic in Defense Mode, while Janus had Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in Attack Mode and one other card facedown; plus, since Flame Wingman had two A-Counters on him, Alien Psychic's effect prevented him from attacking. In addition, Janus had one card in his hand, which everyone knew was his Elemental Hero Neos; Calhoun also had only one card in hand. And now, it was Janus's turn to draw.

_C'mon…please let me get something good…something worthwhile…!_ Janus silently pleaded as his hand hovered over his deck. _Or else…if I lose…!_

_"You needn't worry so much, Janus. This deck isn't going to fail you."_

"Huh?" Startled, Janus looked around. Had he just heard a voice in his head? It certainly didn't sound like any voice he knew. "Uh…who's there?"

The voice spoke again—it was a calm, paternal voice, speaking with a mixture of authority and confidence. _"Janus, the heart of the cards is with you. Do not despair—this deck of yours will see you through. Now, go ahead—draw your next card and believe that you can—and will—win."_

Then…all was silent in Janus's mind again. He glanced down at his deck. _Okay, then…here goes!_

Swiftly he drew his card, so now he held two in his hand. He looked at what he'd gotten—and his eyes widened in amazement. "Well, what do you know! Looks as if I really am going to win this, after all!"

"Huh?" Calhoun, on the other side of the arena, looked at him. "What're you babbling about?"

"Check it out!" Janus held up his card. "Now, I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (ATK 900, DEF 300) in Attack Mode!" And then—to everyone's surprise—he called forth a brown mole with drills on its shoulders.

Everyone else fell over on sight of the new creature. "What the…THAT'S his grand play?" Vasha exclaimed. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

Calhoun shakily got up; he was trying his best to stifle his laughter. "Give me a break, man! You're telling me some rat is going to help you win this duel?" he sputtered.

"First of all, he's a mole, not a rat," Janus answered, quite clearly offended. "Second, he's got a lot more power than you think—and I'll demonstrate some of it right now! Go, Grand Mole…drill through his Alien Psychic!"

Grand Mole dashed forward, his shoulder drills spinning rapidly as he barreled into the defending Alien Psychic. The drills immediately tore the alien apart, leaving nothing behind but slime! "And now that your Alien Psychic is gone, my Flame Wingman will be free to attack once again!" Janus announced triumphantly.

"Well, last time I checked, my Cosmic Horror Gangi'el still has far more ATK points than your Flame Wingman does!" Calhoun reminded him.

"Yeah…that's true, too," Janus admitted. "So, then, I'll shift Flame Wingman into Defense Mode, and call it a turn for now."

Immediately Calhoun took his turn again, drawing his card. "Now, it's time I reasserted my control over this duel," he declared, "and it's time I stopped ignoring your life points as well! So, I'll activate my Magic card, Meteor of Destruction—to inflict 1000 points of damage to you!"

A bright burst of light overhead caused Janus to look up—and he screamed out as a massive meteor slammed into his side of the field, knocking him flat! "Take that, shrimp!" Calhoun laughed out loud.

**JANUS: 6000; CALHOUN: 4900**

On the sidelines, Cassara struggled against the bonds tying her hands behind her back. _Janus…!_

Gingerly Janus stood up, smoke pouring off his clothes where the Meteor of Destruction had hit him. "That all…you got?" he growled defiantly.

"Hardly!" Calhoun answered. "Now, I'm going to summon my Alien Infiltrator (ATK 800, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" He then called a short, pudgy alien with electrical tentacles for arms. "Now…Alien Infiltrator, wipe out his Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

"WHAT?" Janus exploded.

"But—he can't do that! Flame Wingman's got higher DEF!" Natasha called out.

"Actually, kid, I _can_ do that with ease," Calhoun addressed her. "See, there's a rule that governs all of my Alien monsters, particularly where A-Counters are concerned: if a monster that has A-Counters on itself does battle with an Alien monster, that monster loses 300 ATK and DEF points for each A-Counter during the damage calculation—and since Flame Wingman's got two of them, he loses 600 ATK and DEF!" And—as if to emphasize his statement—Flame Wingman's stats suddenly shot down to 1500 ATK and 600 DEF!

"…oh, no…!" Janus's eyes widened.

"Go get him, Infiltrator!" Calhoun ordered. And the Alien Infiltrator lashed its tentacles around Flame Wingman, delivering a massive electric shock that reduced the defending warrior to nothing but ash in a matter of seconds!

"And now, it's your rat's turn!" Calhoun said scornfully. "Oops, did I say rat? I meant mole—DEAD mole, that is! Now, Gangi'el, make road kill out of that rodent!"

Gangi'el raised two of its numerous tentacles, then lashed them toward the Neo-Spacian Grand Mole. Then—suddenly, without any warning, Grand Mole began tunneling into the ground at a multi-rapid pace, getting underground just as the tentacles struck forward, missing him completely! "What—" Calhoun started—then seconds later Grand Mole shot out of the ground underneath Gangi'el, slamming into the alien monstrosity and causing both of them to explode in a shower of sparks!

"Whoa!" Ricardo and Natasha exclaimed.

Calhoun was clearly confused. "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?" he roared.

"That was my Grand Mole's effect kicking in," Janus explained with a triumphant smile. "When he attacks a monster, or is attacked by a monster, then both monsters can be returned to their respective owners' hands at the start of the Damage Step, with no damage calculation applied to either player. See here…" And he held up a card—the Neo-Spacian Grand Mole card—to prove his point.

His face turning visibly red, Calhoun took back the Cosmic Horror Gangi'el card into his hand. "I don't believe it…my Gangi'el…bested by some damn rat?"

"MOLE! He's a MOLE!" Janus snapped.

"Oh, _excuse_ me," Calhoun growled sarcastically.

Shaking his head, Janus took his turn and drew his next card so now he held three. "Well, now, what to do…oh, I know! I'll re-summon the Grand Mole to the field!" And then, a moment later, Grand Mole reappeared on the field even as his shoulder drills spun with a loud whirring noise. "Now, take down the Alien Interceptor!"

Grand Mole dashed forward again, his drills skewering the Interceptor into pieces as Calhoun's life points went down slightly.

**JANUS: 6000; CALHOUN: 4800**

"Guess you'll have to look elsewhere for a new pair of slaves, eh, Calhoun?" Janus teased, rubbing his nose playfully.

Cassara couldn't help but smile under her gag. _Way to taunt the opposition, Janus…some things don't change with the situation, do they?_

Glancing at Cassara, Vasha caught the hidden smile. Immediately she reached over and grabbed a fistful of Cassara's hair, yanking it hard. "Did anybody say you could smile for that little brat, bitch?" she hissed.

"Mmmmmrph!" Cassara cried out into her gag from the pain of her hair being pulled so violently.

_"Oy, Vasha…"_

"Huh?" Vasha turned at the sound of Janus's voice—and stopped cold. "Ah…"

Janus was looking her straight in the eye. Gone from his face was the playful expression of a few seconds ago…now there, instead, was a look of frightful anger visible in his narrowed eyes. His voice was chilly as he spoke again. _"Lay your hand on her one more time…and I guarantee, you'll NEVER use that hand again!"_

The lackeys gasped at that. Vasha blinked in disbelief…unaware that a cold sweat had suddenly broken out over her forehead. _Did this kid…just threaten me?_

Calhoun's face contorted into a mask of pure rage. "Hey! Nobody threatens my girl and gets away with it, you snot-nosed bastard!" he yelled.

"Yeah?" Janus cocked an eyebrow at him. "There's a first time for everything, they say."

"We'll see about that!" Calhoun snapped, drawing his next card. "Now, I'll set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, and end my turn. But that's only the start—after this, you're going to pay for what you just did!"

"What _**I**_ did?" Janus rebutted. "You guys kidnapped Cassara, then you threatened to make both of us your slaves if I lost this duel. Who's more wrong?"

"He does have a point…" Ricardo mused.

"Whatever!" Calhoun gritted his teeth. "Just make your move already!"

"Gladly!" Janus drew his next card. "Okay, Grand Mole! Take down that facedown monster!"

Again Grand Mole dashed forward, his drills piercing the facedown monster and revealing it to be a scrawny alien with a big head and red bug-eyes. The monster was promptly torn apart by Grand Mole's drills. "So much for that defense of yours!" Janus chuckled.

"Actually…that monster served me quite well just now," Calhoun replied, now with a smirk. "You see, kid, that was my Alien Grey (ATK 300, DEF 800) that you just destroyed. When he's flipped face-up, his effect puts one A-Counter on any one face-up monster my opponent controls…" And as he said this, all at once a glowing green orb emerged and swirled around a confused Grand Mole's body.

"Crap!" Janus hissed through clenched teeth.

"And also," Calhoun went on, "after Alien Grey's been flipped face-up, when he's sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I get to draw one card from my deck." And this he did.

Janus examined the three cards he held in his hand. "Argh…all right, fine. I end my turn."

Calhoun drew another to give himself a total of three in hand as well…and slowly a grin emerged on his face when he saw what he was holding. "Okay, then! Time to kiss your rodent goodbye for good!" he announced. "For now I summon Alien Mars (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" And then he called forward yet another alien with tentacles for limbs, with numerous red orbs sticking out of its body.

"And that's supposed to scare me because…?" Janus frowned deeply.

"Because, runt, Alien Mars also has a special effect!" Calhoun informed him. "When he's on the field, all other Effect Monsters that happen to have A-Counters on them have their effects negated—and that means your mole's effect of returning monsters to the hand is cut off!"

"No!" Janus cried out in surprise.

"And let me remind you, any monster that has A-Counters and does battle with an Alien monster loses 300 ATK and DEF per A-Counter!" Calhoun added. "Now, Alien Mars, snap that rodent's neck!" And in the next instant, even as Grand Mole's ATK and DEF shot down to 600 and 0 respectively, Alien Mars wrapped its tentacles around the mole's body, squeezing it until it broke apart in a shower of sparks.

"Damn it…sorry, Grand Mole…" Janus whispered as his life points went down again.

**JANUS: 5600; CALHOUN: 4800**

"Don't apologize to a dead monster, idiot—apologize to my girlfriend for threatening her!" Calhoun snarled. "In fact, do better than that—get on your hands and knees and beg her forgiveness like a good little boy!"

Janus scoffed at that. "I'll only do that if I lose this duel—and last I checked, I still had life points. So, now it's my turn!"

Immediately he drew his next card. "Hmph…not much else I can do for now…well, I'll just set this monster in Defense Mode, and call it a turn."

"Your last turn, maybe!" Calhoun replied as he drew another card. "All right—I activate the magic of Monster Reborn, to bring back one of my old friends: Alien Warrior, in Attack Mode!" And as he played the card, a massive ankh-shaped symbol shone over his side of the field—and from it emerged the Alien Warrior, ready to fight once again.

Then Calhoun held up one of the two cards remaining in his hand. "And next…I offer Alien Mars as a tribute to call forth something even more dangerous! I summon Alien Mother (ATK 2300, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!"

Alien Mars suddenly got sucked up in a beam of bright light…and then, standing in its place was a towering behemoth of an alien, with four arms and a hideously snarling face! "And now, time for your punishment!" Calhoun laughed triumphantly. "Alien Mother, crush his facedown monster!"

Alien Mother rushed forward and, raising its four arms, slammed its fists into the facedown monster card. That monster was swiftly revealed to be the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200), his helmet split open by the force of Alien Mother's attack before he collapsed, defeated.

"And now that your pathetic monster's out of the way, my Alien Warrior is free to cut you down to size with his claws!" Calhoun told Janus. "Now go, Alien Warrior! Cream this little punk!" And heeding its master's call, Alien Warrior raised its battle-ready claws, intent on cutting Janus apart—

—but then Janus called out, "And I activate my trap card: Hero Spirit!"

"Huh?" Calhoun exclaimed—and then spotted the last remaining facedown card on Janus's side of the field, flipping face-up. _Shit—I forgot he still had a facedown card!_

As Janus's trap card was activated, Alien Warrior's claws struck downward, slashing Janus's jacket into shreds. Janus flinched as he felt the claws pierce his skin—but oddly enough, his life points remained unaffected. "Wh-wh-what? But—your life points…!" Calhoun sputtered.

Janus clutched his chest where he'd been slashed by Alien Warrior…but he managed to grin at Calhoun's surprise nonetheless. "It was the effect of my Hero Spirit trap card," he explained. "I could only activate it during the Battle Phase of a turn when one of my Elemental Hero monsters was destroyed in battle. Then, I could reduce the Battle Damage of one of my opponent's monsters to zero."

"Whew…again, saved in the nick of time," Natasha sighed, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. "Seriously, Janus has got to stop scaring people like that!"

"Even I had forgotten that he had an extra card facedown," Ricardo admitted. "It must have been the card he set facedown when he first summoned his Elemental Hero Avian at the start of the duel. He must have been waiting for just the ideal moment to actually use it…and that ideal moment was just now."

Then Ricardo's eyes narrowed. "Even so, it's going to be pretty close now…Janus may still have more life points than Calhoun, but he's got absolutely nothing remaining on his side of the field now. Unless he gets a very good card on his next draw coming up…"

Natasha glared at Ricardo. "Do you want another kick to the shin?"

At that Ricardo paled and sweat-dropped. "Gulp—no, no, of course not! What I meant to say is, Janus will definitely beat Calhoun, no doubt about it!" he cried out, waving his hands in an attempt to placate her.

Listening to the squabble behind him, Janus closed his eyes. _Still, Ricardo's right…the cards I've got in my hand, by themselves, can't do anything much for me right now. I have to get a really, really good card with this next draw, or else…_

_"Fear not, Janus. You WILL get just the card you need. You just need to calm your nerves a little."_

Janus started. _That voice in my head again…who IS it?_

_"All will be revealed in but a moment. For now…just trust in the heart of the cards to see you through this."_

"HEY!" Calhoun snapped at Janus. "I've already ended my turn, dweeb! Stop staring off into space and get on with it! I've got other things to do, you know!"

Janus was immediately brought back to reality by Calhoun's rant. "Yeah, yeah, don't rush me, dick-weed," he grunted. "I was just strategizing here."

"Well, strategize faster!" Calhoun snarled.

"All right, then," Janus nodded with determination. "Here I come!" And then he rested his hand on his deck, and prepared to draw. _Okay…Heart of the cards, show me some love!_

On the sidelines, still bound and gagged, Cassara watched Janus. _Please…tell me you've gotten something you can use…_

Calhoun regarded Janus with impatience clear on his face. "Well, runt? You gonna make a move, or what?"

Janus carefully eyed the card he'd just drawn. Then he looked at Calhoun, smirking. "As a matter of fact, I will," he replied. "And I'll do it by activating this Magic card—_Swords of Revealing Light!"_

"WHAT!" Calhoun barked.

But all at once, three shining swords of light shot down from above, embedding themselves in an arc all around Calhoun's side of the field. "Now, for your next three turns, none of your monsters will be able to attack!" Janus announced with a big smile.

"Perfect!" Ricardo looked on, pleased. "Now Janus has an extra three turns to eke out a victory!"

"Yeah! And then we can get Cassara back!" Natasha added.

But Calhoun spat to the side in disgust. "What good is a three-turn delay going to do you, huh?" he demanded. "All you're doing is prolonging your ass-kicking!"

"In that case, come get me…if you can." Janus looked smug.

Scowling, Calhoun drew once again. "You better be careful what you wish for, man—you just might get it!" he said. "Let me show you what I'm talking about! First, I'll offer both Alien Warrior and Alien Mother as tributes to bring back an old friend…my Cosmic Horror Gangi'el!"

Both of Calhoun's Alien monsters vanished in twin beams of light…then, emerging to overshadow the field once more was the massive Gangi'el. Then Calhoun held up the last card left in his hand. "And next, I'll activate a second Meteor of Destruction, to give you another 1000 points of damage!" And then as Calhoun finished speaking, another meteor shot down from above, slamming into Janus with a mighty explosion as his life points went down to 4600!

**JANUS: 4600; CALHOUN: 4800**

"Argh…" Janus, having been knocked down, winced from the heat of the meteor strike. "Not bad…but I'm not out of it yet!"

"Well, you soon will be," Calhoun replied scornfully. "Anyways, I'm calling it a turn."

Janus slowly got back up. His jacket was now badly damaged, and smoke was rising off of his body from the meteor strike only moments ago. As he looked up, he beheld one of the Swords of Revealing Light vanishing into thin air. _Two more turns…_

"My move!" he announced aloud, drawing his next card to give him four in hand again. "And I summon my Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900)!" And then, his glowing amoeba-alien appeared on the field.

"Oh, please—as if that's going to be a threat against me!" Calhoun scoffed.

"Maybe you SHOULD be worried," Janus answered. "Because when Glow Moss attacks or is attacked, you get to draw one card—but what I get to do next depends on what type of card you draw. If it's a Monster card, the Battle Phase ends; if it's a Magic card, Glow Moss's attack becomes a direct attack; and if it's a Trap card, Glow Moss is shifted to Defense Mode. So…go, Glow Moss, and attack!"

"He can't be serious…!" Vasha exclaimed.

"So what? One way or another, I still get to draw a card!" Calhoun swiftly drew, replenishing his hand. "And it's…" He then held up the card in question, revealing it to be another Corruption Cell "A" card. "…a Magic card! So, fine, your monster gets to attack me directly! Well, bring it on, you little slime-ball—I'm not scared of you!"

Glow Moss subsequently launched itself forward in the form of a massive rocket, slamming into Calhoun's torso with a sickening splashing sound as his life points dropped a little to 4500.

**JANUS: 4600; CALHOUN: 4500**

Then, just as quickly, Glow Moss slid back to Janus's side of the field in the form of a puddle, and then immediately regained its true form. "And with that, I end my turn," Janus chuckled.

Cassara blinked as she witnessed all of this. _What are you thinking of doing, Janus—whittling down his life points little by little? But even the Swords of Revealing Light aren't going to last you long enough to let you pull off something like that…_

Shrugging, Calhoun took his turn again and drew his next card, giving him two in hand…and narrowed his eyes when he saw what it was. _I see…_ "I'll set this card facedown, and let you go ahead." And then the second Sword of Revealing Light vanished from the field.

Again Janus drew his next card. "I summon my Elemental Hero Wildheart (ATK 1500, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" Then there appeared on the field a muscle-bound warrior with numerous tattoos over his body and a huge sword strapped to his back. "All right, Glow Moss, try attacking again!"

Again Glow Moss took on the form of a rocket, launching itself at Calhoun. As per Glow Moss's effect, Calhoun drew a card, giving him two in hand—and suddenly he grew an even bigger grin than before when he saw what the new card was. "And sorry to say, but your attack stops here!" and he quickly held up the card he'd drawn to show that it was another Alien Warrior monster.

Glow Moss swiftly seemed to melt in midair before even reaching Calhoun this time around; it shifted back into a puddle and went back to Janus's side of the field. "Well, okay, that didn't quite turn out like I'd hoped," Janus said somewhat sheepishly.

Calhoun eyed him with eyes still narrowed. _Okay…now if I can summon this Alien Warrior that I just drew…just let him end his turn now, and then…_

But then Janus held up another card from his hand. "Well, now I activate the Magic card, R – Righteous Justice! This allows me to destroy Magic or Trap cards equal to the number of Elemental Hero monsters I have on the field…and since I have one, I can destroy that facedown card of yours!"

"Huh?" Calhoun reared up in alarm. "Oh, shit, NO!"

But all of a sudden—his facedown card exploded in a burst of fire, burning into nothingness! "ARGH!" Calhoun screamed out in rage. "That card—I was COUNTING on that card!"

Janus cocked an eyebrow. "Really, now? Let's see what that card was that could make it so important, then, hmmm?" And he quickly touched a button on his Duel-Disk…bringing up the Graveyard card information a moment later. "Hmmm…ah. I get it now."

"Huh?" Natasha looked on, a little confused. "Get what, Janus?"

"That facedown card of his that I just destroyed…it was a trap card called Orbital Bombardment," Janus explained. "By sending one Alien monster from the field to the Graveyard, Calhoun would've been able to activate this card and destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field…namely, my Swords of Revealing Light. If he were to summon his Alien Warrior, which he just drew, on his next turn, he would've been able to sacrifice it for his Orbital Bombardment…and that would mean the Swords of Revealing Light would've been destroyed a little earlier than expected, so he could then attack me with his Gangi'el monster."

"So what of it, runt?" Calhoun barked. "Even if all of that planning didn't turn out like I expected it would, my Cosmic Horror Gangi'el would still be a match for anything you could possibly throw at me! This duel's stats haven't changed one bit, even if you've messed up my strategy just now…I'll still overpower you with my Aliens!"

"Yeah! You tell him, Calhoun!" the goons standing with Vasha yelled out.

"That's right, boys and girls," Vasha nodded, crossing her arms. "A little thing like that isn't going to bring down an Obelisk Blue genius like Calhoun. Go ahead, baby—show everybody here that you still have more than enough power to bring down that little brat."

"Like you really need to tell me _that!"_ Calhoun drew his next card, so now he had three in hand. "Well, now…I'll summon Alien Warrior to the field, in Attack Mode!" And then he brought forth another of the hulking aliens, standing just underneath Gangi'el's massive frame. "And since I still can't attack right now, I'll just end my turn…" And then the final Sword of Revealing Light vanished with that statement. "…but now what are you going to do?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," Janus responded as he drew another card for his turn. "I'm going to offer both Neo-Spacian Glow Moss and Elemental Hero Wildheart to bring my Elemental Hero Neos to the field!"

Glow Moss and Wildheart were both suddenly bathed in separate columns of intense light that merged together as one…and then Neos appeared, in a ready battle stance. "Now, HERE is a real space-fighter for you!" Janus announced.

"Real space-fighter, my ass," Calhoun scoffed. "He's only got enough ATK power to take down my Alien Warrior, and that's not going to do very much for you! And besides that, he's not strong enough to take on my Gangi'el, in case you haven't noticed!"

"Not yet, at least," and Janus held up one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "Because now I activate this Magic card, H – Heated Heart! Now, Neos will get an additional 500 ATK till the end of this turn!" And then, a burst of flame erupted around Neos's body as his ATK rose to 3000!

Calhoun gritted his teeth at this sight. "Okay, so he's a little stronger now, but even that still isn't going to stop me!" he argued stubbornly.

"Then maybe this will!" Janus held up the very last card in his hand for Calhoun to see. "I'm activating the Magic card—HERO Flash!"

All at once, from Janus's hand there shone four massive letters spelling out the word HERO, overshadowing the field in their bright array of colors. "H-h-huh?" Calhoun stared in disbelief. "What—what's going on now?"

"This is my Magic card, HERO Flash," Janus answered. "Here's how it works. First, I remove four specific cards in my Graveyard from play—H – Heated Heart, E – Emergency Call, R – Righteous Justice, and O – Oversoul. Then, I get to Special Summon one Normal monster from my deck as long as it has 'Elemental Hero' in its name…and the one I'm going for is my Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400)!"

Flashes of electricity sparked all over Janus's side of the field…and then, next to Elemental Hero Neos, Sparkman emerged in a fight-ready stance. But Calhoun took one look and made a face. "That's it? After all the flashy shit you just pulled off, _this_ is the end result—you summoning another weak monster?"

"I wouldn't quite say that," Janus answered him. "For you see, HERO Flash has one more ability…this turn only, all Normal monsters I control that have 'Elemental Hero' in their names…can attack you directly!"

Vasha's eyes widened at that. "What? But—if that happens—"

"—then I'll be wiped out…!" Calhoun looked at his life point count in a sudden panic, his face paling.

"Now…" The humor seeped out of Janus's voice, making it very dark and foreboding. "You kidnapped my friend and held her hostage. Kidnapping and holding other people against their will are crimes. And the Elemental Heroes happen to be crime-fighters where they're from. As a result…they're going to demonstrate just how they deal with punks like you—using YOU as a live example!"

"WHAT?" Calhoun turned completely white. "No! Wait! Wait a minute!"

"Sparkman! Use your Shining Surge Flash!" Janus commanded. And Sparkman dashed forward, his hand coated in electric energy, punching a terrified Calhoun in the chest and shocking him as his life points dropped to 2900.

**JANUS: 4600; CALHOUN: 2900**

Then: "Elemental Hero Neos, your turn! Finish it with Neo-Spacian Justice Rampage!" Janus cried. And, as Neos's fists glowed with intense light energy, he began to punch forward with both fists—rapidly and without any sign of stopping; the force of the energy was so intense, it actually tore through and obliterated Cosmic Horror Gangi'el and Alien Warrior as well, and Neos pounded Calhoun repeatedly all over his body, ending with a solid punch to the chest that sent him sailing out of the dueling arena while his life points shot down to 0!

**JANUS: 4600; CALHOUN: 0**

Calhoun's entire group watched, stunned, as Neos's last solid punch sent Calhoun flying, causing him to hit the wall near their exit with a solid _thump_ before landing to the ground with a CRASH! "Calhoun!" Vasha shrieked, running over to where he lay facedown on the ground. "Calhoun, baby, speak to me!"

Limbs trembling, Calhoun raised himself on his hands. "Ugh…dammit…what power…" Then he collapsed back to the ground, gagging as blood leaked from his mouth.

"So…that's that," Janus announced. He then shot Calhoun's boys and Vasha's girls a look. "So? You gonna release Cassara now?"

Already frightened by the display of power they'd just witnessed, the students were all further scared by the look on Janus's face. "Man, we'd better get out of here! He might sic that Neos monster on us next!" some of the boys whispered fearfully.

One of the girls promptly pushed Cassara toward Janus. "Here, dude! Take her! Just don't come near us!" she cried, before turning and dashing away, the rest of the girls following suit. The boys weren't very far behind, several of them glancing back in terror as though Janus might be chasing after them.

Meanwhile, Vasha had been helping Calhoun to his feet, albeit with some difficulty since he was quite heavy. Slinging his arm over her shoulder, she turned her in time to see their entire crew fleeing. "Hey! Come back here, assholes!" she snapped. "Ugh…damn cowards…wait'll I get my hands on them tomorrow!"

"Forget about them," Calhoun growled, wiping blood off his mouth. "They'll get their due soon enough."

He then glanced up in Janus's direction, where Ricardo and Natasha had run up and were now in the process of undoing Cassara's bonds. "Hey, you little runt," he addressed Janus. "You may have won this duel…but this isn't over, you hear me? You'll be hearing from me again real soon!"

"Hey, challenge me again if you ever feel like it," Janus shrugged. "Only next time, leave my friends out of it…or else I'll really show you no mercy." And his eyes flashed.

"Pfft. Whatever." Calhoun scowled. "C'mon, Vasha, let's get out of here." And, with him leaning on Vasha's shoulder, the two of them turned and headed out of the auditorium.

Watching the two bullies leave, Janus's attention was soon drawn to Cassara, she having been freed by now from her bonds. "Hey…you all right? Did they do anything to you?" he asked gently.

Cassara shook her head. "Sorry, Janus…they got the drop on me, and I never saw it coming…and now because of me, your jacket is…"

Janus glanced down at his ruined jacket. Then he shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. I can always get this jacket replaced, after all…but I could never get one of my best friends replaced so easily."

Cassara blushed on hearing that. "Janus…"

"Well done, Janus," Ricardo smiled at his friend. "You were really able to beat Calhoun and earn freedom for both you and Cassara. Nice game, man."

"Even though you didn't think he'd win?" Natasha shot him an accusing look.

"Wait a minute now, I never said that!" Ricardo rebutted.

Cassara shook her head as she watched the two squabble. Then— "Oh my gosh! I nearly forgot…Mr. Crosskill's essay! I haven't even started it yet!"

Immediately the other three turned to stare at her. "Yes, that's right! I need to get started on my essay right away, too!" Ricardo exclaimed.

"Oh, man, why'd you have to bring it up, Cassara?" Janus moaned. "800-word essays aren't my thing at all! Crosskill's gonna have my head!"

Cassara harrumphed. "Well, don't expect me to help you with this assignment just because you saved me just now," she said huffily. "Maybe from now on you'll pay much more attention to your schoolwork than you've been doing!"

"Grrr…now I'm almost wishing I'd just let Vasha and her girls keep you as their pet," Janus grumbled.

"What did you say?" Cassara snapped, glaring at him.

"C'mon, you guys, let's not fight," Natasha pleaded with the two of them. "I'm gonna hurry back and get started on my homework! Catch you later!" And she turned and ran for the exit.

"Hey, wait for us, would you?" Ricardo called after Natasha as he and Cassara ran behind her.

Janus made as if to hurry after them…and then paused. _Hmmm…that still leaves one question unanswered…whose voice was it that I was hearing in my head during the duel? Well, whoever it was, they sure were a big help—reminding me about trusting the heart of the cards couldn't have come at a better time!_

_"I'm glad I could be of assistance, Janus."_

"HUH?" Janus spun around at the sound of the same voice from before—and stared. "Hey…you're…!"

Standing there on the dueling platform was, of all things, a semi-transparent representation of Elemental Hero Neos himself! _"Think of me as your special dueling partner from here on out, Janus,"_ he addressed the boy in a kindly manner. _"Just as I aided your father back in the day, so also shall I aid you in the here and now. And never forget that the Elemental Heroes, the Neo-Spacians AND the heart of the cards will always lend you a helping hand when you need it most."_

Janus blinked at this. "Um…yeah, sure…I guess…"

"Janus! Get your butt in gear, why don't you?"

Startled at Cassara's shout coming to him from the exit, Janus turned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming already!" he yelled back.

He then turned to Neos again—and saw nothing there. _Okay, that was weird…did I imagine that just now? But…the voice…and Neos standing there…it seemed so real just now—and without my Duel-Disk being on, too! Just what was that all about…?_ Shaking his head in wonderment, he turned and ran out of the auditorium. _Well, I know one thing I won't have to imagine—Crosskill and his detention sentence if I don't get that assignment finished by tomorrow! Man, I swear…!_

----------

_**neomage:**_ And thus ends the duel between Janus and Calhoun! And… (yawns) I'd say it time for me to go to bed now. So, see you guys later…till next chapter, that is! What awaits Janus and his friends next chapter? Well…wait till then to find out!


	7. Reflections

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh and Yu-Gi-Oh GX do not belong to me.)

**CHAPTER 7 - Reflections**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_JIRO_

_NAME: Jiro Burger_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Black (curly)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Red jacket, white T-shirt, white jeans, black sandals_

_ADAM_

_NAME: Adam Rhodes_

_AGE: 17_

_HAIR: Blond_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: White jacket, blue shirt, blue jeans, black shoes_

_JACKI_

_NAME: Jacki Rhodes_

_AGE: 11_

_HAIR: Brown (done in two pigtails)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Blue dress, white shoes_

_JESSICA_

_NAME: Jessica Phoenix_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Gray (think of a female version of __**Yu-Gi-Oh GX**__'s Aster Phoenix)_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: Dark blue T-shirt, light blue jeans, white sneakers_

DUEL ACADEMY PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, TWO DAYS LATER

The sun slowly rose over the horizon, bathing the sea in its intense orange glow. That glow stretched along the width of the entire ocean, gradually touching the shores of Duel Academy Island. As the waves crashed along the beaches on the different ends of the isle, the sun rose higher and higher into the sky; its rays spread further over the Academy's bounds, touching the rooftops, the forests, the inland water bodies, and the dormant volcano. And with the glow came a cool and gentle sea breeze, causing a tremor amidst the leaves on the trees surrounding the three dorms and the other adjoining buildings.

The keys jingled in Principal Yuki's hand as he opened the door to his office. "Aaahh, yes, another day, another fine day," he sighed to himself. "Time to get a move on things…"

Stepping into the office, he slipped off his coat and hung it on a rack nearby. That done, he waltzed to his desk and sat down, putting his feet up and leaning back in satisfaction. "Mmm-mmm-mmm! This is the part of the day I like the best…just being all by myself, with no students to hassle me, no business calls to intercept, no staff or faculty to share stories with…just me, this desk, this chair…"

Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang out loud and long. "And this phone too," he muttered to himself as he reached forward to pick up the receiver. "Note to self: get rid of phone as soon as feasibly possible. Yes, hello?"

"Hey there, Uncle Jaden! I knew I was right on the money when I got the idea to call you at this hour!" a cheerful voice emerged on the other end of the line.

Principal Yuki smiled in spite of himself. "Jacki…what gave you the idea to call my office at 6:30 in the morning?" he asked, trying to sound gruff.

"Awww, Uncle Jaden, don't sound that way," Jacki seemed to pout over the phone. "After all, you're the one who secretly told me you like to spend time in your office at this hour before the day begins."

At that Principal Yuki put a hand to his cheek and gasped as though memory had struck him. "Ah! Indeed I did, didn't I?"

"Yep, you did, Uncle Jad—ACK! Hey, Adam, give that back!" Jacki snapped as scuffling could be heard in the background.

"Make me, you little twerp!" a boy's voice responded.

"Now, now, Adam, no need to fight for the phone—you'll both get enough time to talk to your favorite uncle," Principal Yuki spoke.

"I know, Uncle Jaden…it's just plenty of fun to pick on Miss Twerp here," Adam chuckled.

"Take it back, you big meanie! I'm not a twerp!" Jacki's voice snapped in the background.

"That's one twerp's opinion," Adam sneered at her.

"Kids, kids!" Principal Yuki interrupted. "Remember what Aunt Alexis told you guys about being nice? What do you think she'd say if I were to tell her what you two have been up to at home?"

"Wait—you're not gonna tell Aunt Alexis, are you?" Adam asked, a degree of fear suddenly evident in his voice.

"Please don't tell her, Uncle Jaden! We'll be nice!" Jacki pleaded.

"Ha, ha! Of course I'm not telling her, you little brats!" Principal Yuki laughed. "Anyway, what brings you to call this morning?"

"Well…actually, we were wondering if we could come visit you guys…" Jacki began.

"She means, SHE'S been pestering Mom and Dad to let us come visit for the past week now," Adam cut in. "She just doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer."

"I do too!" Jacki exploded.

"Now, now, settle down," Principal Yuki reprimanded them. "Of course you guys can come visit—in fact, you're free to come visit anytime, remember? You shouldn't be strangers to Duel Academy, after all."

"Well, we were thinking about coming today," Adam told him.

Principal Yuki frowned at that information. "Today? But isn't today a school day for you guys?"

"Well, the way we've set up our class structure, we won't have classes till after noon," Adam explained. "Which gives us both enough free time to practice our dueling. So, I was thinking, maybe we could come by around, say, 9:00?"

"Hmmm…well, 9:00's fine by me," Principal Yuki replied. "And you never know—you just might get to see Janus today, too."

"Cousin Janus? Yay! We'll get to see Cousin Janus!" Jacki cried gleefully.

"Yeah, well, I just hope he's not still using that weird Neo-Spacian deck of his," Adam remarked. "I mean, why does he even bother having such whack monsters in there, anyway?"

"Don't underestimate Janus because of that, Adam," Principal Yuki cautioned. "You forget, I used to have that deck back when I was your age. I know from experience what it's capable of, and you should keep that in mind also…particularly considering how he was able to defeat Drake Phoenix with it two days ago."

"Drake Phoenix, huh?" Now Adam chuckled. "He still up to his old tricks? He never knows when to call it quits, does he?"

"Evidently not," and Principal Yuki chuckled too. "Well, anyhow, I'll let Aunt Alexis and Janus know you'll be here. You guys take care till then."

"Sure thing, Uncle Jaden! See you soon!" Jacki replied.

"Yeah, Uncle Jaden, catch you later," Adam added—and then the line went dead.

Principal Yuki placed the phone back on the hook, a smile on his face. "Well, then…perhaps we'll see how much those two have developed their skills since last I saw them…"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, TEN MINUTES LATER

"Mmmm…oh, wow…something sure smells good…"

Janus's eyes scrunched up as the mysterious scent wafted to his nostrils. "Huh…? Somebody cooking something…?" he murmured as he sat up, eyes still shut.

"Well, at least we can see what motivates _you_ to wake up," a boy's voice reached his ears. "But you're gonna have to wait until the grub's actually done."

Slowly Janus's eyes opened up…and as his vision gradually cleared, he beheld a curly-haired boy in shorts and a cutoff white shirt. "Ugh, Jiro, at least put some jeans on or something," he groaned, turning over in his bed. "The last thing I need to see when I wake up in the morning is a dude in shorts."

Jiro snorted derisively. "Whatever, man. Me, my brothers, my dad, my uncles—we've all been used to sleeping in our shorts for generations, and nobody's ever complained about it," he told Janus. "And I'm not about to change my sleeping attire just because one person doesn't like it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Janus grunted. "So, whatcha making, anyway? Burgers?"

Jiro made a face at that. "Oh, so just because my last name is Burger, you still think I like them?" he asked.

"Don't you?" Janus returned.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told you when you and I got roomed together," Jiro replied. "Yes, I'll eat burgers, and yes, my family owns its own fast-food establishment—that doesn't mean burgers are my all-time favorite food. I happen to prefer eating healthy, you know. Or how else would I be able to keep up my fitness level?" And as if to emphasize the point, he flexed his very muscular biceps for Janus to see.

"Yeah, sure," Janus sighed. "Well, if you're not doing burgers, what _are_ you making?"

"My favorite breakfast, that's what!" Jiro answered eagerly. "Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, cereal…"

"What're you trying to do—out-eat me or something?" Janus cocked an eyebrow.

"You really should learn to temper your eating habits, though," Jiro remarked. "The fact that you're not overweight at all surprises me, really."

"We've only known each other for two days so far, man—of course you'd be surprised by some of the stuff I can pull off!" Janus remarked, finally pulling himself out of bed as he spoke.

"Indeed," Jiro said dryly. "Like how you were able to defeat Drake Phoenix or Calhoun Vincente, both times using a deck with weak monsters and a very unlikely set of odds. How on earth did you do it, I wonder?"

"Hang around me and my friends more often and maybe then you'll get the picture," Janus replied. "Ever since this new school year's started and you and I have been bunked together, I barely see you aside from when we have classes together. The rest of the time, it's as if you turn into a ghost or something, 'cause I never seem to see you anywhere until we get back to the dorm for lights' out."

"Well, where I go and what I do with my free time shouldn't be that much of a concern, should it?" Jiro shrugged. "I mean, just because we room together doesn't mean we have to be exactly buddy-buddy. I do have my own set of friends, you know."

Janus laughed a little. "Well, then, how do you expect to find out what you want to know about me and my dueling skill if you don't hang out with me?"

"I have my own ways and methods," Jiro replied enigmatically. "Anyways, you'd better wash up and then come and eat. Assembly will be in half an hour from now, and then classes for the day will begin after that."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Janus muttered as he stood up and headed off to the bathroom.

----------

EN ROUTE TO DUEL ACADEMY ISLAND, AN HOUR LATER

The ship was sailing along smoothly even as a gentle breeze disturbed the waves and the sun shone overhead. On board, the passengers were either having breakfast in the dining lounge, or were taking in the scenery from the deck, or were elsewhere doing who knew what. And even as the passengers laughed and talked amongst their respective groups, the sailors walked amongst them as security detail, or as waiters, or as clean-up crew and medics for those passengers who felt seasick.

Seated in the lounge with several other passengers around them were two adolescents—one a young girl with straight brown hair done in two pigtails, the other an older boy with sandy-blond hair. They sat by themselves, their table situated near a window so they could look out at the ocean while they had breakfast. "So, how much longer till we get there?" the girl asked impatiently.

The boy released a long-suffering sigh. "Not for another hour and a half, Jacki. I've told you this before. You know, you need a little exercise in patience."

"But, Adam, I'm bored!" Jacki whined. "What am I supposed to do for an hour and a half? I wanna see Cousin Janus!"

"Yes, I know that," Adam replied. "And I want to see him, too. But we won't be able to see him till we actually reach the island, so…for now, we just have to wait a while longer."

"I guess so…" Jacki pouted and folded her arms.

Adam fingered his chin in consideration. "Hey, I tell you what. Why don't you take the time to go through your deck? Then you and I can have a couple of practice duels until we arrive."

"Will they allow us to duel on board the ship?" Jacki asked doubtfully. "And anyway, even if they'll let us, what would the point be? You always beat me at Duel Monsters, anyway."

"And yet you get better and better each time because of it," Adam pointed out. "There's no fun to playing the game if you only fight weak players that you know you can beat easily, Jacki. Only when you face a player of equal or greater skill can you honestly gauge yourself and your potential, and make adjustments as necessary."

"Really?" Jacki asked, wide-eyed.

Then Adam put a finger just under his eye and pulled the skin downward, at the same time sticking out his tongue as he made a face. "Of course, you'll never beat me, because I'm older, bigger, stronger and smarter than you!" he smirked.

"You are not!" Jacki snarled, kicking him under the table.

Adam visibly flinched, but did his best to stifle the involuntary yell of pain that would have followed the kick. "Why, you little twerp! That was uncalled for and you know it!" he grated, horns appearing on his head and his teeth turning into fangs.

"You had it coming, you big meanie!" Jacki growled, her eyes turning red as a giant vein popped up in her forehead.

"Excuse me, miss, sir…"

The siblings immediately lost their belligerence as they became aware of the waiter standing over their table, tray in hand. "Breakfast shall now be served," he announced as he put their plates in front of them.

"Oh, goody!" Jacki cried, stars shining in her eyes.

Adam chuckled. "Heh…these folks certainly know how to do their stuff," he remarked as the waiter bowed to them and left. "This food certainly looks delightful."

"It's what you always say about liver and onions," and Jacki stuck her tongue out at what was on Adam's plate. "Geez, Adam, how can you possibly eat liver and onions? It's, like, so ICKY! EEW!"

"Hey, what you're eating isn't exactly what I'd call appetizing either, twerp," and Adam flicked a disdainful glance at Jacki's plate, which had on it an egg with a very runny yolk.

"So I like eggs done sunny side up. Sue me." Jacki stuck her tongue out at her brother before sticking her fork into the yolk, puncturing it and letting the very runny yolk spill all over her plate.

"Ugh…I better eat up before I lose my appetite just watching you," and Adam promptly began to dig into his breakfast.

"Likewise," and Jacki began eating with equal fervor.

For the next few minutes, the two ate staunchly and determinedly, keeping their eyes focused on their plates, not daring to look at each other's food or each other's way of eating. Then, little by little, Jacki slowed in her eating. "Big brother…"

Adam paused, his fork with a piece of liver on it just inches away from his mouth. "Something wrong? Oh, wait—maybe the egg's really spoiled and you're just now realizing that fact," he jeered her.

"It's not that, stupid!" Jacki flared at him. Then, just as suddenly, her face became reflective again. "I was just wondering something, that's all."

"I figured." Adam set his fork down. "You never call me 'big brother' unless it's important. What's the matter?"

"Well…" Jacki looked at Adam, a very grave expression in her eyes. "Do you…do you think I'll ever be able to beat you in a real duel? Tell me the truth, please."

His eyes were narrowed as he considered the question. "Only time can answer that question, sis. Maybe one day you'll just get up one morning and have the skill to match me. Maybe I'll always win. I'm not the one who can say for certain. It's all up to how well you pace yourself and how much you stay in practice." Then he smiled gently at her. "Just don't ever let anybody try to convince you that you can never excel. Just go all-out and do all you can do. You hear me?"

Jacki smiled now. "Yeah…"

Suddenly, taking Adam by surprise, she scooped up some of the liquid yolk from her plate with her fork, then dangled it over her own open mouth. "Aaaaaaah!" she stuck her tongue out.

"Ack! Don't do that—that's disgusting!" Adam exclaimed, horns on his head and fangs in his mouth once again.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS, 8:00 a.m.

Janus lay on the grass outside the school's auditorium. "Aaaahhh…man, this feels GOOD!" he exclaimed. "Laying on the grass…the sun shining overhead…and no class for first period…can things possibly get any better than this?"

_"You should consider going to the library to study, if you have no classes now."_

"Huh?" Cocking an eyebrow, Janus turned his head to the side. "Oh…it's only you, Neos."

Standing over him was the semi-transparent form of Elemental Hero Neos, hands on his hips. _"You certainly have more academic drive than your father did when he was your age,"_ he remarked. _"So why waste that talent by sitting around doing nothing?"_

"For a Duel Monster, you sure seem to worry a lot," Janus chuckled, leaning back into the grass.

_"Humph! Well, don't expect me to come running to your aid if you fail a test or anything like that,"_ Neos grunted. _"Using my power to win a duel is one thing. But beating the books is your own responsibility."_

"Uh-huh, sure," Janus waved away Neos's concern. "No worries—I've got it all under control."

_"So you claim,"_ Neos rebutted.

Janus looked back up at the sky…and his face became reflective. "You know…I'll never forget that time back then, when I sealed you and the Neo-Spacian cards away…it almost seems now like it was only yesterday…"

_"Yes, indeed,"_ Neos replied, his voice also becoming thoughtful. _"You recognized the power that we possessed…so you sealed us away, in order to limit yourself and also to give your dueling opponents a much more fair fight. But now you have freed us to battle once again, and for that I thank you greatly."_

"Mmm-hmm," Janus nodded.

"Janus? Hey, Janus!"

"Hmm?" Sitting up, Janus caught sight of Ricardo heading in his direction. "Oh, it's only Ricardo."

Presently Ricardo approached, one eyebrow raised. "Uh, Janus, I heard you talking just now…except, who were you talking _to?"_ he asked.

Surprised, Janus turned to where Neos had been standing—but nothing and nobody was there! _Okay…weirdness…_ "Uh, nobody. Just myself, I guess."

"Hmph. Talking to yourself isn't a good sign, you know," and Ricardo flashed him a worried glance. "Maybe I should take you to the school nurse."

"What're you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me that I need to see the nurse!" Janus snapped.

"Whatever, man." Ricardo shrugged. "Anyway, did you happen to see Jiro Burger anytime after assembly? He borrowed my math book yesterday, and I've been trying to get a hold of him all morning now. I wonder if he's finished with it yet…"

"Who's to say where that guy goes to or what he does when he's not at class?" Janus shrugged.

"You ought to at least have some clue—he's YOUR roommate as of this year," Ricardo pointed out.

"I'm his roommate, not his shadow," Janus grunted. "And besides, I haven't known him _that_ long—only over the last two days since school started back."

Ricardo knitted his brows in some annoyance. "In that case, I suppose I'll have to wait till the upcoming period to find him in history class. Speaking of which, Janus, were you able to do Crosskill's assignment for today's class?"

"What, the essay?" Janus flopped down on the grass. "Hell, I spent most of yesterday and the night before working on it! I'll be glad to be rid of it come class-time!"

"You're really not one for homework, are you?" Ricardo cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Should I be?" Janus yawned. "Look, what really gets me going are duels, buddy! As long as I can find a good player to go up against, then I can never get tired of dueling!"

"Yeah, you'd say that," Ricardo chuckled.

Janus exhaled deeply; then his face became reflective again. "Ricardo…can I ask you something? As much as I know this might sound crazy…"

"As if talking to yourself isn't crazy enough," Ricardo jabbed at him.

"Shut up!" Janus growled. Then he looked up at the sky again. "Tell me something…do you believe that Duel Monsters really do exist, or that they're just cards?"

Ricardo blinked. "Uh…what?"

"I mean, I know modern technology makes holograms of Duel Monsters that are real enough, but…" Janus half-closed his eyes. "D'you think that they could actually exist alongside us humans, not holograms or anything like that, but genuine beings?"

Ricardo tapped his foot on the ground even as he put his hands in his pockets. "Well…anything's possible, I guess. I mean, after what we went through in the Dueltropolis tournament, back at Tokyo Dome…but why do you ask such a strange thing?"

"Okay, don't laugh or anything," said Janus, "but ever since I beat Calhoun in that duel two nights ago, it's as if…as if I've been able to see my Elemental Hero Neos. Not a hologram, not my imagination—the real thing. I can see him, hear him talk, talk back to him…" Suddenly he paused. "Um…"

Ricardo had his lips pursed together tightly—and was sputtering, his face turning purple. "Pfft…hee, hee…BWA HA HA HA HA!" he fell over on the grass, convulsed with laughter.

"I told you not to laugh! This isn't a joke!" Janus yelled at him. "I can and I do, really!"

Presently Ricardo stopped laughing and sat up. "Sorry, man," he apologized, still sniggering a little. "But at least now I know who or what you were talking to."

"And you think I'm crazy," Janus eyed him suspiciously.

"Well…" Ricardo's face became more serious. "After what we saw at Tokyo Dome more than a week ago, I really am inclined to believe that Duel Monsters may be a whole lot more than just cards or holograms. Especially with what happened when our monsters were able to overpower those soldiers…"

Janus nodded, also remembering. During the Duel Monsters World Championships, Tokyo Dome had come under siege by an army led by a psychotic man—who, to their surprise, had turned out to be the long-thought-dead former Kaibacorp CEO and founder, Gozaburo Kaiba. "Yeah, I'll never forget that," Janus remarked as he recalled what had happened. "Our monsters pounded the crap out of Gozaburo's soldiers…and Gozaburo himself got blown up by Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba's monsters…"

"But you know, Janus, even after all that, there are still only a few people who'll actually believe in the existence of Duel Monster spirits," Ricardo cautioned him. "After all, who in their right mind would believe that Duel Monsters could prove to be either the destruction or the salvation of the whole world—or that Duel Monsters could actually harm people?"

"But we _have_ seen for ourselves that it is in fact possible," Janus pointed out. "Remember how Gozaburo brainwashed Seta and took him to Tokyo Dome—and while Yugo went there after them, we sneaked on board their battleship, the ARK?"

"Yeah, I'll never forget that," Ricardo chuckled. "We were really able to use our Duel Monsters to fight those guys and sabotage their ship, as big and well-equipped as it was…"

"And then there was Zander Zabel, Gozaburo's right-hand man." Janus frowned as more memory came back to him. "I ran into him on the ARK, and I dueled him…and he didn't respect his monsters at all, seeing them as just cards…and he paid for it pretty dearly…" He shuddered.

"Yeah, I remember you told me about that," said Ricardo. "His own monster turned on him and killed him. Pretty harsh way to die."

"Which is why you should treat Duel Monsters as your friends, not merely as pawns or tools."

Both boys sprang to attention, wildly looking around for the intruding voice's owner. "What the…Who's there?" Janus demanded.

"Now, now, fellows, relax; it's only me." And then, from behind the auditorium's sign walked Principal Yuki himself. "And don't worry; as far as I'm concerned, neither of you is crazy."

"Oh…it's just Principal Yuki," and Ricardo breathed a sigh of intense relief.

"Yeah, Dad, I know you'd say something like that," said Janus with a smirk. "After all, I haven't forgotten all those stories you used to tell me when I was a kid, about how you were able to see Duel Monster spirits…and how you first got the Neo-Spacian deck…"

"I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten those stories, son," said Principal Yuki. "But it's as Ricardo just said—not just anybody will really believe that the Duel Monsters game could really save the world or destroy it, or that the Duel Monsters themselves are real. As far as they'll be able to understand it, it's just a game, and they're just cards. So, be careful of who you tell, if you do decide to tell someone. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Janus nodded understanding.

"All right. Now…" Principal Yuki smirked. "I'm actually quite glad I came this way and found you. You see, your cousins will be arriving here on the island shortly…and you know they'll be wanting to have a duel with you."

"Whoa! Adam and Jacki are on their way _here?"_ Janus exclaimed in surprise. "Awesome!"

Ricardo chuckled. "It's been a while since I've seen your cousins, Janus," he said. "Those two are among the top duelists over at West Academy. It's pretty rare for them to pay a visit to the other schools to showcase their skills."

"Well, their visit today is meant to be simply a social call, but…who knows; perhaps they just might be willing to put on a show for us in the auditorium!" Principal Yuki said with a grin. "You guys don't have classes till second period, right? How would you like to join me in welcoming them at the harbor?"

"Definitely!" Janus nodded eagerly.

"I'd be glad to, Principal Yuki," Ricardo answered.

"Super!" Principal Yuki beamed. "So, shall we go, then?"

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, IN THE MEANTIME

"Master Drake, your tutor has arrived! Please, come at once!"

Standing at the foot of the staircase in the hallway of the Phoenix family's immense mansion, Jasmine frowned as she looked toward the doorway leading to the young master's room. "Master Drake!" she called to him again, starting up the stairs.

In a moment she was at his room door, and she knocked on it three times. "Please, Master Drake, won't you come on out?" she implored him. "Don't keep the tutor waiting!"

"Oy, Jasmine—my brother acting like an imbecile again?"

Jasmine looked up at the sound of the voice, and immediately stood at attention. "Miss Jessica!" she exclaimed. "I thought you'd left already!"

At the end of the hall where Jasmine currently stood, emerging from a bedroom door was a young girl with light-gray hair and a raised eyebrow. "He's still cooped up in his room, huh? Well, how about we girls work together and drag his ass out of there, hmm?"

"Um…" Jasmine blinked.

Jessica strode up to Drake's bedroom door and, startling Jasmine, began pounding on it with a fury. "Drake Phoenix, this is your sister! Open this door or else I'm breaking it down!"

"Fine, fine," a disgruntled voice snarled from within. "Don't let your G-string squeeze your asshole, sis. I'm coming."

"What did you say?" Jessica's eyes turned crimson, even as Jasmine, standing a good distance away now, blushed at Drake's remark.

At length the door was opened, and there stood Drake, a scowl on his face. Immediately Jessica flew at him, clawing at his face with her nails. "You little snot! I'm gonna get you for what you just said!" she yowled.

Drake, however, easily dodged Jessica's assault with lazy precision. "You said my tutor's here?" he addressed Jasmine even as he continued his dodging. "Which one is it today?"

"Ah, yes—it's your math tutor, sir," Jasmine informed him.

Drake scoffed—and now he was casually slapping away Jessica's assaulting hands, infuriating her more. "My math tutor?" he repeated. "That old bat is here again? She's about as interesting by now as a piece of lint."

"Nevertheless, Master Drake, you do have to sit with her for the next hour and a half," Jasmine replied firmly. "You know your parents will not be pleased if you do not keep up with your studies."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Drake grunted. "Go tell the tutor I'll be with her in a few minutes. And in the meantime, give her some tea or something—that way she can't say she didn't have anything to do while waiting on me."

"Very good, young master," Jasmine nodded and she turned and headed back down the stairs.

By this time Jessica had stopped her wild attack on Drake and was panting heavily from sheer exhaustion. "Drake, you're a real pain, you know that?" she glowered at him. "How I manage to put up with you sometimes is beyond even me!"

"And who said you had to?" Drake turned his back to her and leaned against the doorjamb.

"Well, it's not as if I can just get up one day and suddenly decide I'm not going to be your sister anymore," Jessica grumbled, crossing her arms. "At the very least, though, can you try _not _being so obnoxious and exasperating?"

"Whatever are you talking about?" Drake wondered.

"You want me to be specific?" Jessica's tone had an edge to it. "I'm talking about your little antic the day before yesterday—heading all the way to Duel Academy Island just to have another pointless duel with that Janus Yuki!"

"It may seem pointless to you, but not to me," Drake returned flatly. "Still…I've spent all of yesterday trying to figure it out and still can't get an answer…how did he beat me? How COULD he beat me? I had him right where I wanted him! My strategy was perfect! My life points were way higher!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Drake, but there is no dueling strategy that can be called 'perfect,'" Jessica replied. "And whether you want to say it was luck or something else, the fact is that he beat you, just like he's always beaten you. Deal with it."

"No! I'm not going to let this stand!" Drake said hotly. "I'm going to get back at Janus for that humiliation, no matter what!"

"What're you going to do—trek your sorry ass to Duel Academy and challenge him again?" Jessica needled him. "I'm surprised you didn't do that yesterday—not that it wouldn't have been a complete waste of everyone's time, anyhow."

"No…I've got something else in mind," Drake answered, in a low tone. "Just you wait, Jess. As soon as all my tutors come and go today and I have some free time, I'm going to set a few things in motion…and then, Janus will rue the day he ever learned my name."

Jessica turned her head away, disgusted. "I can't believe you're behaving this way all because of some stupid girl…" she muttered.

She wasn't prepared for Drake swiftly spinning around and grabbing the front of her blouse in a hard grip, forcefully slamming her against the doorjamb. "Jessica Shania Phoenix…" His voice was icy; his eyes were like steel daggers piercing into hers. "Don't you _**EVER**_ let me hear you say that again. Got it?"

Now the belligerence was completely gone from Jessica's face, replaced by real fright as she stared back into his eyes. "Yeah…got it. Sorry."

Snorting, Drake let go of her and headed for the stairs. Watching his departure for a moment, Jessica put a hand to her heart and looked down, a pained expression on her face. _Oh, man…his memory of Racquel must still affect him a lot more than I thought…I shouldn't have said that at all… _She closed her eyes. _Drake…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ Yeah…how about I just let you guys deliver your own interpretations of what just happened? And as for Janus and Ricardo's discussion regarding the existence of Duel Monster spirits…what would you think? Also, don't worry—we'll all soon see Adam and Jacki again, and see what they can do! Look out for the next chapter!

krizrampage: neomage! Clean your room!

neomage: Make me!

rampagerkriz: We'll let you go and eat at Burger King if you do…

neomage: Burger King? ALL RIGHT! (grabs a broom and starts sweeping)


	8. The Rhodes Siblings, Part 1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: neomage is not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX! **(secretly stuffs burgers into a hidden cabinet in his room)**)

**CHAPTER 8 – The Rhodes Siblings, Part 1**

DUEL ACADEMY HARBOR, A SHORT WHILE LATER

Principal Yuki, Janus and Ricardo were now standing together at the docks, looking out for Adam and Jacki's ship to come in. "How much longer are they gonna be?" Janus asked, hopping from one foot to the next in his impatience. "Geez, ships travel so slowly!"

"Relax, son," Principal Yuki assured him. "They shouldn't be much longer now."

"Yeah, you're right about that!" Ricardo suddenly pointed. "Look—over there! That must be it!"

All three of them looked in the direction of Ricardo's pointing finger—and sure enough, off in the distance was an approaching ship! "Yes! That's gotta be them, for real!" Janus said excitedly. "All right, ship, hurry up and anchor in!"

----------

"We will be docking in at Duel Academy in fifteen minutes! Passengers, prepare to disembark!"

The announcement rang out loud and long over the PA system. Standing at the railing on the deck, Jacki was quite excited. "Hey, Adam, can you see it? Duel Academy's right there!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I see it," Adam nodded. "Another fifteen minutes, and we'll be there."

"Do you think they can see us?" Jacki continued. "I hope Cousin Janus is waiting there for us!"

"I'm sure he's there," Adam nodded again. "And is your deck ready?"

"Yep! I finished setting it up just a little while ago! I even have it right here in my pocket!" Jacki patted her pocket for emphasis. "What about you?"

"Mmm-hmm," and Adam patted his own pocket, where his deck lay safely. "Now, it's only a matter of waiting, and then we'll be there…and hopefully Janus will be ready to duel, too."

----------

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

In what seemed little time at all, the ship had docked into the harbor, and the gangplank was being lowered. "I told you it wouldn't be long," Principal Yuki smiled at Janus.

"Indeed," said Ricardo. "Now, then—to find your cousins…"

"Cousin Janus! Cousin Janus, over here!"

Looking up, Janus caught sight of Jacki and Adam on the ship's deck. "Hey there, guys! Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, too long if you ask us," Adam replied good-naturedly. "But it's great to see you again, for real."

Jacki swiftly made her way to the gangplank, practically flying down its length to where the trio stood waiting. "Cousin!" she cried, jumping onto Janus.

"Wow, she's quite a lively one, isn't she now?" Ricardo laughed.

"A trait she gets from her father," Principal Yuki explained, rubbing his nose and grinning.

Presently Janus set Jacki back down. "So, how're things over at West Academy?" he inquired. "You guys making waves over there or what?"

"Adam's the king of dueling at West Academy, and I'm the queen!" Jacki said importantly.

"Don't mislead the folks, little twerp," Adam spoke up, having descended the gangplank by this time. "What she means to say is, I'm the king and she's my jester."

"Am not!" Jacki stuck her tongue out at him.

"Adam Rhodes…been a while since I last saw you," Ricardo addressed Adam.

"Indeed," Adam nodded at him. "How's Professor Misawa, by the way? He still talking in the language of numbers?"

"Unfortunately," Janus chuckled. "And Ricardo here takes after him, after a fashion."

"Yeah, right!" Ricardo snapped.

"Well, it's really great to see you kids here," Principal Yuki spoke to Adam and Jacki. "Unfortunately, you're not going to have a lot of time to visit with Janus; he's got a class at 9:30."

"Roughly an hour or so from now," Adam observed. "More than enough time, I think."

"In that case…" Principal Yuki's eyes flashed. "How would you like to combine your social visit with a demonstration of your dueling skills for some of our students?"

"Huh? A demonstration?" Jacki asked, surprised.

"That's right," Principal Yuki nodded. "You already know about our auditorium, where we have our official dueling arena…well, if memory serves me correctly, there should be a class in there right now. So, what say we go pay that class a visit, hmmm?"

"Which class is that?" Janus blinked.

"I know what it is," replied Ricardo. "It's the Introduction to Basic Dueling course—and it's taught by your mother, Janus. It's a class mainly for the freshmen who're just starting to learn how to play Duel Monsters."

"Aunt Alexis teaches that class? Cool!" Adam's eyes lit up. "Then why not, Uncle Jaden? Let's head over there right now!"

"All right, then!" Principal Yuki nodded. "Follow me, everyone!"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, A SHORT WHILE LATER

"All right, everyone; who can tell me the three basic types of cards in Duel Monsters?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki addressed her class. She was standing at the edge of the dueling platform, facing the students who were seated at ringside. "Anyone?"

A student near the back raised her hand. "Monsters, Magic cards, and Traps!" she recited.

"That's right," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "Now, these three basic types are each broken down into further categories. Let's take Monster cards as an example—how many types do you think there are?"

"Ummmm…" some of the students frowned in consideration.

"I know! I know!" a second random student waved her hand. "Four!"

"Right!" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded again. "Can you tell the class what those four types are?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the second student replied. "Normal monsters, Effect monsters, Fusion monsters, and Ritual monsters!"

"Yes!" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki smiled. "Here's an easy way to tell them apart. Normal monsters have yellow borders on them…Effect monsters' borders are orange…Fusion monsters' borders are violet…and Ritual monsters' borders are blue."

"Excuse us…hope we're not interrupting too much," a voice suddenly spoke up from the doorway."

Turning, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki beheld her husband and son, as well as her nephew and niece, and Ricardo too. "Ah—come on in!" she invited. "Students, say good morning to Principal Yuki!"

"Good morning, Principal Yuki!" her students chimed in.

"Hello, everyone," Principal Yuki laughed. "So, what this class's lesson about?"

"I'm just teaching them about the three basic card categories in Duel Monsters," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki explained. "We were just getting into their various sub-categories, when you happened by."

"I see." Principal Yuki nodded approval. "Well…students, how would you like a little treat from me—as part of your lesson?"

"Really? Wow!" some of the students exclaimed. "What is it?"

"Jaden…what're you up to?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki asked him in a low tone.

"Relax, Alexis; it'll really be for their benefit, you'll see." Principal Yuki then turned back to the class. "How would you kids like to see a first-hand demonstration of the various types of cards in action? We have here, ready to perform for you, two visiting students from West Academy…Adam and Jacki Rhodes!"

"Hello, everyone," said Adam, and he and Jacki bowed respectfully.

"And their opponents…Janus of Osiris Red, and Ricardo of Ra Yellow!" Principal Yuki continued, grinning more widely as he pointed out the two students in question.

Ricardo's eyes widened at this. Then he smiled. "Well…I wasn't expecting to actually duel, but…what the hey. I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"So, milady, what do you think? Your students here get to see an up-close demo of your lesson in practice…and your niece and nephew get a chance to do what they do best, and with members of their family no less!" Principal Yuki spoke to his wife. "And anyway, Janus will only have a limited amount of time to hang with his cousins before he has to go to class…and they, in turn, have to be back at West Academy by noon. This'll be good for all of them, you'll see."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…well, I suppose I could let my students have a little fun watching the kids duel," she reasoned. "All right, Jaden. But you're going to cook dinner tonight to pay me for this opportunity, you hear me?"

"Stewed beef or turkey surprise?" Principal Yuki grinned.

"I'll get back to you on that." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki then turned and addressed her class. "All right, everyone! Let's get ourselves ready for this demonstration, what do you say?"

"All right!" the students cheered.

"Great!" Principal Yuki turned to the four duelists. "So, how do you guys want to do this?"

"Um…" Jacki looked uncertain. "Actually, Adam and I both wanted to duel Janus, but…"

"Here's an idea," Adam offered. "Since you're the one who brought it up with us, we'll let you determine how the dueling will be done. That all right with you?"

"Fair enough," Principal Yuki nodded. "In that case…Jacki, why don't you and Ricardo duel first? Then Adam and Janus can duel after you two are done."

"Okay," Jacki nodded assent. Then she looked at Ricardo. "What do you think?"

"I don't mind at all," Ricardo replied. "It'll be good practice for both of us, as far as I'm concerned. So let's go ahead and get into this."

"Then it's settled!" Principal Yuki's voice became official. "Duelists, onto the platform now!"

He and Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki stepped off the platform and joined her class on the sidelines; meanwhile, Ricardo and Jacki quickly ascended the platform together. Off to the side, Janus nudged Adam. "I gotta warn you, Ricardo's not going to be a pushover," he whispered.

"Nor will Jacki," Adam returned. "She's been dueling exclusively against me as training ever since the last time you saw us. That should tell you something."

By this time Ricardo and Jacki were on opposite sides of the platform. "Well, good luck, I guess," said Jacki. "But you'd better know I'm not going to hold back!"

"Nor will I," replied Ricardo. "Let's go!"

Immediately he and Jacki pulled out their respective Duel-Disks, slid them on, and then slotted their respective decks into their deck slots. As they did this, the holographic coin emerged on the field. "I think I'll be nice and let you call it," Ricardo offered.

"Thanks," said Jacki. "In that case, I'll call tails!"

The coin was flipped…and it flew into the air, spinning as it went. Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's students watched it in awe. "Ooohhhh…"

"What do you think their chances are?" Principal Yuki asked.

"Hard to say, honestly," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki admitted. "Ricardo's among the best of the Ra Yellow students, and Jacki's one of West Academy's elite. It could really go either way…I guess the only way to know is to watch."

The coin then landed on the ground…and its face showed tails. "Okay! So I'll go first, then!" Jacki announced.

**RICARDO: 8000; JACKI: 8000**

Both of them drew their five starting cards as their life points each went up to 8000; then Jacki drew her sixth card. "Now, to start things off," she announced, "I'll set two cards facedown…and then summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 4 (ATK 1600, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later, there emerged on her side of the field a silver dragon, breathing black smoke and fire from its nostrils. "And that'll end my turn for now," Jacki finished. "Feel lucky? Then take your turn."

Smirking, Ricardo drew his card. "All right, then. I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for now."

"See that, class?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki addressed her students. "What Jacki did for her first turn was to set two cards facedown in her Magic/Trap zone. You can either activate Magic cards straight from your hand, or set them facedown and wait to use them later, but Trap cards must be set facedown first before you can use them on a later turn."

"Right," nodded Principal Yuki. "Plus, Jacki and Ricardo just demonstrated two different ways to summon monsters: Jacki Normal Summoned hers in Attack Mode, while Ricardo set his in Defense Mode. When a monster is Normal Summoned in Attack Mode, it is always placed vertically face-up, and when a monster is set in Defense Mode, it is always placed horizontally facedown."

"But couldn't they have Normal Summoned their monsters in face-up Defense Mode if they'd wanted to?" one of the students wondered.

"No, the rules do not allow you to do that," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki replied.

Jacki, meanwhile, drew her next card so she now held four in her hand. "Hmmm…nice, very nice," she chuckled. "All right—I activate the Magic card, Inspection! Now, as long as this card remains on the field, during your Standby Phase I can pay 500 of my life points to randomly choose and look at one card in your hand."

Ricardo made a face. "Okay…that's not very nice…"

"You think so? Then wait'll you see this!" Jacki held up one of the three cards remaining in her hand. "I'll offer my Horus as a tribute to summon…Gravi-Crush Dragon (ATK 2400, DEF 1200)!"

Horus the Black Flame Dragon disappeared from the field…and then, in its place stood a big, muscular black dragon with two massive fists and spiked bracelets on its wrists. Janus's eyes widened when he saw this monster. "Hey, Adam, Jacki never had this monster last time around!" he remarked.

"Of course she didn't," Adam smirked. "She's been quite busy prepping her deck, modifying it and whatnot. And your friend is about to be in for a rude surprise…"

"Now, listen up, Ricardo," Jacki spoke up. "I'm not gonna take the chance that your facedown monster has an effect that you're waiting to spring on me, so here's what I'll do…I'll activate Gravi-Crush Dragon's effect!"

"His effect? And what does that do?" Ricardo cocked a suspicious eyebrow.

"Well…" Jacki gave a devilish little grin. "If I send one Continuous Magic card that I control to the Graveyard, then Gravi-Crush Dragon can destroy one monster that you control! So, I'll sacrifice my Inspection card…and your facedown monster will be history!"

"Uh-oh!" Ricardo reared back in surprise.

The Inspection card suddenly vanished from the field—and in turn, Gravi-Crush Dragon slammed one heavy fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that completely decimated Ricardo's facedown monster! But Jacki wasn't quite done. "That was his effect in play—and he's still got his regular attack rearing to go!" she declared. "So, Gravi-Crush Dragon—attack with your Gravi-Crush Punch!" And the dragon slammed his other fist into the ground, creating another shockwave that knocked Ricardo off his feet as his life points shot down to 5600.

**RICARDO: 5600; JACKI: 8000**

"Awesome…that's one wicked effect right there!" Janus looked on in wonder.

"You better believe it," Adam smiled.

Ricardo carefully got back up—and on his face was a smirk. "Okay…so that's the kind of power you're working with, is it?" he asked. "Well…in that case, it would seem I underestimated you a little. But I won't make that mistake again, trust me."

"If you say so," and Jacki smirked too. "Now, come on!"

As Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's class continued to watch, the duel between Ricardo and Jacki continued. Ricardo held five cards in his hand; Jacki had two. On the field Ricardo had absolutely nothing; Jacki had her Gravi-Crush Dragon in Attack Mode and two cards facedown. And it was now Ricardo's turn.

He quickly drew his next card, giving him six in hand. "Okay…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…and then activate this Magic card, Jam Breeding Machine!"

Suddenly a large machine emerged on Ricardo's side of the field. "Now, as long as this card stays on the field," he explained, "during each of my Standby Phases I can Special Summon what is known as a Slime Token in Attack Mode. That Slime Token will be considered an Aqua-type, Water-attribute, Level 1 monster with 500 ATK and 500 DEF…and as long as the Jam Breeding Machine remains on my side of the field, I will be unable to Normal Summon, Flip Summon, or Special Summon any other monsters."

"Quite a disadvantage you're placing on yourself, don't you think?" Jacki asked.

"Not really…everything a duelist does is for a purpose," Ricardo replied. "So now, I'll set one other card facedown, and then call it a turn. Your move."

"Okay!" Jacki drew again, giving her three cards in her hand. "Well, now I think I'll activate one of my facedown cards—the Trap card, Dragon's Rage! Now, as long as this card stays on the field, each time I attack one of your Defense Mode monsters with a Dragon-type monster, and its ATK is higher than that defending monster's DEF, the difference will be deducted from your life points as battle damage!"

"Urgh…" Ricardo seemed to flinch at that information.

"And next, I'll activate my other Trap card—The Dragon's Bead!" Jacki added, as her other card also flipped face-up. "Now, as long as this card remains on the field, by discarding one card from my hand I can negate the effect of a Trap card that designates one Dragon-type monster as a target and destroy that Trap card! So my dragons will now be safe from whatever you can throw at them in the way of traps!"

"You think you've got it all figured out, don't you?" Ricardo cocked an eyebrow.

"You'll soon see!" Jacki then held up one of her cards. "Now, I'll activate the Magic card, Premature Burial! By paying 800 life points, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard and equip it with this card…and I choose my Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 4!"

**RICARDO: 5600; JACKI: 7200**

A second later, Jacki's life points dropped down to 7200…and then Horus Lv. 4 emerged, puffing black flame and smoke like before. Watching from the sidelines, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded to her class. "See that, guys?" she said to them. "That type of summon that she just performed is a Special Summon, which can be done using card effects. When you Special Summon a monster, you can summon it face-up in either Attack or Defense Mode."

"All right, Horus the Black Flame Dragon—attack that monster now!" Jacki cried—and Horus blasted intense black flames from its mouth at the monster, revealing it to be a blue watery blob that swiftly got incinerated! At the same time, as the monster had been in Defense Mode, due to the effect of the Dragon's Rage trap card Ricardo's life points shot down to 4500!

**RICARDO: 4500; JACKI: 7200**

"Ugh…that monster you just destroyed was my Revival Jam (ATK 1500, DEF 500)," Ricardo spoke up. "And when it's sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I can pay 1000 life points…then, afterwards, I get to Special Summon the Revival Jam in face-up Defense Mode during my next Standby Phase."

"That's all well and good, but don't forget—your Jam Breeding Machine prevents you from summoning any monsters while it's active!" Jacki pointed out. "So even if you do pay those life points, it won't mean much, will it? Now, then…Gravi-Crush Dragon, attack directly once again!" And Gravi-Crush Dragon slammed his mighty fist into the ground, sending out another shockwave that slammed into Ricardo once again and lowered his life points even more.

**RICARDO: 2100; JACKI: 7200**

"Aw, come on! That Ra Yellow guy's weak!" one of Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's students complained. "At this rate, that girl's gonna beat him!"

"Remember one thing—dueling isn't always about strength," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki cautioned. "Ricardo might just surprise you with his next move. Just watch."

"All right. I'll end my turn now…" Jacki began.

Suddenly—startling everyone there—Horus Lv. 4 began to shine brightly! "Oh, did I forget to mention?" Jacki inquired, an impish grin on her face. "During the end of a turn when Horus Lv. 4 destroyed a monster as a result of battle, by sending him to the Graveyard I can Special Summon a stronger version of him from my hand or deck…and so, from my deck comes: Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 6 (ATK 2300, DEF 1600)!"

In an instant, Horus Lv. 4 and the Premature Burial card vanished in a burst of explosive sparks…and suddenly, standing in their place was an even bigger dragon with a pinkish-metallic body, snorting black flames even as it glared at Ricardo. "And just so you know, as long as Horus Lv. 6 is on the field, he's unaffected by the effects of Magic cards," Jacki finished.

"Hmm…okay, so your monster's pretty impressive," Ricardo admitted. "But he's not going to take me down just so! I still have cards to play!"

With that he drew his next card, giving him four in hand…and then in an instant, the Jam Breeding Machine spat out a viscous blob that splattered onto Ricardo's side of the field. "Eeeewww!" several of the students cried out at once, looking visibly disgusted.

"All right," Ricardo declared. "Now, first I'll play the Magic card Pot of Greed, which will allow me to draw two cards from my deck!" And he drew his two cards, so now he held five.

"Now, time to set things in motion," Ricardo continued. "I'll activate another Magic card from my hand, one that'll turn things around for certain—Gryphon's Feather Duster! This will destroy all Magic and Trap cards on my side of the field, and for each one destroyed I'll get 500 life points!"

In an instant a black-feathered wing swiftly swept across Ricardo's Magic and Trap zone, clearing away the Jam Breeding Machine and the facedown card he'd had there. "And since Gryphon's Feather Duster obviously doesn't count itself in its effect, my life points will go up by 1000," Ricardo commented, even as his life points went up to 3100.

**RICARDO: 3100; JACKI: 7200**

"And that served…what purpose?" Jacki frowned.

"Allow me to show you!" Ricardo chuckled. "Now, remember the facedown card that just got destroyed by my Gryphon's Feather Duster? Well, that was my Magic card, Ojamagic—and when it's sent from my hand or my side of the field to the Graveyard, I get to search my deck for three specific monsters and add them to my hand. And the three monsters are: Ojama Black (ATK 0, DEF 1000), Ojama Green (ATK 0, DEF 1000), and Ojama Yellow (ATK 0, DEF 1000)!"

On the sidelines, Adam cocked an eyebrow. "Ojamas…I see…so that's his strategy, huh?"

"His strategy's a wholly mixed-up one, let me tell you," Janus grumbled. "It's not just his Ojamas—his strategy is all over the place."

Meanwhile, Ricardo swiftly pulled out the three selected cards, and held them up for Jacki to see. "The Ojamas, huh? But they've got no ATK and barely any DEF," she told him. "What good will they do you, especially against what I've got right here?"

"Oh, plenty of good, believe it or not," Ricardo answered. "Now, I activate this Magic card, Enchanting Fitting Room! At a cost of 800 life points to activate, this will allow me to pick up four cards from the top of my deck, and Special Summon to my side of the field all Level 3 or lower Normal monsters among them. Then, any other cards I pick up are returned to the deck and the deck is then shuffled. So…here I go!"

**RICARDO: 2300; JACKI: 7200**

His life points dropping to 2300, he quickly picked up four cards, then held them up for Jacki to see: two more copies of Ojama Green and Ojama Black, the Magic card Ojamuscle, and the monster card Inpachi (ATK 1600, DEF 1900). At once the two Ojamas, some rather funny-looking blobs with grotesque faces and arms and legs and clad only in briefs, were summoned to the field in Defense Mode, comically flexing their muscles even as they knelt in a defensive position; the other two cards were swiftly returned to the deck, which Ricardo wasted no time shuffling.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" the students all cried in disbelief. "NO WAY!"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki smiled and shook her head. _I guess my simply telling them that strength isn't everything won't really impact on them too much…they'll have to witness it for themselves with their own eyes…_

"Now, I'll use my Normal Summon and bring forth to the field…Ojama Yellow in Attack Mode!" Ricardo announced—and he summoned a yellow blob similarly dressed like his green and black counterparts. "And now, the stage is set."

"For…?" Jacki's eyebrows rose disbelievingly.

"For me to use this—the Magic card, Ojama Delta Hurricane!" Ricardo swiftly held the card up. "When I have Ojama Black, Ojama Green, and Ojama Yellow together on my side of the field, this card…will destroy everything on your side of the field!"

Jacki reared up at that. "ACK! NO!"

But right in front of her eyes, the three Ojamas suddenly jumped into the air, forming a triangular formation—then from the middle of that formation came a burst of wind with the force of a typhoon, blasting everything on Jacki's side of the field into smithereens! The wind was so strong, everyone nearby was in danger of being blown away! "Whoa! Ricardo, tone down on the wind, would ya?" Janus bellowed.

Then, little by little, the breeze settled down…and there was dust everywhere. "Oh, whoa, man," some of the students whispered. "Did you see that?"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki chuckled. "Now do you believe what I said before, you guys?"

Then the dust cleared away—but much to everyone's surprise, Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 6 was still standing! "Uh—what?" Janus couldn't believe his eyes. "Why is that dragon still there?"

Jacki laughed out loud. "Ha, ha! Did you really forget what I said about Horus Lv. 6's special effect?" she inquired. "He's immune to the effects of all Magic cards…so even your Ojama Delta Hurricane just now, to him, didn't feel any worse than a summer breeze."

"Actually, no, I hadn't forgotten about that," Ricardo assured her. "So, I'll set another card facedown, to be safe, and then end my turn. Go ahead."

"Right! My draw!" Jacki drew again; now she held three cards in her hand. "All right…I activate the Magic card, Dragon's Gunfire! I can only activate this card if I have a Dragon-type monster on my side of the field…and since I do, I can either inflict 800 points of damage to your life points, or I can destroy one face-up monster that has a DEF of 800 or less. And…to get the ball rolling, I'll use the first effect and inflict damage to your life points!"

Horus Lv. 6 reared his head back, then blasted a ball of black fire straight at Ricardo. The Ra Yellow students flinched and cried out as the intense heat of the attack hit him head-on, sharply lowering his life points to 1500 in the process. "Agh! That hurt, you know!" he snapped, hurriedly brushing the flames off his jacket.

**RICARDO: 1500; JACKI: 7200**

"And now, your life points are just low enough for me to wage an attack that'll wipe you out of this game for good!" Jacki laughed triumphantly. "So, Horus Lv. 6, attack his Ojama Yellow and end this duel now!"

As Ojama Yellow quivered in immense terror, Horus Lv. 6 gathered up more black flame in his mouth. But suddenly Ricardo shouted, "Don't think so! I activate my trap card—Eliminating the League!"

"What?" Jacki exclaimed.

"By discarding one Magic card from my hand," and here Ricardo discarded a card, the Magic card Ojamuscle, to the Graveyard, "I get to destroy one of your face-up monsters! So, your Horus dragon may be immune to Magic cards—but Trap cards can still get the job done!"

"Eeeeeek!" Jacki screeched at the realization.

All at once a massive hole in the ground opened up, swallowing a bewildered Horus Lv. 6 whole! "But that's not all I get to do," Ricardo added. "I can also check your hand, and any cards that you're holding that have the same name as the monster I just destroyed will be sent to the Graveyard as well. So, come on—let me see what you've got…"

Cringing, Jacki held up her two remaining cards for Ricardo to see: Magna-Slash Dragon (ATK 2400, DEF 1200) and Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 8 (ATK 3000, DEF 1800). "Hmmm…nope, none with the exact same name as Horus Lv. 6," Ricardo noted. "Although it must suck that you haven't got anything to prevent the oncoming assault, huh?"

"What're you talking about? Sure, I may not have anything on the field now, but your monsters aren't much to speak of!" Jacki retorted.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Ricardo laughed. "Now, then…"

Again he drew, giving him a total of three cards in hand…and his eyes widened when he saw what he'd gotten. "Well, well, well…let's see how this works out, then, huh?" he suggested. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Graceful Charity, which will let me draw three cards—but then I have to discard two right afterwards. So, let's have 'em here!"

A green-robed angel appeared to Ricardo at that moment, holding out three cards to him; accepting them, he then swiftly discarded the two he'd been holding to the Graveyard. "And I am now holding everything I'll need to end this duel!" he said. "First things first…hope you haven't forgotten the Slime Token that I've had on the field so far, because now I'll be sacrificing it to summon…Woodborg Inpachi (ATK 500, DEF 2500) in Attack Mode!"

The Slime Token suddenly grew in size, exploding outward in a shower of water…and emerging from it was a large robotic figure with wheels for legs and a huge number 18 on its chest. Then Ricardo held up another card from his hand. "Next, I'll activate my own Premature Burial, and pay 800 life points to Special Summon the first monster you destroyed earlier with your Gravi-Crush Dragon's effect…my Humanoid Slime (ATK 800, DEF 2000)!"

A moment later, as Ricardo's life points dropped further to 700, there appeared on his side of the field a blue and yellow slime blob. "And next, I'll shift my Ojama Black and Ojama Green into Attack Mode," continued Ricardo, and his two Ojamas jumped up gleefully, again flexing their muscles in a comical manner.

Then Ricardo held up the very last card left in his hand. "And finally, I'll activate this Magic card…Shield & Sword! Until the end of this turn, this card will switch around the original ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field…which means that now all five of my monsters have enough power between them to wipe out your life points!"

"What? No way!" Jacki cried.

"Go, my monsters! Attack!" Ricardo commanded. And all five of them did so, one after the other: the three Ojamas, each one's ATK shifted to 1000, barreled into Jacki's chest in one simultaneous strike, bringing her life points down to 4200. Then Woodborg Inpachi, its ATK changed to 2500, rushed forward and rammed into her, knocking her down and lowering her life points further to 1700. Finally, Humanoid Slime, with its ATK altered to 2000, transformed into a wave of water and surged right toward Jacki, splashing her and knocking her off her feet as her life points went all the way down to 0!

**RICARDO: 1500; JACKI: 0**

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's class stared in amazement. "Whoa…did you see that? That was awesome!" they exclaimed.

"All right—this duel is over!" Principal Yuki stood up and announced. "The winner—Ricardo, of Duel Academy's Ra Yellow dorm! Let's hear it for him!" And he began to applaud loudly, followed moments later by Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki and her students.

Ricardo walked over to where Jacki was just picking herself up. "That was a good duel, Jacki," he told her. "You almost had me worried for a little while."

She smiled sheepishly. "And here I was thinking that your deck wasn't worth much," she admitted. "I'm just glad you proved me wrong. Let's have another duel sometime, huh?"

"Sure thing!" Ricardo nodded. "Just come to Duel Academy anytime!"

"Sweet duel, you guys!" Janus exclaimed behind them. Turning, the two saw him climbing onto the platform to meet them. "Jacki, you really played a great game!" Janus continued. "And you, Ricardo, those combos were just rockin'!"

"Thanks," Jacki answered. "But I guess I need to go back to the drawing board with this deck of mine…"

"Well, what Janus says is true—you both played well," Adam spoke up, ascending the platform to join them. "More importantly, though, it's time for Janus and me to have our duel."

"Oh, yes—I'd almost forgotten about that!" Ricardo exclaimed. "C'mon, Jacki, let's give these two their necessary space, eh?"

"Right!" Jacki nodded, and she hurried off the platform with Ricardo hot on her heels.

"All right, fellows! You ready to duel?" Principal Yuki called to Janus and Adam.

"Yeah!" they both replied.

"Then get yourselves in position…because it's time for you to get in gear!" Principal Yuki nodded approval.

Janus and Adam nodded to him, then to each other. "Let's do this!" they declared.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Before anyone mails me to ask, NO, Jam Breeding Machine's effect doesn't state that you can't use the Slime Tokens as tributes for a Tribute Summon. So, anyhow, Jacki and Ricardo's match-up is done…Janus and Adam are next! Stay tuned for that!


	9. The Rhodes Siblings, Part 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yawn…I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 9 – The Rhodes Siblings, Part 2**

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM

Janus and Adam now stood on opposite sides of the dueling platform, readying their Duel-Disks and cards. On the sidelines, Principal Yuki, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki and her class, and Ricardo and Jacki were all watching with anticipation. "It's been a while since I've actually been able to see Adam duel," Principal Yuki admitted. "Let's find out if he's rusted any, or if he's as sharp as ever."

"You can count on Atticus to make sure that his kids' dueling skills don't rust," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki assured him. "My brother may have his odd moments at times, but there are few people you can count on to get Duel Monsters training done better than him."

As the two duelists' life points each went up to 8000, Adam smiled casually. "Sure you don't want to call it quits now?" he inquired. "Especially considering the strength of your deck compared to what I'm about to unleash on you…"

"Come on! Like I'm going to run away from this!" Janus retorted good-naturedly.

"Heh." Adam smirked now. "Well, sorry to have to remind you, but there are only a few people you can't beat at this game, Janus. And unfortunately for you, I happen to be one of those people."

"We'll see if that's still true, now won't we?" Janus answered. "Now, bring it on!"

**JANUS: 8000; ADAM: 8000**

The holographic coin then appeared on the field. "Since I'm the guest here, I will call it," Adam announced. "And I call heads!"

Then the coin was flipped…and it flew up into the air, even as Janus and Adam watched it carefully. And then it landed on the ground…and the result…was tails. "Ha! You lost that toss!" Janus laughed aloud. "So I'll go first for this duel!"

Adam said nothing, but merely smirked as he and Janus both drew their first five cards.

Janus then drew his sixth card to begin. "Now, to start things off, I'll summon my Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" And in a flash of light, his Sparkman appeared on the field with electricity crackling around his body. "That'll do for the time being. Do your worst!"

"You're going to regret making that request," Adam told him as he drew his card. "Because now I'll Special Summon from my hand…Cyber Dragon (ATK 2100, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!"

All at once, a massive white mechanical creature emerged on Adam's side, hissing at Janus. "If you have monsters on your side of the field and I have none, I can Special Summon the Cyber Dragon straight from my hand," Adam informed Janus. "But that's not all I'm going to do—now I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth my Proto-Cyber Dragon (ATK 1100, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" And then he brought out a smaller gray mechanical snake. "Now, Cyber Dragon, destroy his Sparkman! Strident Blast!"

Cyber Dragon promptly unleashed a massive blast of electrical energy from its mouth, disintegrating Sparkman and sharply reducing Janus's life points.

**JANUS: 7500; ADAM: 8000**

Then Adam shouted: "Now, Proto-Cyber Dragon, attack directly!" And Proto-Cyber Dragon followed up with a smaller orange blast that slammed into Janus and knocked him down, reducing his life points even further.

**JANUS: 6400; ADAM: 8000**

"Whoa…he doesn't waste any time, does he?" Ricardo chuckled.

"That's Adam for you—straight for the jugular if he can," Jacki replied.

"Finally, I'll toss one card facedown, and end my turn," Adam finished. "So, Janus…any misgivings yet?"

"Not a chance!" Janus answered as he drew his next card, giving him a total of six again. "I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then his fiery female hero emerged in a burst of flame that covered her whole body.

"Think you're going to destroy my Proto-Cyber Dragon with that? Think again!" Adam rebutted. "I activate my trap card, Attack Reflector Unit! This allows me to tribute one Cyber Dragon on my side of the field to summon an upgraded version from my hand or deck—and since Proto-Cyber Dragon's effect lets me treat it as a regular Cyber Dragon while it's face-up on the field, I'll tribute it to Special Summon…Cyber Barrier Dragon (ATK 800, DEF 2800) from my hand in Defense Mode!"

All at once, Proto-Cyber Dragon's body shone with a massive white light…and then, when it subsided, there on Adam's side of the field was a massive upgraded version of the standard Cyber Dragon, with a force field being generated from its neck. "Sorry, but you won't be breaking through this defensive wall anytime soon!" Adam remarked.

"Actually, I'm not gonna worry about your Cyber Barrier Dragon for now," said Janus. "Because I'm going to do something else—I'm going to activate the effect of an Elemental Hero card from my hand!"

"Huh?" Adam cocked an eyebrow on hearing this.

Janus then held up one of his five remaining cards for Adam to see. "You see this card? This is my Elemental Hero Captain Gold (ATK 2100, DEF 800)—and I can discard him from my hand to the Graveyard to add one 'Skyscraper' Field Magic card from my deck to my hand. So, out with Captain Gold…" He sent the card in question to the Graveyard. "…and in with Skyscraper!" He pulled out his deck and thumbed through it, finding the card he was looking for and adding it to his hand.

Adam's eyes narrowed as he watched this unfold. _I see…he's going to use Skyscraper's effect to power up his Burstinatrix and make her strong enough to at least defeat my Cyber Dragon…not bad, cousin!_

"And now—I'll activate the Skyscraper that I just got from my deck!" Janus quickly played the card—and suddenly, there emerged all around them numerous tall buildings against the backdrop of a nighttime sky. "But wait—I'm not done yet…"

"Say what?" Adam exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right," Janus nodded and grinned. "Because next I'll activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive Elemental Hero Captain Gold and Special Summon him to my side of the field, in Attack Mode! Now come on out, Captain Gold—come defend your city!"

In an instant, beside Burstinatrix there appeared a tall man wearing golden armor and a red cape, with horns protruding from his helmet. "Never hurts to have a little extra firepower on hand," Janus chuckled. "Now, it's time for Burstinatrix to burn your Cyber Dragon! And this is where it gets good—if an Elemental Hero attacks a monster that has higher ATK than itself, then Skyscraper will temporarily increase that Hero's ATK by 1000! So go, Burstinatrix—Burstfire Attack!"

Jumping high into the air, Burstinatrix formed two massive fireballs in her hands as her ATK shot up to 2200—then she flung them down upon Cyber Dragon, blowing it up and reducing Adam's life points to 7900.

**JANUS: 6400; ADAM: 7900**

"And there's gonna be plenty more where that one came from!" Janus assured Adam. "So, now I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn with that."

"Not too shabby," Adam acknowledged. "But still not good enough to defeat me! I'll show you what I mean in a moment!"

Again he drew a card, giving him three in hand. "Now, I summon Infernal Dragon (ATK 2000, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" He called forth a black dragon with numerous horns, spikes, and a tail with a spear-like tip. "Now, destroy Burstinatrix with Spear-Tail Swipe!" And the dragon lashed out with its massive tail, ready to cut Burstinatrix in two…

…but suddenly Janus called out, "Not quite! I activate my Trap card, Hero Barrier!" Then, right before Adam's eyes, a huge force field appeared in front of Burstinatrix, deflecting Infernal Dragon's attack with ease.

"Yeah, that's right; I'd forgotten about that," Adam chuckled. "If you have at least one Elemental Hero on your side of the field, Hero Barrier lets you negate one of my attacks. Well, all right, then, I'll end my turn now…oh, and if Infernal Dragon attacks, during the end of that same turn it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard." And as if to prove the point, Infernal Dragon spontaneously combusted in black flames and vanished from the field entirely.

"And you could've used Infernal Dragon's other effect right there—if it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon it right back by tributing one of your other monsters on the field," Janus noted.

"But why would I want to get rid of my best defense so that you could have a clear shot at my life points, hmmm?" Adam asked. "Nope, I think I'll pass on that one. Just go ahead and take your turn."

"Don't mind if I do!" Janus drew again, giving him a total of three cards in hand. "And whaddaya know—I've got a card that I happen to like! Well, now I'll offer both Burstinatrix and Captain Gold as tributes to summon my deck's toughest Hero…my Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

Both Burstinatrix and Captain Gold vanished in a shower of light-sparks…and then, in their place stood Neos, shadow-boxing as he stared down the Cyber Barrier Dragon. "Now you'd better watch out—give Neos the opportunity, and he'll kick your butt!" Janus laughed aloud.

"As if!" Adam answered. "Sure, Neos certainly seems strong, but can he break through my Cyber Barrier Dragon's defenses? I don't really think so!"

"Something tells me he'll soon prove you wrong," Janus replied. "For the time being, though, I'll just end my turn."

Again Adam drew his card, and again he ended up having a total of three in his hand. "Hmmm…well, it would seem that you won't have much longer to try and bring me down," he noted. "Because now I'll activate this Magic card…Future Fusion!"

Janus looked surprised. "Future Fusion?"

"Let me explain how it works," said Adam. "This card will allow me to send directly from my deck to the Graveyard, Fusion-material monsters that are listed on a certain selected Fusion Monster in my Fusion deck. Then, during my second Standby Phase after the turn I activated Future Fusion, I'm allowed to Special Summon one Fusion monster with the same name as the Fusion monster I selected, and that Special Summon is treated as a regular Fusion Summon."

At this point, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki turned to the students of her class. "Listen, everyone. Fusing monsters together is a common staple of many dueling strategies in Duel Monsters. Now, normally you need two or more specific monsters plus the Magic card Polymerization in order to do a Fusion Summon, which is in a way treated as a Special Summon. However, there are other ways to fuse monsters together, and Adam has just demonstrated one of them."

Janus, in the meantime, narrowed his eyes. "And which Fusion monster are you thinking of selecting?" he asked warily.

"Only one I need to think of…" Adam grinned. "And that monster is my powerful Cyberdark Dragon (ATK 1000, DEF 1000)! So, I'll use Future Fusion's effect to send from my deck to the Graveyard its Fusion-material monsters: Cyberdark Horn (ATK 800, DEF 800), Cyberdark Edge (ATK 800, DEF 800), and Cyberdark Keel (ATK 800, DEF 800)!"

The next thing Janus knew, he saw the ghostly spirits of three monsters vanishing from Adam's deck and heading straight to his Graveyard: Cyberdark Horn, a pink machine monster that seemed to resemble a dragon; Cyberdark Edge, a white machine monster that appeared to resemble a phoenix; and Cyberdark Keel, a gray machine monster that looked like a snake. "Now, you'd better prepare yourself, Janus," Adam warned. "In my next two turns after this, my great Cyberdark Dragon will come and take this duel out of your hands!"

"Not if I can help it!" Janus replied hotly. "Now, my move!"

He drew yet again from his deck. "Okay…now, time to bring Elemental Hero Neos into his natural element! I activate the Field Magic card…Neo Space!"

Suddenly, Skyscraper's buildings disintegrated into nothing…and then, all around them emerged swirling colors and numerous stars! "Whoa…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's students looked around in awe.

"Interesting…things are about to get very interesting…" Ricardo mused.

"Such pretty colors!" Jacki gushed, quite impressed.

Adam looked around at the change in scenery. "So…Neo Space, huh? Then I assume you're going to call upon one of your little Neo-Spacians, hmmm?"

"You assume correctly," said Janus. "But first, let's get a certain little effect out of the way…Neo Space increases the ATK of my Elemental Hero Neos, and any Fusion monster that includes him as Fusion material, by 500 points!" And in that instant, Neo Space's power seemed to pour itself directly into the jewel on Neos's chest, increasing his ATK to 3000!

Then Janus held up one of the two cards remaining in his hand. "Now, then…I summon my Neo-Spacian Dark Panther (ATK 1000, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" And he called forth a black panther wearing a billowing black cape and a snarl on its mouth. "And now, Elemental Hero Neos, destroy that Cyber Barrier Dragon! Use your Neo-Spacian Justice Rampage!"

His fists glowing with rainbow colors, powered by Neo Space, Elemental Hero Neos punched forward rapidly at the defending Cyber Barrier Dragon. His fists soon became a blur as they hammered into the withstanding metal—and then, moments later, the Cyber Barrier Dragon was reduced to scrap metal. "Aw, nuts," Adam muttered. "If I'd had the Cyber Barrier Dragon in Attack Mode, I could've used its effect to negate your first attack…"

"But the end result would be the same nonetheless—I'd be taking a nice nip at your life points!" Janus informed him. "Okay, Dark Panther, you're up! Attack directly with Dark Panther Pounce!" And the Neo-Spacian Dark Panther lunged forward at Adam, slashing at him with its claws as his life points went down sharply.

**JANUS: 6400; ADAM: 6900**

"Okay, then," Janus nodded as the Dark Panther returned to his side of the field. "Now that that's over and done, it's time for me to take a few protective measures! Just in case you manage to summon a monster on your next turn that can take out my Dark Panther, I'll protect it by doing what Neo-Spacians do best—Contact Fusion!"

"Contact Fusion…" Adam bit his lower lip at the mention of this.

"Yeah!" Janus nodded. "See, if Elemental Hero Neos and a Neo-Spacian are together on the field, then I can fuse them together without Polymerization to form a whole new kind of Neos! And now, I'm gonna fuse Neos and Dark Panther together to form…Elemental Hero Dark Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Dark Panther promptly jumped up high into the air together, colliding at the apex of the jump—and an even brighter light than what Neo Space was displaying exploded where they'd made contact, even as the two fused together. "Check that out!" Jacki exclaimed, looking on with wonder on her face.

"Quite so," Ricardo nodded. "Now Adam's going to be even more hard-pressed than before to pull a comeback out of his sleeve."

A moment later the light subsided, and Neos came back down to the ground—but he'd undergone a very obvious transformation. For now, he sported a dark furry body, feline features on his face, claws on his fingers and toes, and two large wings sprouting from his back. As he settled into place, his ATK rose again to 3000. "Remember what I said before, about my Neo Space's effect?" Janus reminded Adam. "Well, this is it in action once again. Oh, and just so you know, when Elemental Hero Neos and a Neo-Spacian do a Contact Fusion, they go back into my deck instead of going to the Graveyard…and also, normally at the end of the turn a Contact Fusion is done, any version of Neos that I Contact Fuse is returned to the Fusion deck—except now, since I have Neo Space out, that particular effect is negated."

Adam nodded, applauding a little. "Nice work, Janus," he said with approval. "Your Neos and those Neo-Spacians sure have some interesting power, after all. A little while back I was concerned that they were weak…but now I see they seem to have other special skills that can somewhat make up for their lack of muscle."

"Yeah, you got that right," Janus agreed.

Principal Yuki nodded. _That's so true…the Neo-Spacians are primarily a peaceful race, but they will do battle if they ever feel it is absolutely necessary…plus, their full potential will only truly come out in the hands of someone who understands them well, and Janus certainly fits that bill without a doubt!_

"Still…" Adam's tone was suddenly very serious. "I'm not about to lose this duel just because you've summoned a pretty powerful monster here. For one thing, my Future Fusion card is still in effect, and I intend to ensure that its purpose is served here today!"

"Like you'll ever get that chance," Janus scoffed.

"Watch me, then!" Adam drew his card—and suddenly the Future Fusion card pulsed energy. "All right…this is my first Standby Phase since I activated this card…now, just one more turn to go, and then everything will be set in motion! But first…let's see just how tough your Dark Neos really is, huh? For now I'm going to summon Exploder Dragon (ATK 1000, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later he called forth a dragon with numerous spines running down its back; in its front claws it appeared to be holding an egg of some sort. "And now…Exploder Dragon, attack his Elemental Hero Dark Neos!" Adam commanded.

"WHAT? But—Exploder Dragon will just destroy itself!" Jacki cried in astonishment. "Why would Adam do something like that?"

"Unless…" Ricardo's eyes narrowed.

Exploder Dragon flew forward at Dark Neos, who in turn braced himself for a collision and flew forward on his wings. Then the two monsters slammed into each other—and right at the point of impact, Exploder Dragon's egg glowed with a bright light…and BOOM! A massive explosion consumed both monsters instantly!

"Holy…!" Janus stared in surprise.

"I suppose I should explain," Adam remarked. "When Exploder Dragon attacks, any damage either player suffers from battle involving him becomes zero…and also, when he is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, his effect destroys the monster that destroyed him. So, since your Neos was stronger, he destroyed the Exploder Dragon—but forfeited his own life in the process."

Janus cringed at that. "That you'd willingly sacrifice your monster like that…"

"Both monsters would've been destroyed no matter which of us attacked first," Adam told him. "Don't feel too bad about it. Right now, though, I'm going to end my turn…but just wait, and then come next turn, Future Fusion will bring forth my Cyberdark Dragon…and your defeat with it!"

Swiftly Janus drew his next card, so now he held two in his hand. Then he looked at Adam's side of the field, and frowned. _Okay…it's been one turn so far since he activated his Future Fusion card, and come next turn he'll be able to use its power to summon his Cyberdark Dragon…there isn't much I can do now except prepare a strong defense and hope for the best!_

"All right, then…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…" And this he did. "And also, since this is currently the only card in my hand, I'll Special Summon it to the field…Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200) in Defense Mode!" And then he brought forth his blue-armored hero, crouched in a defensive stance. "And that's all for the moment."

"That's all, huh?" Adam asked as he drew another card to give him three in hand. "Well…let's see if it'll be enough to withstand what I'm gonna throw against you!"

As he said that, the Future Fusion card pulsed energy again—and all at once, from the card sprouted numerous tall buildings! "Ha! This is the second Standby Phase since I played Future Fusion…and now, its full effect is kicking in!" Adam announced. "And now, here it comes to the field, ready to do battle…the Cyberdark Dragon!"

Suddenly, the ground rumbled as, from behind Adam, there emerged a massive metallic dragon with an extremely long tail, screeching at Janus. "Now that Cyberdark Dragon has arrived, his effect will kick in," Adam told Janus. "When he's summoned, I can take one Dragon-type monster from my Graveyard and equip it to him…and in turn, he gets ATK equal to the equipped card's ATK! And the monster I choose to equip to the Cyberdark Dragon is…my Infernal Dragon!"

Immediately, Infernal Dragon reemerged from the Graveyard onto Adam's side of the field—and then flew up and onto Cyberdark Dragon's back, increasing the metallic monster's ATK straight to 3000. "But wait—it doesn't stop there," Adam went on. "Cyberdark Dragon also possesses another effect, one that increases his ATK even further by 100 points for every monster that is in my Graveyard. So, let's do a quick count, shall we?"

He touched a button on his Duel-Disk, and instantly his Graveyard information came up. "Now, let's see here," he mused. "There's my Proto-Cyber Dragon…the regular Cyber Dragon…of course, there's also my Cyberdark Horn, Cyberdark Keel, and Cyberdark Edge…and let's not forget the Cyber Barrier Dragon…and oh yeah, there's Exploder Dragon too…that's seven monsters right there, so my Cyberdark Dragon gets 700 addition ATK points!" And Cyberdark Dragon shrieked out loud and long as its ATK rose even higher to 3700!

At once the students of Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's class began to whisper excitedly again. "What a monster! It's really strong!" they said amongst themselves.

"But the fun doesn't stop there, no, it doesn't," Adam went on, a small smirk on his face.

Jacki's eyes widened when she heard this. "Oh, dear…Cousin Janus is really gonna get it now…"

"Hmmm? How do you figure that?" Ricardo asked her.

"That's always the same thing Adam says to me every time we have practice duels together," Jacki answered. "Whenever he says something like that, you just KNOW he's about to do something utterly screwy."

Adam then selected one of the three cards in his hand. "Now, I'll summon one monster to the field—and that monster is my Cyber-Stein (ATK 700, DEF 500)!" he announced…and then he brought forward a Frankenstein monster outfitted with numerous cybernetic enhancements, including a laser blaster in place of an arm. "And with this, I can use an effect that'll pave the way toward victory for me…"

Principal Yuki blinked. _Cyber-Stein…Adam, are you planning on summoning THAT?_

"All right—here I go!" Adam cried. "Cyber-Stein's effect enables me to Special Summon one Fusion monster from my Fusion deck to the field, at a cost of 5000 life points! So…" His life points sharply dropped to 1900.

**JANUS: 6400; ADAM: 1900.**

"I'll pay that cost in order to summon another beast of ultimate power…my devastating Cyber End Dragon (ATK 4000, DEF 2800)!" Adam announced aloud.

All at once, his entire side of the field was bathed in light as another creature emerged. This newcomer had three heads, a pair of gigantic wings that shone with great light, and a lengthy tail that wrapped twice around its body. Janus swallowed audibly when he saw it. "Oh, crap…"

"Now…which one should I target first, and with which monster…?" Adam looked at Janus's two monsters, his facedown monster and the defending Elemental Hero Bubbleman. "Well, they're both in Defense Mode, so…that makes either of them very vulnerable targets for the Cyber End Dragon! You see, Janus, if Cyber End Dragon's ATK is higher than the DEF of any Defense Mode monster he destroys, the difference is taken from my opponent's life points as battle damage! So…Cyber End Dragon, obliterate his Bubbleman!"

Cyber End Dragon's three mouths swiftly began to charge up with intense light energy—that was suddenly unleashed in a massive attack on the hapless Bubbleman! As the warrior was disintegrated by the attack, Janus flinched and cried out as the force of the blast hit him as well! "Craaaaaaaaap!" he screamed out as he got flung back by the attack.

**JANUS: 3600; ADAM: 1900**

"But that isn't all I intend to do," Adam went on. "Now, just in case your facedown monster happens to have a high DEF…Cyberdark Dragon, take it out now!" And Cyberdark Dragon blasted a massive wave of energy from its mouth, ripping into the facedown monster and revealing it to be Hero Kid (ATK 300, DEF 600), even as the little warrior was reduced to dust by the attack.

"And lastly, Cyber-Stein, attack directly!" Adam ordered. With that, Cyber-Stein blasted a laser beam from its arm-cannon, hitting Janus just as he was getting back up and knocking him down again, reducing his life points further still.

**JANUS: 2900; ADAM: 1900**

"And with that, I shall end my turn," Adam concluded.

"Didn't I tell you, huh?" Jacki asked. "Didn't I tell you Adam was gonna do something utterly screwy?"

"Yes, and now because of that Janus is in a bad spot," Ricardo replied. "Now, if he doesn't get a card to protect him against Adam's next onslaught, he'll be done for…and even if he gets a monster, it won't do him any good because of the Cyber End Dragon's effect. So, whatever card Janus draws next will have to be an exceptionally good one."

For his part, Janus was now easing himself up off the ground where Cyber-Stein had just blasted him. "Ungh…that wasn't so nice…" He was currently on one knee, still struggling to get back up. "Man…Adam, you really are tough…but then again, it's not as if I was expecting anything else…"

"Nor should you, now," Adam replied. "Well, anyhow, I'm going to end my turn now. But mark my words, Janus…next turn, you're finished!"

Wavering only slightly now, Janus rose to his feet. _Okay…these aren't some very nice odds against me here…unless I get a good card on this draw, I'm done for! And…_

_"Don't give up yet, Janus. There is still hope yet."_

"Wha…?" Janus looked to his right—and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Neos…?"

Indeed, it was the semi-transparent form of Elemental Hero Neos standing by his side. _"Your opposition is strong, Janus, but so are you,"_ he said gently. _"As long as you can still draw a card, you haven't lost."_

On the other end of the platform—Adam blinked. _Okay…am I starting to see things, or is that thing standing near Janus really…?_

And on the sidelines, Principal Yuki blinked too. _Neos?_

Then Neos disappeared…and Janus looked straight at Adam. "All right…as long as I can draw a card, this game's not done!" he declared. "So, my move!"

And then he drew…and smirked. "All right!" he smiled broadly. "Now, I'll activate one magic card—Swords of Revealing Light! This'll stop your monsters from attacking for your next three turns!"

Three shining swords of light suddenly came crashing down form the sky, surrounding Adam's entire side of the field. "Huh," Adam frowned, looking around him at the three swords. "Okay, I would not have predicted this…so you've somehow managed to get yourself an extra three turns to live through this duel."

"Well…just lucky, I guess," Janus shrugged it off. "Anyways, it's your move now."

Adam cocked an eyebrow. _Was it really just luck, Janus? Or…was it something else?_

He took his turn and drew another card, once again giving him a total of three in his hand. "Well, anyways, I'd better take a few measures to protect myself, just in case," he spoke up. "I'll offer my Cyber-Stein as a tribute to summon Cyber Ogre (ATK 1900, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" And as Cyber-Stein disappeared from the field, in its place stood a huge mechanical monstrosity with a yellow horn protruding from its forehead—and in the process, Cyberdark Dragon's ATK rose a little more to 3800. "And that'll end my turn for now."

One of the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared at this point, and Janus narrowed his eyes at this as he drew his next card. _Hmmm…can't use this right now…_ "All right, I'll just end my turn now."

"Oh? So, after securing a three-turn delay, you can't make a move?" Adam asked. "That's just sad, Janus. But oh well—at least you can dream a little, right?"

He took his turn and drew another card. "All right, time to make things a little interesting," he said. "I summon Cyber Esper (ATK 1200, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode!" And then he brought forth a humanoid mechanical creature with wing-blades protruding from its shoulder-blades. "Now, here's what Cyber Esper does—as long as it's face-up in Attack Mode, I can look at every card you draw from here on out."

Janus frowned at that. "That means…you'll be able to figure what kind of strategy I'll attempt to use, if you can see what cards I draw!"

"Got that right," Adam smirked. "But unfortunately, I haven't got anything that'll help me get rid of your Swords of Revealing Light faster. So, I'll just end my turn for now."

At once the second of the Swords of Revealing Light vanished…and biting his lip with some anxiety, Janus drew his card. As he did that—all at once, psychic beams seemed to radiate from Cyber Esper's head, and revealed the card to all to be Elemental Hero Neos! "Hmmm, so you managed to get your Elemental Hero Neos back pretty quickly even though it got returned to your deck when you called forth its Dark Neos form," Adam noted. "But you haven't got any monsters on the field to sacrifice for it. Tough break."

"Yeah, you're right about that—it IS a tough break," Janus admitted. "I'll call it a turn for the time being. Go ahead."

Nodding, Adam drew once again. "Well…I don't have any good plays to make right now. But I do have quite a few that I can make on my next turn…seeing as the Swords of Revealing Light will be completely gone by then. So, I'll end my turn right now." And as he said this, the final Sword of Revealing Light disappeared from the field.

"Okay…so now it comes to this one draw…" Janus glanced at his deck. _I still can draw a card…I still can draw a card…all right, then, I will! I'll bet everything on this next card!_

He put his hand to his deck and drew his next card—and Cyber Esper's effect kicked in again, revealing the card to be Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900). "Hmph…not much help from your deck, in spite of the three-turn delay," Adam remarked. "Looks like I really am going to beat you next turn."

Janus's hair overshadowed his brow a little…but he was chuckling. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there will be no next turn," he answered. "And I'm about to show you why. Now, I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss to the field, in Attack Mode!"

"Huh?" Surprise rose on Adam's face as he watched Glow Moss's appearance on the field, shining brightly. "But why would you summon him? He can't possibly withstand an onslaught from any of my monsters that I've got here!"

"Well, then, perhaps you should've had Cyber Esper on the field at least one turn earlier," replied Janus. "Let me show you the card that's going to help me win this duel—the magic card, Fake Hero!"

Adam's eyes narrowed. "What…?"

"Here's how it works," explained Janus. "Fake Hero allows me to Special Summon one Elemental Hero monster from my hand to the field…and you already know I have one in my hand—my Elemental Hero Neos! So, come onto the field, Neos!"

Adam snarled at this. "Shit!" he hissed under his breath.

In the next instant Neos reemerged on the field, with Neo Space increasing his ATK to 3000. "Now, here's the flip side of it," said Janus. "Any Elemental Hero that I summon using Fake Hero's power cannot attack, and it gets returned to my hand at the end of the turn. But I have a way to counteract that…and you do remember Neos's Contact Fusion power, don't you? Now, Neos and Glow Moss—fuse together!"

Neos and Glow Moss immediately went skyward, colliding with each other in a burst of light in midair. "Okay, now what?" Adam wondered, shielding his eyes from the glare.

Then, ever so slowly, Neos came back down to ground level…and, just like before, his body was altered. This time, however, he wore white shoulder-pads, gauntlets and leg bracers with red markings on them, a sort of helmet with tentacle-like hair protruding underneath, and the rest of his body glowed bluish white. "Say hello to my Elemental Hero Glow Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)," said Janus, even as his new monster's ATK rose to 3000 due to Neo Space's effect.

"But what can even he do?" demanded Adam. "Even with his stats raised by your Neo Space, it still won't be enough to completely wipe out my life points! And besides that, either my Cyber End Dragon or my Cyberdark Dragon can take him out, and then after that it'll be curtains for you!"

"Oh?" Janus asked with a smile. "Well, I'm not so sure about that, because Glow Neos has a nice little effect: during my Main Phase 1, I can destroy one face-up card that you control, and what Glow Neos gets to do next depends on the type of card that I destroyed. If it's a Trap card, Glow Neos shifts to Defense Mode…if it's a Monster card, Glow Neos can't attack this turn…and if it's a Magic card, Glow Neos can attack you directly this turn. And, guess what I have in mind…?"

Adam took one look at the field—and suddenly began to panic. _Crud—he can destroy either his own Neo Space or my Future Fusion! And either way, he'll be able to attack me directly and wipe out what's left of my life points in one blow!_

"Now, Glow Neos, use your effect and destroy his Future Fusion card!" Janus ordered. In response, Glow Neos formed a ball of light in his hand and flung it at the very visible Future Fusion card—and its representative buildings all came crashing down in an instant! In the same moment both Cyberdark Dragon and the Infernal Dragon equipped to it were destroyed as well!

"Heh…if Future Fusion is removed from the field, then the Fusion monster that it summoned will be destroyed as well," Ricardo said. Janus really has this in the bag."

"Yeah," Jacki nodded. "And he was able to do what I've never been able to do—he's actually beaten Adam!"

"Now go, Glow Neos!" Janus cried. "Finish it with Neo-Spacian Spear Strike!" And as Glow Neos jumped into the air to do the deed, a spear of light suddenly materialized in his hand, and he flung it right down at a flinching Adam. The spear landed—and a huge explosion on Adam's side of the field consumed his Cyber Esper, Cyber Ogre, and Cyber End Dragon, as well as reduced Adam's life points straight to 0!

**JANUS: 2900; ADAM: 0**

"Ugh…" Adam swayed and fell backwards on his rump. "I can't believe it…did I just lose…?"

"It would seem so," Janus answered. He switched off his Duel-Disk, and the holograms vanished, revealing the natural background once again. "But hey—it was a great duel, don't you think?"

Adam chuckled, even as he stood back up. "You got that right, cousin—it WAS a great duel," he admitted. "At least now I know not to underestimate you next time I come to visit."

Principal Yuki stood up from where he'd been sitting. "Well, now, folks, THAT was an awesome duel, if I do say so myself!" he declared. "Let's give the duelists a round of applause for their superb performance!"

At once Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's students stood up and clapped loudly and long. "Way to go, guys! What a sweet duel that was!" several of them shouted.

"I agree—that was an excellent pair of matches," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded in agreement. "Janus and Ricardo have certainly proven themselves here today."

Suddenly, the school bell rang. "Huh?" Janus looked up at the sound. "Uh-oh—that's the bell for the end of first period! I gotta get myself to class on the double!"

"Well, you won't see me or Jacki around when your classes are done—we need to head back to West Academy soon," Adam said, almost apologetically. "But we'll come by to visit again when next we have a chance—and you should come by West Academy yourself one of these days, also! Come see what our campus is like!"

"Yeah, Cousin Janus, you really should!" Jacki piped in. "We'll give you the first-class tour personally!"

"I'm looking forward to that," Janus grinned. "Well, see you all later! C'mon, Ricardo, let's boogie!" And he turned and ran for the exit.

"Hey, wait up, you!" Ricardo cried, running after him.

"All right, everyone!" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki called to her dispersing class. "Make sure you study up on Fusion for a field test on Friday morning! No slacking off, now!"

"Awww!" several of the students groaned. "Not a test!"

Adam stepped off the platform, just in time to be approached by Jacki and Principal Yuki. "Well done, both of you," Principal Yuki nodded. "You've both shown quite a bit of growth since the last time I saw you duel. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Uncle Jaden," Jacki grinned.

"Hey, you guys, there's still a little time before you have to be on the next boat back, right?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki walked up to them. "What say you kids visit a little longer with me and Uncle Jaden? We'll show you what we've done with our offices, if you like."

"Okay, then!" Jacki nodded eagerly. "Let's go, then!"

The group of four turned to leave…and Principal Yuki smiled to himself. _Neos…so you're lending Janus a helping hand, just as you and Winged Kuriboh did for me all those years ago, eh? This should prove interesting…_

Adam, on the other hand, had a slight frown on his face. _What WAS that thing I saw during the duel…? That image of Elemental Hero Neos, even though Janus hadn't summoned it…WERE my eyes playing tricks on me? Or maybe it was a glitch in the holographic system or something…but if so, then how come nobody else seemed to see it? Just what was going on there…?_

----------

_**neomage:**_ And so, another short saga comes to an end…and now, I'll have to put this story's updating progress on hold for a while, while I work on my other in-progress work, "Velocity," and also deal with the workload at my office. But fear not—I shall be back before you know it! In the meantime, read and review, everybody!


	10. Samurai Rival

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: neomage has returned! And, just like before, neomage does not own Yu-Gi-Oh in any of its forms!)

**CHAPTER 10 – Samurai Rival**

DUEL ACADEMY LECTURE ROOM

The school bell rang again as Janus and Ricardo dashed along the corridor. "Oh, man, we gotta hurry up!" Janus cried frantically, running even harder.

"This'll be cutting it close…" Ricardo muttered as he kept pace with Janus.

The two boys rounded a corner, just in time to see students swiftly filing into the door of their designated class. Immediately the two ran up to join the tail end of the group. "SAFE!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

They hurried into the classroom and headed for their seats, just as Professor Crosskill entered the room through his designated entry door. "Good morning, class," he greeted them all, setting his lecturing tools on his table.

"Good morning, Professor Crosskill," the students replied. Some said it with a degree of enthusiasm, others said it as though wishing they could be elsewhere; if Professor Crosskill noticed this latter attitude, he showed no sign.

"Now, then!" he spoke up again. "Before we get into today's lesson, first I'd like all of you to submit your essays on the comparison between modern-day Duel Monsters and the ancient games of Egypt that I'd assigned last class. Anyone who doesn't submit their essay right now can look forward to spending this evening in detention, no excuses, no exceptions! So—fork them over right now!"

There was a unanimous rustle of paper from every corner of the room as the students passed their respective assignments up to the front. A large pile of papers soon made itself apparent on Professor Crosskill's desk. "Good, very good," he nodded with approval. "All right, now that that's done, let's get into it…"

He took a piece of chalk and turned to the board, beginning to write in big bold letters. "Now, for today's discussion topic," he spoke as he wrote, "we will be going in-depth into something we were only barely able to touch upon last class—ancient Egyptian artifacts that were said to be connected to Duel Monsters."

Hearing this, Janus inwardly groaned. _Just great—the same thing he was interrogating me about last class! Man, what do I know or care about such boring crap, anyway?_

"As you will recall from last class," Professor Crosskill turned to face the class again, "I made mention of the fact that in ancient Egypt, during the reign of the pharaoh Aknamkanon, seven magical artifacts were created by his priests to protect his kingdom from his enemies. I also made mention that with these items' creation began the birth of Duel Monsters. Hopefully, in your reading to prepare the essay I assigned, you would have spotted detailed information on these seven artifacts. Now…today, we'll be talking about what these items were, and also we will learn if there were others like them. So, students, turn your textbooks to Chapter 7…"

Pages were swiftly turned.

"Now, starting on page 113…" Professor Crosskill waited as more rustling of pages occurred. "…there should be a description of what the items were called, how they were made, and what powers they were purported to have. Now, I need a volunteer to quickly read the section regarding the name of the items and their creation. Anyone?"

An Obelisk Blue student near the back of the class stood up, textbook in hand. "With the enemies of the pharaoh Aknamkanon bearing down on Egypt's borders," she read, "he made a decree that an ancient ritual should be performed to create a means to protect his kingdom. What was not known at that time, however, was that the ritual would require ninety-nine human sacrifices…"

A shiver ran through the class as that section was read.

"An entire village was slaughtered for the ritual; the victims' blood, bones and flesh were then mixed in with the gold that was used to forge the items needed to protect the kingdom," the student continued reading, seemingly unmoved at the grisly information in the text. "The items were then used to successfully repel Aknamkanon's enemies and drive them from Egypt. These items are referred to today by Egyptologists and other historians as 'Millennium Items' due to the thousands of years they were sealed away and thought lost forever since the days of Aknamkanon."

"All right," said Professor Crosskill, holding up a hand to signal the student to stop reading. "Now, students, make a note of this. One of the historians who documented this information that we are currently reading is the famed archaeologist Ryou Bakura; without his input, this information on the Millennium Items might not exist today. Make sure you write it down somewhere, as it may come up on your next test."

Janus cocked an eyebrow. _We're gonna be tested on this boring stuff? Oh, brother…_

"Now," Professor Crosskill continued, "I need another volunteer to briefly read to the class about the seven individual Millennium Items, and what powers they were said to have. Quickly, now…"

This time it was Ricardo who stood up with his book at the ready. "The seven Millennium Items were as follows," he read. "The Millennium Key, the Millennium Eye, the Millennium Necklace, the Millennium Rod, the Millennium Ring, the Millennium Scale, and the Millennium Puzzle. According to legend, in addition to each Item possessing its own unique abilities, all seven had the power to summon real Duel Monsters, transport their users and their victims to alternate realities where 'Shadow Games' could be played, and inflict punishments upon their victims that fit whatever crimes the victims had committed."

"All right," said Professor Crosskill. "Now, could someone else read the individual powers that the Millennium Items were said to have?"

In her place at the back, Cassara picked up her book. "The Necklace allowed its user to see through time, predicting future events and also witnessing events gone past," she read. "The Rod had the power of mind control, and also concealed a dagger within its handle that could be used for sacrifices. The Scale had the power to determine if a person was a liar or truth-teller, and if the person was a liar they were punished accordingly; it also had the power to fuse Duel Monsters together. The Key could alter a victim's personality and also turn the user invisible at will. The Eye allowed its user to read the minds of others. The Ring could trap the souls of others at the user's whim, and could also locate other Millennium Items. The Puzzle, said to be the most powerful of the seven, could grant one wish to the person who successfully solved it; it also increased its owner's chances of winning games, and was said to be able to separate the good and evil aspects of a person from each other."

"Thank you," said Professor Crosskill.

A Ra Yellow student raised his hand. "Professor, one question: wasn't the Millennium Puzzle owned by Yugi Muto at one time, many years ago?" he asked.

Immediately furious whispering broke out in the class. "Hey, yeah, that IS true, isn't it?" some of the students asked each other.

"My dad used to talk about seeing Yugi dueling in the Battle City tournament, and he said Yugi wore some kind of upside-down golden pyramid on a chain! And it looked just like the Millennium Puzzle does in the text!" Another Ra Yellow student opened her book to show those sitting closest to her.

"No way!"

"You're kidding! Really?"

"Does that mean Yugi Muto was cheating in his duels all along?"

"No way! Yugi would never cheat in a duel!"

"Well, it _did_ seem a little weird how he was always able to win when you'd least expect it…"

"Like you'd know! You weren't even born when he was dueling!"

"CLASS!" Professor Crosskill loudly slapped a ruler on his desk, grabbing everyone's attention again. "Listen, all of you. It is indeed true that Yugi Muto was at one time the owner of the Millennium Puzzle; however, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that it may have influenced his dueling victories. And even if it did, he was always known for playing Duel Monsters according to the rules—if he had felt that using whatever power the Puzzle possessed, if any, was a form of cheating, he would never have been seen in tournaments with it on."

"Professor Crosskill, may I suggest a compromise?"

At once all heads in the room turned in the direction of the new speaker's voice. Janus was a little surprised to see who it was. "Hey…isn't that…?"

It was Jiro Burger, sitting in the seat at the extreme top left corner of the class. Now he stood up, a grave look on his face, even as all eyes were on him. "And what exactly is your compromise, sir?" Professor Crosskill asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"It's this," Jiro replied. "Whether the Millennium Puzzle—or any of the other Items, for that matter—had magic powers or not, it cannot be denied that back during his days of stardom Yugi Muto had an unusual knack for getting lucky in duels just when it would seem that all chance of victory for him was gone. He is known now as the King of Games of his generation, but if he won his duels by relying solely on any special powers, then that title should be waived even if he wasn't technically cheating. He had skill, certainly…but there were a number of times in his career when he rightly should have lost against more highly-skilled opponents, but did not. That kind of luck just flies in the face of all the time those other duelists surely would have spent honing their skills…as if they spent all their time training for absolutely nothing."

The other students looked at Jiro, then at each other. Professor Crosskill cleared his throat. "Ahem…quite a strong conviction you have there, Mr. Burger…"

"Hang on a second!" Janus jumped up in his seat, startling everyone else as he turned to look in Jiro's direction. "What're you saying—you don't believe in natural-born talent? Because surely Yugi Muto had plenty of THAT, Puzzle or no Puzzle!"

"Sure, I believe in _talent,"_ Jiro replied. "But I also believe that talent is not something you are born with—it is something you must work to achieve for it to mean anything. Yugi didn't spend his whole life training in Duel Monsters…his skill just seemed to fall into his lap, just like that. And to me, that is unfair to every other duelist in the world who'll work, and work, and work, and yet will never be able to reach the kind of potential he was purported to have."

Professor Crosskill cleared his throat again. "Well…I suppose we can accept that compromise for the time being, Mr. Burger. Now, could we get on with the class…unless, of course, Mr. Yuki would like to make _another_ noisy outburst like he did just now?" and he shot Janus a stinging glare.

Sighing, Janus flopped back down into his seat. But as he did so, new thoughts occupied his mind. _Pretty big words, Jiro…guess I'm gonna have to wait till the end of class before I can get you to explain yourself, especially since that prick Crosskill is being an ass today as usual…_

----------

AN HOUR LATER

The bell rang for the end of second period, and the students came pouring out of the classroom, loudly chatting amongst their respective groups. Momentarily caught in the crush of the crowd, Janus soon managed to slip out from among them and leaned against a wall, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Okay, I don't have any classes till 2:00," he mused. "Now's my chance to find that Jiro!"

"Janus? Ah, there you are!"

Looking up, Janus saw Ricardo and Cassara emerging from the student crowd and coming to meet him. "Oh, hey, you guys," he hailed them. "Say, has either of you seen Jiro? I was hoping to ask him something…"

"You mean, pertaining to what he said back there in class?" Ricardo inquired.

"Yeah, that," Janus nodded. "He sure didn't seem very supportive of the whole idea of 'natural talent'…and I wanna know why."

"Well, good luck finding him to ask him that," Cassara noted. "I've noticed it for the last two days—you don't really see him anywhere on campus except at class and at the dorm, and even then he rarely sticks around for much of anything."

"I know what that's like," Janus agreed. "I've only really talked to him about three times by now—when he and I were first introduced as roommates…this morning when I woke up…and just now, in class. I haven't had any other opportunities to really get acquainted."

"Well, maybe he's made his own set of friends that he hangs out with, and that's why we don't see him," Ricardo suggested.

"That's what he told me this morning, but I wonder…" Janus frowned. "If that's really true, how come we don't see him hanging around with _anybody?_ You'd think you could at least see who his friends are, if they exist at all…"

"I suppose it's not our business to pry, Janus…when Jiro feels comfortable revealing who his friends are, then he'll do that," Cassara told him. "For now, let's just continue being nice to him when we see him. I'm sure he'll lighten up to us sooner or later."

"Still doesn't mean I can't get to ask him why he feels the way he does about natural talent," Janus reasoned.

"Yes, I agree that he certainly seemed opposed to the concept," Ricardo reasoned. "I suppose that means, in such a case, that he really wouldn't hang out with us anyway."

"Why not?" Janus protested.

"Think about it, Janus—at least two of our group is a natural at something," Ricardo answered. "You have a natural talent for dueling, amplified by the training you got from both your parents, who are themselves dueling experts. I have a natural talent for things like mathematics and history, and you know my father's an algebraic genius. For someone like Jiro, who I suspect may probably have had to work twice as hard as we've done in order to get a similar amount of skill in whatever field he specializes in, there might be some level of resentment."

"Hey, now—Natasha and I aren't as good at math or at dueling, and we don't hate you guys," Cassara told them.

"That's because you've both known us longer than any of us have known Jiro," Ricardo told her. "So of course there's going to be a difference in perception."

"Well…one thing's for sure, that Jiro Burger is one mysterious guy," Janus acceded.

Suddenly the bell rang again. "Oops—that's third period's bell! I'm gonna be late for my Spanish class!" Cassara exclaimed in a sudden panic. "Well, talk to you guys later!" And she turned and ran off up the corridor.

"Sure thing!" Janus called after her. "Maybe we can lunch together today!"

"Yeah, definitely!" Cassara flung over her shoulder.

Ricardo chuckled. "Well, I'm going to head over to the library. I just hope they have something interesting for me to read this time around."

"Dude, haven't you, like, read all the books in the library by now?" Janus eyed him suspiciously.

"Not exactly…just the ones on science and math," Ricardo grinned. "Maybe they'll have new books on those subjects for this school year…if not, I can always get started on the history books!"

"What a nerd you are," Janus shook his head.

"Yeah, well, don't forget which nerd it was that came up with that brilliant plan for us to help out everyone during the World Championships," and Ricardo gave Janus a knowing grin. "And what're you going to do in the meantime, Mr. Dueling Genius?"

"Ha, ha," Janus gave a sarcastic laugh. "Well, if you must know, I'm going to take a look around for Jiro. I don't have anything else to do between now and when we all meet up for lunch, anyway."

"Good luck with that, then," and Ricardo turned and headed off down the corridor himself.

"Catch you later, bookworm," Janus called after his friend. Then, chuckling, he turned and walked off himself.

----------

ELSEWHERE ON DUEL ACADEMY ISLAND, AT THAT MOMENT

A little distance away from the Duel Academy buildings, out in the forest, there was a small grove of trees and other plants. High above, the sun's rays shone down through the trees' leaves, painting quite a beautiful picture in the eye of a naturalist. Birds could be heard chirping within the branches. Bees flew from one colorful flower to another. Just a stone's throw away, there was a miniature waterfall that came down into a stream where fish swam unmolested.

And in the open space which all of this surrounded sat Jiro Burger, in a cross-legged position, his hands on his knees, his eyes closed and his head bowed.

Presently he spoke, disturbing the stillness of his environs. "My avatar…come before me."

And then—out of nowhere—the semi-transparent form of a man in red Samurai armor and a blue cape, with a sheathed katana at his side, emerged in front of Jiro. "You summoned me, my master?" the silhouette spoke, bowing respectfully.

Jiro looked up. "That I did. Tell me, what do you think? Are there truly others here, like you?"

"I have indeed sensed their presence, my master," the Samurai replied. "But so far, only one other avatar appears to have been unlocked…the one referred to as Neos."

Jiro's eyes narrowed at that. "You wish to fight him?"

"Merely to test his strength, my master. To see if he will be worthy of facing me and my followers."

"Hmmm…well, have patience, Shien…that can be arranged in due time." And Jiro nodded meaningfully at the silhouette before him.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS, A LITTLE WHILE LATER

"You're sure? You haven't seen Jiro anywhere around?"

"No, man; sorry."

"Okay then, thanks. Let me know if you ever spot him around, all right?"

"No prob, Janus."

Disappointment clear on his face, Janus turned away from the group of Osiris Red students and walked off. _Okay…I've checked just about everywhere I can think of…but where the hell is that Jiro? He's sure good at getting himself lost at wherever he is!_

_"You seem quite eager to find this Jiro Burger, now aren't you?"_

"What the…?" Turning, Janus saw the semi-transparent form of Elemental Hero Neos standing right next to him. "Oh, wonderful…"

_"What?"_ Neos seemed to cock an eyebrow at him.

Janus glanced around, checking to see if anyone was in sight. "Hey, man, you can't just show up unannounced like that! People will think I've gone loco if they see me talking to you—and you know they can't see you!" he hissed in as low a tone as he could manage.

_"Relax, Janus,"_ Neos chuckled. _"You didn't seem much worried about that this morning, when your friend Ricardo showed up while we were talking. That you would allow such a trivial thing to affect you now is almost…amusing."_

"Yeah, well, try living in a world where claiming to be able to talk to Duel Monsters is the first sign for you to be tossed into a little room with padded walls," Janus grumbled.

_"Heh."_ Neos regarded Janus. _"In any case, don't you think you should leave Jiro be?"_

"What do you mean?" Janus asked.

_"You wish to know why he is not supportive of natural talent, yes?"_ Neos questioned. _"Well, I say his reasons are his own, and he should not be forced to divulge them against his will. When he feels the need to explain himself, he will do so once he is ready."_

"Does that include allowing him to stay so secretive?" Janus wondered. "I mean, as far as I know, the guy barely socializes with anybody else. He claims to have his own circle of friends, but the way he acts so mysterious and all, I seriously doubt that."

_"Or perhaps his friends are not the type of friends you are thinking of,"_ Neos suggested.

"Huh? What d'you mean by that?" Janus looked at Neos, perplexed.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Janus Yuki!"

"Huh?" Janus looked up at the sound of the voice—and immediately began to blush. "Oh…Professor Flannigan…!"

Indeed, it was the literature teacher, walking toward him with a smile on her face. "I assume you have a free period, and that's why you're not at class, hmmm?"

Briefly glancing to his right out of the corner of his eye, Janus noted that Neos had vanished upon Professor Flannigan's appearance. "Well, uh…yeah, actually, I don't have another class today until 2:00," he admitted.

"That's when Literature class is," Professor Flannigan noted. "Although, I'm not sure whether to call you lucky or lazy for having so much free time on your hands. Perhaps I need to speak to Principal Yuki about that…"

"No, no, it's not like that, really!" Janus hastened to assure her. "It's just that my schedule allows me this much free time on Mondays and Wednesdays—the other days of the week, I'm actually pretty busy with classes!"

"Never mind, dear—I was just teasing," and Professor Flannigan briefly and playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyway, I think congratulations from me are in order."

"Congratulations? For what?" Janus asked, puzzled.

"Why, for beating Calhoun Vincente in a duel on Monday evening!" Professor Flannigan answered. "Oh, come now, Janus, don't look at me like that; you think teachers don't listen to student gossip from time to time?"

"Oh…well…" Janus rubbed the back of his head. "I was just doing what I had to do in that duel, that's all."

"So modest," Professor Flannigan chuckled. "But just between you and me, that's not all that the rumors say…"

"Oh?" Janus blinked.

"Yes." Now the teacher's face was a little grave. "Some of the Obelisk Blue students in particular…I've heard them say that your victory was nothing but luck, and that Calhoun simply had a bad deck shuffle, and that is why he lost."

"Oh, I see…" Janus frowned. "And what do _you _think, Professor Flannigan?"

"What I think? Well…" She rubbed her chin as if in contemplation. "I think that whether you beat him by a fluke or through real skill, the fact remains that you beat him, and no amount of public relations gossip is going to change that." She chuckled again. "But you know what? I'm willing to bet that in spite of all of the gossip supporting him, Calhoun must still be pretty burned by your victory over him."

"It would serve him right, after all the crappiness he put me through just to get that duel," Janus sighed.

"What's done is done, dear," Professor Flannigan told him. "Anyway, what are you going to do now, since you don't have a class? Are you going to practice your dueling skills?"

"Actually, I was just looking for somebody," Janus replied. "Jiro Burger, my roommate at the dorm. But so far nobody I've asked seems to know where he is."

"Jiro Burger, eh?" Professor Flannigan looked thoughtful. "I have him for Literature on Tuesdays and Thursdays…a rather bright boy, if a little narrow-minded."

"Narrow-minded?" Janus wondered.

"Yes." Professor Flannigan nodded. "He hasn't participated much in our class discussions, but so far he's made it clear that he believes very strongly in hard work. Anything other than that is a sham."

"Hmph…wish I'd known that before," Janus sighed. "Earlier in class, he was going on about how natural talent in Duel Monsters is an unfair advantage against people who work hard and train all their lives in the game. I think he's got issues…"

Suddenly he paused. "Huh?"

Several yards away, behind Professor Flannigan, there was a rather odd sight: a semi-transparent form of a man in red Samurai armor and a blue cape! _Okay…that's not something you see on this campus every day…_ Janus frowned as he looked at the bizarre sight.

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Professor Flannigan queried, looking at Janus even as he seemed to stare past her. She then turned and looked. "What is it? Is something there?"

_Oh, yeah…_ Janus's frown became deeper. _That…that must be a Duel Monster spirit, like Neos! And of course, it figures that I can see it and Professor Flannigan can't…_

The Samurai then appeared to make a motion with his arm, as if beckoning to Janus. _He…wants me to follow him or something? Well…_

"Sorry, Professor Flannigan! I thought I saw something just now—I'm gonna go check it out!" Janus hastily apologized to the teacher, and then ran past her and toward the Samurai. In turn, the spirit spun around and dashed off across the grounds, heading for the nearby tree-line.

"Janus, wait a minute! What's going on all of a sudden?" Professor Flannigan called after Janus.

"Don't worry—I'll let you know when I get back!" Janus shouted back to her, even as he continued to run.

Professor Flannigan shook her head. "That was weird…"

----------

ELSEWHERE ON DUEL ACADEMY ISLAND, AT THAT MOMENT

Jiro was still sitting in the same cross-legged position, his eyes closed as he appeared to meditate. But on his mind was one thought: _Bring him to me, Shien!_

----------

Janus was now running through the bushes and past the trees, continuing his pursuit of the Samurai spirit that showed no indication of slowing down for anything. "Man, that guy can run fast!" he panted.

Neos appeared next to him again, flying very fast to keep up with Janus. _"You decided to just follow that spirit, without thinking of the possible dangers awaiting you?"_ he asked, cocking an eyebrow at his human companion.

"Like what?" Janus panted from his exertion.

_"Well, for instance, the fact that you could get lost easily in this forest; not to mention the fact that this could be a trap of some sort,"_ Neos pointed out.

"And who'd want to trap me in this forest? Hardly anybody comes this way!" Janus argued.

_"How about that Calhoun person?"_ Neos suggested. _"He would want revenge against you for your defeat of him, after all. Have you considered that?"_

"Actually…no," Janus admitted. "But if it was Calhoun behind this, wouldn't he use an Alien monster to lure me in? His deck strategy doesn't call for Samurai or anything like that, as far as I recall. Besides, I doubt _he'd_ be able to see Duel Monster spirits, anyway."

_"You have a good point,"_ Neos reasoned. _"But if this monster we're chasing is not one of Calhoun's, then who does it belong to? Not just anybody can see Duel Monster spirits, you know."_

"Guess we're gonna find out pretty soon!" Janus still did not slow his pace.

The pursuit was approaching a break in the trees—and it was right at that point that the Samurai spirit abruptly stopped, turned, and held up a hand for his pursuers to halt. "Whoa!" Janus cried out, skidding to a halt just inches away from his quarry.

The Samurai pointed to a grassy clearing, just beyond the tree line—and, for the first time, he spoke. _"Enter this place with reverence and respect,"_ he said, in a deep-throated voice. _"My master awaits."_ And then, as he bowed to Janus and Neos, he vanished into thin air.

Neos nodded to Janus. _"Go ahead,"_ he said. _"And good luck."_ And he, too, disappeared.

Bracing himself, Janus walked out of the trees and into the clearing—and was instantly struck at what he saw. "Whoa…this place…it's…" he whispered, glancing around him at the seemingly unspoiled vegetation and at the waterfall flowing into a stream a few yards away.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Janus jumped, startled at the voice. He immediately turned in a direction…and blinked. "No way…Jiro?"

Indeed, there sat Jiro Burger, in the same cross-legged position as before. Now, however, he calmly stood up and regarded Janus. "Congratulations on finding this place," he said matter-of-factly. "And thank you for confirming something I've been suspecting a little while now. Just the fact that you were able to follow Shien here confirms that you also can see Duel Monster spirits."

Janus gave him a puzzled look. "Shien? You mean that Samurai dude?"

"Of course." Jiro nodded.

"Well, okay, but…what're you doing out here, in the middle of practically nowhere, by yourself?" Janus wondered.

Jiro shook his head. "Take a good look around you," he instructed. "The grassy clearing in which we stand. The trees surrounding us. The birds that inhabit the trees. The flowers that grow in and around the bushes, and the bees that buzz from flower to flower. The little waterfall over there, the stream it feeds, and the fish that inhabit that stream. All of these are but sons and daughters of Mother Nature herself…when I'm here, amongst them, I am not truly alone. And, too, from time to time Shien comes out and we chat about many things."

Janus made a face. "So…these are your 'friends' that you were talking about this morning, huh?" he remarked. "And here I thought you were as normal as the rest of us…"

"And you talking to your Elemental Hero Neos is 'normal'?" Jiro quizzed. "Of course, I only assume that you do talk to him, as I talk to Shien."

"All right, cut to the chase, Jiro," said Janus. "Why am I even here? Why'd you and your Samurai friend lure me out here?"

"Because, Janus…both Shien and I wish to test a few things," Jiro replied coolly. "In Shien's case, he wishes to pit his strength against that of Neos—to see which of the two of them is the stronger monster. And me, well…I want to find out first-hand whether or not hard work is better than natural talent."

"Back with the whole speech you made in History class? Gimme a break," Janus groaned.

"Actually, I think it's something you would do well to consider seriously," Jiro said sternly. "For one thing, how was it possible that back in his glory days Yugi Muto was able to best opponents even when they had him pinned to a wall with no possible chance of victory in sight? For that matter, how is it possible that _you_ were able to defeat the likes of Drake Phoenix and Calhoun Vincente, even though both of them had more experience, better strategies, and stronger monsters than you?" His eyes narrowed. "Yugi Muto came out of complete obscurity and defeated the likes of Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus, who had worked for years to establish their reputations within the Duel Monsters world. Similarly, Drake Phoenix worked hard to make a name for himself in the dueling tournament circuit, and Calhoun Vincente had to prove himself worthy of being second-best of the Obelisk Blue duelists so that he could claim the title of 'best' after what happened with James Truesdale's suspension—yet, out of nowhere, you showed up and cut both of them down. And let's not forget the World Championships that ended a while back—you were able to claim third place in that tournament, coming out above a whole host of entrants who obviously had stronger skill than you did."

"What're you getting at?" Janus asked him.

"What I'm getting at is simply this," Jiro replied. "As far as I'm concerned, there are only two viable explanations for someone to have that kind of talent without putting forth any obvious effort—either their talent comes natural to them, or they're cheating. And it doesn't matter which of those two categories you, or Yugi Muto, or anyone else for that matter, might fall under…you make the blood, the sweat, the tears that other duelists have to sacrifice to get their level of skill seem all for naught. And frankly speaking, I despise people like you who do that!"

"Uh-huh, I was right—you definitely have issues," Janus scowled. "But what're you going to do about it?"

"That brings me back to why I've had you come here," said Jiro. "I wanted to duel you in a place where I knew we would not be disturbed. After all, this is not a duel for glory or showmanship—this is a duel that is meant to prove a point. I'm going to prove to you right now that there is no logical way you could have defeated your previous opponents with your level of skill or the strength of the deck you possess. I'm going to prove to you right now that before the strength of someone who has actually _worked _to get that strength, in the face of raw training, 'natural talent' or any other outside force is NOTHING!"

Janus crossed his arms. "A duel, is it? Well, I don't really mind…but I still think you're being a little too uptight about this."

"Let me hear you say that again after I've crushed you!" Jiro challenged.

"Fine, then," replied Janus. "Jiro Burger, your challenge is accepted! Bring it on!"

Both boys promptly pulled out their respective Duel-Disks from their jackets and strapped them on. Then Jiro, pulling out his deck, motioned to Janus to come to him. "Just so we can both be sure there's no cheating involved…?"

Rolling his eyes, Janus approached Jiro and held out his own deck, at the same time taking Jiro's. Then the two of them vigorously shuffled each other's decks, handing them back to each other moments later.

"Why would I have to resort to cheating? That's a real low blow…" Janus muttered as he walked several paces away from Jiro.

"Think whatever you want…but a lot of times it's hard enough to tell the difference between people who cheat and people who claim to have 'natural' talent," Jiro replied. "Especially in Yugi Muto's case…who's to say which of the two categories he fell under, especially since he had the Millennium Puzzle with its power that we learned about in class today?"

"Whatever, Jiro," said Janus. "Let's do this now!"

"Very well," said Jiro. "Let's duel!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ This chapter's for all of you folks out there who likely would've complained that Yugi having the Millennium Puzzle gave him an unfair advantage, plus the power of story-scripting had him almost always winning against opponents who had a clearly bigger advantage…but honestly, what do you think? Was Yugi cheating all that time, or was it natural talent…or was it something else? You be the judge!

Anyway, more chapters are coming up soon…and next chapter, the duel between Jiro and Janus starts!

krizrampage: I say Yugi was cheating all that time!

kRiZ: Says you! It was talent, pure and simple!

yamikriz: Oh, suuuure…and talent comes in the form of a magic golden pyramid that is suspended from the neck by a chain or string…

rampagerkriz: Well, what about those times when Yugi had to duel WITHOUT the power of the Puzzle, and still won? Answer that!

kriztrigun: But he dueled WITH the Puzzle more times than he dueled WITHOUT it—far more!

neomage: Sigh…just review soon, everyone…


	11. Hard Work vs Talent

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(martial arts gong sounds)** I don't own any version of Yu-Gi-Oh or the martial arts.)

**CHAPTER 11 – Hard Work vs. Talent**

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST

**JANUS: 8000; JIRO: 8000**

As Jiro and Janus stood ready to duel each other, the holographic coin appeared on the field. "I'll allow you to call it, since you're the one being challenged," Jiro offered.

"I'll call heads!" Janus answered.

Then the coin was flipped…and by and by came back down to the ground…and indeed it was heads. "All right, then! I'll go first!" Janus nodded.

The two drew their first five cards to start off, and then Janus drew his sixth. "Ha! How sweet! I actually got _this_ on the first draw!" he exclaimed. "All right, then—I summon my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (ATK 800, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later his red-feathered Neo-Spacian appeared on the field, ready for battle. "And now, I'll take advantage of his special effect!" Janus added. "Once per turn, I can increase my life points by 500 for every card you're holding in your hand—and since you've got five, that's a grand total of 2500 points added to my score!"

As Jiro watched, suddenly a whole bunch of honeysuckle plants seemed to grow out of his cards, and Air Hummingbird promptly flitted from one to the next, even as Janus's life points rose to 10,500.

**JANUS: 10,500; JIRO: 8000**

"Then," Janus went on, "I'll place one card facedown, and call it a turn. Go ahead…show me what you've got!"

"Before this duel is over, you're going to regret that demand you just made," Jiro answered as he drew his card. "Now, I call to the field in Attack Mode…The Six Samurai – Yariza (ATK 1000, DEF 500)!" And then, moments later as he played his card, there emerged a Samurai in dark blue armor, wielding a spear with a glowing green blade. "Now, attack!"

Yariza whipped the spear over his head like a helicopter rotor, and in a moment he'd sliced Air Hummingbird to pieces while Janus's life points went down to 10,300.

**JANUS: 10,300; JIRO: 8000**

But then Janus announced, "And with that, I can activate my trap card, Hero Signal! When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck…and the one I'll choose is my Elemental Hero Wildheart (ATK 1500, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!"

As Janus's trap card got flipped face-up, the Elemental Hero insignia got highlighted in the sky via searchlight—then mere moments later, Elemental Hero Wildheart appeared with his gigantic sword at the ready. "Sorry, Jiro, but it looks as if your little Samurai friend won't be lasting the next turn!" Janus chuckled.

"Yes, that would be disappointing," Jiro admitted. "Well, I'll just set a card facedown, then, and that will do for now."

So Janus took his turn and drew again. "Okay, then! I summon Elemental Hero Avian (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" And he called forth his green-feathered warrior to do battle. "Now, then…Wildheart, destroy Yariza!"

Wildheart jumped forward and slashed with his sword, carving Yariza in two as Jiro's life points dropped to 7500.

**JANUS: 10,300; JIRO: 7500**

Then: "Now, Avian, your turn! Use your Featherbreak Attack!" And Avian flew high into the sky, flapping his wings and firing a whole hail of razor-sharp feathers down on Jiro as his life points dropped a little further to 6500.

**JANUS: 10,300; JIRO: 6500**

"And now, I'll end my turn," Janus finished. "But I'm feeling a little disappointed, Jiro; I thought this was going to be challenging, but apparently not…"

Jiro shook his head. "See, that's one of the problems with you guys who possess, or claim to possess, natural talent—you become overconfident and fail to appreciate what the opponent is capable of! But just you wait—I'll teach you that lesson in a hurry!"

That said, he drew his next card…and nodded when he saw what it was. "All right, now things are in order for me to slice you and your ego down to size!" he announced. "But first things first, though…I'll activate my trap card, Return of the Six Samurai! This allows me to Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard that has 'Six Samurai' in its name, even though that monster will be destroyed at the end of the turn…but for what I'm going to do, that is a sacrifice noble enough to undertake! Now, come back to the field, Yariza!"

The Six Samurai – Yariza was soon back on the field, his spear in hand as he readied himself for combat again. Then Jiro held up one of the cards in his hand. "And now, listen to this: I'm holding a monster in my hand whose effect lets me Special Summon it to the field if I have a 'Six Samurai' monster on my side of the field already! So…be Special Summoned, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai (ATK 2100, DEF 800), in Attack Mode!"

"Huh?" Janus's eyes widened at this.

But all at once, there appeared on Jiro's side of the field a tall, muscular man with long white hair and a beard, clutching a katana in his hand. "And that's not all I'm going to do," continued Jiro. "Next, I'll use my Normal Summon and call upon the Six Samurai – Nisashi (ATK 1400, DEF 700)!" And then there appeared next to the Grandmaster another Samurai, wearing greenish-silver armor and wielding two blades.

"But I'm still not done," Jiro went on, fiddling with the three cards he had left in his hand. "I'll now equip Nisashi with the magic card Legendary Ebon Steed, to increase his ATK and DEF by 200 points!"

Immediately there appeared on the field a huge black horse with armor plates on its head and legs; Nisashi promptly jumped into its saddle as his ATK and DEF rose to 1600 and 900 respectively. Then Jiro held up the last two cards remaining in his hand. "And now, with these two cards, I'll definitely seal your defeat here!" he announced.

"Oh, is that right?" Janus wondered.

"You'd better believe it!" said Jiro. "Now, I activate the Field Magic card, Shien's Castle of Mist!"

Suddenly, the ground around them rumbled as from behind Jiro, there appeared a massive ancient Japanese castle, complete with mist in the air and crows flying about! "Damn…that's one big mansion right there…!" Janus whistled appreciatively.

"Allow me to explain what it does," said Jiro. "True, it doesn't affect any of my monsters' stats…however, if a 'Six Samurai' monster is attacked, then during that damage calculation the attacking monster's ATK will be decreased by 500 points. Which means that if you try to do battle with any one of my Six Samurai, you'd better be sure you're prepared to deal with the consequences."

"Bah! Like that castle's power is gonna stop me so easily!" Janus laughed.

"Let's see if you'll be saying the same thing when I activate THIS!" Jiro held up the very last card left in his hand. "This magic card…Field Barrier!"

All at once, there appeared all over Jiro's side of the field a humongous transparent dome that crackled with light energy! "What! Hey, man, what is this?" Janus demanded.

"I'll be glad to explain it for you," Jiro chuckled. "Field Barrier is a Continuous Magic card that prevents Field Magic cards already active from being destroyed…and also prevents new Field Magic cards from being activated at all! Therefore, for as long as this remains on the field, Shien's Castle of Mist won't be going anywhere!"

"Crud…!" Janus gritted his teeth as he absorbed this information.

"Oh, and before I do anything else, let me tell you a little something about my Six Samurai," said Jiro. "Each of the six possesses his own special ability, and since I've got two of them on the field right now, I'll demonstrate for you. Let's start with Yariza, shall we? You see, if another 'Six Samurai' monster is on the field at the same time as he is, then Yariza gets to attack you directly!"

At that prompting, grasping the rope near the base of his spear, Yariza swung the weapon around his head numerous times, again making the motion resemble a helicopter rotor. Then, without warning, he flung the spear toward Janus—and it sailed right past a bewildered Avian and Wildheart, slicing Janus on the arm! "OW!" Janus yelled out, clutching his arm even as Yariza used the rope to retrieve his weapon.

**JANUS: 9300; JIRO: 6500**

"Next, there's Nisashi," said Jiro. "If I have control over another 'Six Samurai' monster while he's on the field, Nisashi can attack twice during the same turn! And, unfortunately for you, neither of your Elemental Heroes is strong enough to stand against his blades!"

Pulling back on the reins and causing the Legendary Ebon Steed to rear up on its hind legs, Nisashi galloped forward, swiftly decapitating Avian and Wildheart one after the other; Janus winced as his life points dropped to 8700 as Avian was slain…

**JANUS: 8700; JIRO: 6500**

…then a little further to 8600 as Wildheart was felled.

**JANUS: 8600; JIRO: 6500**

"And now, since the way is clear and you haven't got a single thing on your side of the field to aid you," and Jiro's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "then the Grandmaster of the Six Samurai is free to attack you directly! Go, Grandmaster—take him down!" And the Grandmaster dashed forward, unsheathing his sword and slashing across Janus's chest, knocking him down in the process.

**JANUS: 6500; JIRO: 6500**

"Ugh…that was so not cool…" Janus grunted, even as he winced on the ground in pain from the Grandmaster's attack.

"So, now our life points are tied," Jiro observed. "But that is only for the moment—before too much longer, I'll be taking every single one of yours. Well, now I'll end my turn…and because of the effect of my Return of the Six Samurai trap card, Yariza goes back to the Graveyard." And as he spoke, indeed Yariza vanished in a shower of sparks.

Gingerly Janus stood up, wincing as his injuries stung. "Okay…I take back what I said before…this could actually be a challenge after all," he admitted.

"Okay, _now_ you appreciate what my Six Samurai deck is able to do to you," Jiro remarked. "Then know one thing, Janus: The power that this deck packs has come as a result of intense training and trial, not as a result of 'natural talent.' And it is here and now that natural talent will be humbled by the superiority of real instruction and guidance!"

"Don't think you've got me beaten just yet, Jiro—I'm still in this duel!" Janus declared. "And you won't get me to concede to you just so!"

"Come, then." Jiro's eyes narrowed.

"You got it!" Janus quickly drew another card, so he now held five. "Okay, then…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and one other card facedown, and that's it."

Jiro simply drew his next card, replenishing his hand. "A futile effort to protect your life points, of that I can assure you," he told Janus. "For now I'll summon to the field the Six Samurai – Irou (ATK 1700, DEF 1200)!" Then a moment later, there appeared on the field a man clad in black Samurai gauntlets and chestplate, with a visor over his eyes and his katana rested squarely on his shoulders.

"Shit…not another one…" Janus hissed under his breath.

"This is the third of the Six Samurai that you're meeting today," Jiro informed him. "And allow me to tell you what this one can do. If I have another 'Six Samurai' monster on the field while I control Irou, then when Irou attacks a facedown monster his effect destroys that monster without flipping it face-up or applying damage calculation!"

Unsheathing his katana, Irou dashed forward and slashed Janus's facedown monster in two, even as the card itself was kept from flipping face-up to reveal its identity. "Nuts!" Janus cried out as he witnessed this.

"And once again, your life points are wide open for an assault!" Jiro told him. "Now, let's not forget Nisashi's effect, eh? If he and another 'Six Samurai' monster are on the field together, he gets to attack twice in the same turn…so do it now, Nisashi!"

Rearing up the Legendary Ebon Steed for battle, Nisashi galloped forward and sliced at Janus with one of his swords; Janus got spun around by the force of the attack as his life points dropped.

**JANUS: 4900; JIRO: 6500**

Then, as Nisashi turned the horse around to go back to Jiro's side of the field, the animal lifted its rear hooves and kicked Janus flat-out in the chest, knocking him down as his life points shot down again. Reeling from the kick, Janus found himself coughing up blood!

**JANUS: 3300; JIRO: 6500**

"And now, it's the Grandmaster's turn once again to attack you directly!" Jiro stated—and the Grandmaster of the Six Samurai dashed forward and slashed at Janus with his blade again, lowering his life points even more.

**JANUS: 1200; JIRO: 6500**

"And with that, I'll hand over to you…not that there's much you can do at this point," Jiro finished.

Grunting as he struggled to get back up, Janus wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "You're…you're being pretty harsh about this, aren't you now, Jiro?" he asked.

"It's the only way people like you will get the point," Jiro said flatly. "The cheaters and the naturally talented are always the ones who excel, while the ones who genuinely work hard are slighted and left to crash and burn. But I'm here to tell you right now, it is hard work that reaps the richest, truest rewards! Not magic tricks, not in-born talent, not cheating—HARD WORK!"

Janus frowned. "So, what—you're really lumping cheaters and those with in-born talent on the same page?"

"Why not?" Jiro challenged. "Whether they've cheated or have been born with natural gifts, those people have one thing in common—they don't know what it's like to have put in hours upon hours of rigorous training and practice to acquire the skill necessary to excel in any given field. And where does that leave the ones who have really worked to get what they want, eh?"

"Even so, I still think it's a bit extreme of you to compare cheaters with those who have natural skill," Janus reasoned.

"You'd be likely to say that—you've got skill that's a little _too_ natural to be called realistic!" Jiro shot at him.

"Realistic?" Janus cocked an eyebrow at him. "Explain."

Jiro lowered his hands a moment. "All right…I'll explain so that you can understand what I'm saying," he said softly. "And to do that, I'll again reference Yugi Muto's past successes, as well as yours."

"Uh-huh…" Janus waited.

Jiro nodded. "First example—Yugi's very first official duel against Seto Kaiba, the then-number-one-ranked duelist in the world," he started off. "In that duel, Kaiba had managed to summon his three legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and he had Yugi in a position where he could blast him away at any available opportunity. And yet Yugi was able to get together all the necessary cards to call upon the power of Exodia the Forbidden One—a feat that, until then, had never been successfully accomplished by anyone else. So why was Yugi able to do it, and just at the right time, too? Some say it was his Millennium Puzzle that gave him the power he needed to win; others say he was just that well-gifted. Either way, the fact remains that his chances of winning in that kind of scenario—as well as getting just the right cards—were too small for him to have done it successfully!

"Now, let's fast-forward to a little later on, when Yugi was challenged by Duke Devlin, the creator of the Dungeon Dice Monsters game, to that same game. Now, Yugi had never played Dungeon Dice Monsters before—yet he was able to catch on to the rules quickly enough to defeat Devlin after several scrapes and near-losses. Was it natural talent for games that helped him? Maybe. But even if he was a fast learner, he still shouldn't have been able to beat the creator and champion of Dungeon Dice Monsters when playing the game for the very first time—it's just too illogical that he did!

"Fast-forward again, this time to the finals of Battle City when Yugi and Kaiba again faced each other in a duel. They fought tooth-and-nail, with Kaiba having the clear advantage the whole duel through, especially at the end where he had his Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and then his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, on the field—and yet Yugi, in a very unlikely scenario where he shouldn't have defeated Kaiba, DID!"

Jiro paused here, running a hand through his hair. Then he took a deep breath. "And now, where you're concerned…you don't possess a magical artifact like Yugi did, yet you were able to defeat both Drake Phoenix and Calhoun Vincente in very unlikely scenarios. For instance, I saw the duel with you and Drake on Monday morning—he had you cornered, with his Destiny Hero monsters ready to take you out on his next turn, yet somehow you were able to draw and use the cards you needed just at that very moment to take back the duel's outcome from him! And as for Calhoun—I did not actually see that duel, I admit, but how likely is it that you, with your weaker monsters, would have been able to overthrow his well-known powerful strategy?"

At this point Janus sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Are you done now?" he asked.

"WHAT?" Jiro barked.

"Let me tell you something, man," said Janus. "You're lumping cheaters and the naturally talented into the same boat on the grounds that they win under circumstances where they shouldn't; whereas, according to you, those who work hard to get what they deserve end up getting the muddy end of the stick. But here's what I think: your whole belief system where all of that is concerned has really absolutely nothing to do with me, or Yugi Muto, or people like us, does it? You're just using us as scapegoats and as 'proof' to justify your own little issues that you haven't resolved."

"You don't know crap!" Jiro snapped.

"Don't I?" Janus returned.

"Then how do you explain a man spending twenty years of his life to learn a technique or skill, only to have someone else learn the same thing in a matter of days?" Jiro snarled. "And how do you explain one person taking shortcuts and cutting corners to get to a goal and being rewarded for it, while another person who stays on the straight and narrow and goes by the book to get to that same goal is overlooked and even ridiculed _because_ he went by the book? ANSWER THAT, JANUS YUKI!"

A flock of birds suddenly flew out from the trees as Jiro's yell reverberated across the area. Watching the birds fly off for a moment, Janus then leveled a steely glare on Jiro. "Listen…I can't speak for anybody but me," he said quietly. "And this much I know about myself. I am not a cheater. I was not raised to be a cheater. I do not rig my deck to help me win a duel—and you should be able to tell this, since you and I shuffled each other's deck at the start of this duel so neither of us would have a distinct advantage over the other. Am I naturally talented? Maybe. But I do know for a fact—I was not born knowing how to play Duel Monsters. I had to practice for years before I could become as good as I am now. So, here's what I think—you'll either have to call me a cheater or naturally talented, but I won't allow you to talk about both of them in the same sentence. And I will not allow you to accuse me, or Yugi Muto, or any other duelist, of not having had to work in order to get our respective levels of skill. Your generalization of us will stop here and now!"

"What I believe is MY belief," Jiro said stonily.

"Yes, but your belief borders on prejudice—and prejudice is actually something you learn." Janus's voice was now getting harsher. "I don't know what could have happened to you to give you such a narrow-minded viewpoint, but I'm certain something did happen to make you the extremist you're acting like right now. And before this duel is over, I'll find out what it is."

"Then try to defeat me, if you can!" Jiro taunted him. "Let's see if your natural talent will be able to save you this time!"

"Very well." Then Janus drew his card, giving him a total of four in hand—and smiled when he saw what he'd just gotten. "Well, Jiro…sorry to disappoint your expectations, but it would seem I'm still in this game, after all," he remarked.

"Is that right?" Jiro scoffed.

"Yes, that's right!" Janus nodded. "Because now I activate the magic card…Swords of Revealing Light!"

Jiro scowled. "Argh…!"

But true to Janus's words, three swords of flaming light shot down from the skies, momentarily penetrating the mist surrounding Shien's castle and embedding themselves around Jiro's monsters. "Now, your monsters won't be able to attack for your next three turns!" Janus declared. "Which will give me more than enough time to recover my ground in this duel, I dare say."

Jiro, however, didn't look impressed. "So your natural talent has somehow come through for you," he said disgustedly. "But don't think I don't have a way around that—all I need to do is bide my time until I draw the card I need, and then you can say sayonara to any hope of winning against me."

"Wait until you actually draw that miracle card of yours before you make that kind of proclamation," said Janus. "Right now, I'll just end my turn. There's not much else I can do now, anyway."

Shrugging, Jiro drew a card to replenish his hand…and suddenly he laughed aloud. "Heh—looks like I'm getting a little extra power to bring you to your knees, Janus!" he announced. "Well, I'll set this card facedown, and let you have a go."

Immediately one of the Swords of Revealing Light swiftly vanished. "Okay…one turn down…" Janus noted. "All right—let's do this, then."

Again he drew a card. "Okay, Jiro—now I can really get to use some of the cards in my hand!" he told his opponent. "Because now I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!"

A flash of electricity erupted onto Janus's side of the field—then, out of that electricity came Sparkman, ready to do battle. But Jiro merely cocked an eyebrow at the newly-arrived warrior. "And he can do, what exactly?" he inquired.

"Watch and learn!" Janus then held up one of the other cards he held. "For now I'll equip Sparkman with the magic card, Spark Blaster!"

Sparkman held up one of his hands—and seconds later he was holding his trademark blaster, aimed at Jiro's monsters. "And here is how it works," added Janus. "Sparkman can use it up to three times total before its ammo is used up, against any monster on the field—and for every time he fires a shot, the monster he targets changes its Battle Mode."

Jiro's eyes narrowed at this information. "Damn it…that means you can change my monsters to Defense Mode at your own whim…!"

"Got that right!" Janus agreed. "And right now I've got my eye on one of your monsters in particular: your Grandmaster of the Six Samurai!"

Swiftly Sparkman turned the Spark Blaster in the Grandmaster's direction and pulled the trigger. The result: a shot of electric energy pulsed out of the gun and hit the older warrior, stunning him and forcing him to his knees in a defensive stance. "Okay, Sparkman, take him out! Shining Surge Flash!" Janus commanded—and in turn, even as he placed the Spark Blaster in a holster, Sparkman dashed forward with his fist charged up with electric energy, and he slammed that fist into the now-defending Grandmaster's chest, obliterating him altogether!

"Grrr…" Jiro snarled as he watched the Grandmaster's demise.

"Now, I just hope you weren't just getting comfortable before your Grandmaster's defeat, because my destroying him was just the kick-start!" Janus told him. "Your Samurai friends will be next on the list!"

Jiro's eyes flashed. "Let me warn you, since you're ignorant of the fact," he said acidly. "Anyone—and I mean, _**anyone**_—who threatens my Six Samurai always ends up feeling the cold steel of their blades in retribution. So, it would be in your very best interest not to do so again."

"You're really quite confident in their ability, aren't you?" Janus inquired.

"And with good reason," Jiro answered. "They are very close-knit—they watch out for each other and guard each other's backs when it's called for. Rarely do they ever act singly—their usual strategy is based on working together."

"And let me guess: emphasis on 'working,' right?" Janus quipped.

Now Jiro smirked. "I wasn't going to say it, but thank you for saying it for me nonetheless."

At that Janus ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "Sheesh…well, whatever, man. I'll just call it a turn."

Jiro wasted no time in drawing his card, again replenishing his hand. "Hmmm…seems my patience is going to pay off," he chuckled. "All right…I summon Shien's Footsoldier (ATK 700, DEF 300) in Attack Mode!" And then he brought to the field a short monkey-warrior, clad in Samurai armor with a conical hat, and wielding a spear. "And that's all she wrote for the time being." And then the second of the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared.

Janus blinked at the sight of Shien's Footsoldier, even as the monkey pointed its spear menacingly at him. "And you're telling me…that that is supposed to be some kind of a threat to me or something?" he asked.

"Yes…why?" asked Jiro.

"Oh…well, then I guess you'll forgive me if I'm not convinced!" Janus admitted. "Your Samurai can wait—first I'll blast your pet monkey out of here!"

With that he drew his next card, so he now held three in hand. "Okay! Now I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" Then, in a shower of water and bubbles from the ground, his blue-armored Bubbleman appeared. "And I've got something that'll really pump up his power…"

"Oh, do you?" Jiro wondered.

"Indeed I do!" Janus then held up one of the two cards he had left in his hand. "Now, I'll equip Bubbleman with this magic card—Bubble Blaster, to increase his ATK by 800 points!"

The next thing Jiro knew, a huge blaster appeared on Bubbleman's shoulders that seemed so heavy the hero had to stoop down a little to accommodate its weight…yet his ATK shot up to 1600! "That's one potential problem taken care of," said Janus. "Now, what to do, what to do…oh, I know! I did say I'd be dealing with your Six Samurai monsters, right? Well, I'll deal with Nisashi first—by using the power of the Spark Blaster to shift him into Defense Mode!"

Sparkman whipped out the Spark Blaster again, firing a shot that shocked both Nisashi and the Legendary Ebon Steed he was riding and forced both of them to kneel down defensively. Jiro regarded all this with a critical eye. "And you think what you're doing is going to make a single bit of difference?" he queried.

"Well, why not?" asked Janus. "Now, then…Bubbleman, take out his Footsoldier!" And, aiming the Bubble Blaster, Bubbleman fired a wave of water at the monkey that utterly drowned it and brought down Jiro's life points.

**JANUS: 1200; JIRO: 5600**

But Jiro merely shook his head. "Okay, you've brought down my life points a little bit…but by destroying Shien's Footsoldier, you've actually helped me a little," he revealed. "For when the Footsoldier is destroyed as a result of battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Level 3 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck. And the one I'll choose is the Six Samurai – Kamon (ATK 1500, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later there appeared a Samurai in brown armor, with dynamite sticks strapped to his body. "Uhhh…okay…not sure I wanna imagine how suicidal that guy must be with all that TNT on him," Janus remarked. "But anyway, I'm not gonna worry about him right now—my more pressing concern is with your Nisashi! Now, Sparkman, destroy Nisashi with your Shining Surge Flash!"

Again Sparkman's fist charged up with electricity, and he rushed forward, readying his fist to strike. But Jiro suddenly spoke up, "I hope you haven't forgotten that my Shien's Castle of Mist is still active, Janus—and if any monster attacks a Six Samurai monster, then that attacking monster loses 500 ATK for the damage calculation!"

The mist surrounding Shien's castle suddenly seemed to gather up on Sparkman, lowering his ATK to 1100! "But your Nisashi's DEF is still too weak to withstand a blow from Sparkman at this point!" Janus rebutted. "So he's still going to kick the bucket!"

Sparkman then slammed his fist into the Legendary Ebon Steed—but all at once, Nisashi himself jumped off the horse and landed elsewhere, still crouched in a defensive stance, even as the Steed itself got totally obliterated!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Janus shouted. "Hold everything! How come your Nisashi's still around? Sparkman's attack should've toasted him, too!"

"Thank the effect of the Legendary Ebon Steed for that," said Jiro. "If the 'Six Samurai' monster that it was equipped to would have been destroyed, then the Steed itself is destroyed instead of the equipped monster."

"Hmph…okay, that wasn't too shabby, I guess," said Janus, albeit a tad grudgingly. "Well, go ahead—take your turn now." And then the mist seemed to clear away from Sparkman, restoring his ATK to its normal 1600.

Nodding, Jiro drew his next card—and suddenly he grinned. "All right, Janus, now it's time I showed you the fruits of my labor!" he spoke up. "And this time, you haven't got a thing that'll save you from my onslaught!"

"Oh?" Janus said suspiciously.

Whereupon Jiro pointed to his facedown card. "Now…I reveal my trap card, Swift Samurai Storm!"

All at once, underneath the Six Samurai warriors' feet there appeared something akin to a mystical seal of sorts. "I'll bet you're dying to find out how this works," said Jiro. "Well, I'll tell you. Each turn this card is active, after the first time one of my Six Samurai monsters engages in battle, all Six Samurai monsters that I control will gain an additional 300 ATK points till the end of the turn!"

"You're kidding!" Janus exclaimed. "But—oh, wait a second. My Swords of Revealing Light card is still active for this turn—you still can't attack me."

"Can't I?" Jiro rebutted. "Allow me to prove you wrong by activating Kamon's special ability! If I control another 'Six Samurai' monster while Kamon is on the field, then I can use Kamon's effect to destroy one face-up Magic or Trap card—and I can have him destroy the Swords of Revealing Light with ease!"

Janus's eyes widened in surprise at this. "Uh-oh…"

Kamon immediately pulled out one of his dynamite sticks and swiftly lit the fuse, tossing it toward Janus's side of the field where the Swords of Revealing Light card was. Then—BOOM! The dynamite exploded, utterly destroying the card…and in the process, the last of the three swords of light vanished altogether.

"Unfortunately, Kamon can't attack during the same turn he uses his effect," Jiro said regretfully. Then just as quickly he cheered up. "But I've still got two 'Six Samurai' warriors ready to battle! All I have to do is shift Nisashi here into Attack Mode…" And Nisashi stood up, clutching his twin swords in anticipation. "And now, Irou, attack Sparkman and take vengeance for what he did before!"

Readying his blade, Irou dashed forward and slashed Sparkman in half, lowering Janus's life points slightly.

**JANUS: 1100; JIRO: 5600**

"And now, the effect of my Swift Samurai Storm trap card activates," said Jiro—and just like that, the ATK of all three of the Six Samurai monsters on his side of the field rose by 300 points, with Nisashi's going to 1700, Irou's to 2000, and Kamon's to 1800!

Janus flinched. "Not good…!"

"Nisashi, attack his Bubbleman now!" Jiro ordered. And Nisashi did just that, running forward and slashing at Bubbleman with one blade—except, oddly enough, it was the Bubble Blaster that got chopped in two, with Bubbleman himself staying quite intact.

"Surprised?" asked Janus. "Well, if Bubbleman is attacked while he's equipped with the Bubble Blaster, then the Bubble Blaster itself is destroyed in his place, and all damage from that battle is reduced to zero."

"But your Bubbleman is still not safe—because Nisashi's effect still applies!" Jiro reminded him. "For if I have another 'Six Samurai' on the field while Nisashi is in play, then Nisashi can attack twice during the same turn…and he can use his second attack now! Go for it, Nisashi!" And again Nisashi struck, this time decapitating Bubbleman with ease and sharply lowering Janus's life points to 200!

**JANUS: 200; JIRO: 5600**

"Urgh…" Janus winced. "Well—now I activate my trap card, a second Hero Signal! In case you've forgotten what it does, when one of my monsters is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck to my side of the field…and the one I'm going for is Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) in Defense Mode!"

As another searchlight with the Elemental Hero logo shone into the sky, Burstinatrix appeared on the field in an explosion of flames. "I see…so that was your facedown card all this time…" Jiro said thoughtfully. "Well, that's all very well and good, but now what are you going to do?"

"What's it look like I'm going to do? I'm going to win!" Janus answered defiantly.

"You don't get it, do you?" Jiro asked. "I've got three monsters here on the field, ready to take you apart on the next turn, and all you've got is one measly monster to protect your life points with not much of a defense. Oh—wait—I almost forgot," and here he slapped a hand to his brow as if he was just remembering. "Your 'natural talent' is going to save you from defeat, is that it? Well, if you actually manage to get something that'll save you on your next turn, something's got to be wrong—because the chances of that happening right now are slim to none!"

Janus rubbed the back of his hand against his mouth. "Well…you wanna know something? I wasn't going to say this, because I wasn't sure how you'd react to it, but I guess now's as good a time as any to say it after all."

"What?" Jiro lifted his eyebrows.

Now Janus looked straight into Jiro's face. "Let me ask you something. Do you honestly—sincerely—without question—work together with your cards when you duel?"

"Of course! It's what I do!" Jiro answered.

Now Janus chuckled. "Then, as much as I don't think you'll believe me…we're a little more alike than either of us would've first expected," he remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jiro demanded.

"All right…so I've got a little natural talent when it comes to Duel Monsters…but where I'm concerned, it runs deeper than that." Janus smirked. "Not all of my monsters may have incredible ATK power, and by themselves they may seem weak…nevertheless, I work together with my cards to bring out some good results. And there's more to it, too…"

Jiro's eyes narrowed at this.

"I don't see my monsters as tools, or as means to an end," Janus went on. "I see them as my friends."

Now Jiro blinked. "Your…friends?"

"Yes, my friends." Janus nodded. "They may not be strong, but each of my monsters has its own individual power that more than makes up for whatever lack of ATK or DEF they may possess. I believe there is plenty of heart in my cards in spite of their lack of raw power, and for that I respect them greatly…and if you know so much about Yugi Muto's dueling history, then you should know that he believed in that too—in the 'heart of the cards.'"

"Heart…of the cards…" Jiro said slowly.

"Yeah, that's right." Janus nodded again. "I don't rely only on my own strength or on whatever natural talent I may possess—I have faith in my cards, that they'll somehow see me through even if the situation's hopeless. And I believe that, unlike raw training, or being born with natural talent, or even doing something as low as cheating, ANYBODY can use the heart of the cards…it's only a matter of whether they actually believe in it or not that makes all the difference. Yugi Muto believed in it…his son Yugo believes in it…and so do I."

Jiro stood there, just looking at Janus. Then suddenly, he began to chuckle. "Heh, heh, heh…ha, ha, ha…"

"Huh? What's so funny?" Janus wondered.

"Heh…sorry…" Jiro managed to calm down from his laughter. "It's just that I never would've thought I'd hear that philosophy from anyone's mouth other than my grandfather's."

Janus cocked his head at this. "Your grandfather?"

"That's correct." Jiro nodded. "I'll tell you about him…about the kind of man he was…and about the tragedy that befell him, many years ago…"

----------

_**neomage:**_ THE POLL FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER IS STILL ACTIVE! Keep sending in your votes along with your reviews, and don't forget to give reasons why you vote the way you do! And anyways…now Jiro's about to go into storyteller mode about his grandpa—what will that story be? Stay tuned to find out!


	12. Hard Work's Tragedy

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(salutes) **Not mine…Takahashi-sama's property…)

**CHAPTER 12 – Hard Work's Tragedy**

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST

"Okay…so, what about your grandpa?" Janus wondered, scratching the back of his head.

Jiro allowed himself a tiny smile. "Our family comes from a long line of Samurai that stretches back as far as before the beginning of the Meiji era, when the Tokugawa regime was still in power," he recalled quietly. "My grandfather was quite the historian when it came to that, you see. He believed strongly in family honor…and so did his father, and _his_ father, and _his_ father before him—you get the idea."

"Generations upon generations of Burgers…man, why couldn't I be born into a family like that?" Janus wondered, question marks popping up over his head.

"The Samurai lineage came from my mother's side of the family—the surname 'Burger' was from my father's side, and was thus completely unrelated," answered Jiro, a small vein popping up in his forehead at the interruption. "But that's not important. What is important is, Grandfather was our family's patriarch…we all loved him very much, and took his words of wisdom seriously. And he never gave advice that wasn't unfounded."

He clenched his fists. "It was Grandfather who first taught me the importance of hard work and honesty. He instilled that lesson into me, years ago when I was just a child…"

----------

TEN YEARS EARLIER

_ "Jiro! Jiro, my boy, where are you?" the elderly man called out as he walked along the outdoor corridor._

_ "Coming, Grandfather!" Jiro called back from somewhere inside the house._

_ Stopping on the front porch, Grandfather paused and waited patiently. Then, in a moment there was little Jiro, coming out of the front door and looking at the much older man expectantly. "Yes, Grandfather?" he asked._

_ "Ah, good, there you are," said Grandfather. "Would you like to go shopping with me? There are some things I need to pick up at the market for dinner tonight."_

_ "Sure, Grandfather!" Jiro replied eagerly._

_ "All right, then, let's go!" Grandfather grinned._

_ The two walked toward the front gate…and then a little while later, they were walking along the sidewalk toward the market. "So, Jiro, I haven't quite decided what we should have for dinner tonight…what do you think we should buy to eat?" Grandfather asked._

_ "I like tofu, Grandfather!" Jiro said eagerly._

_ "Ha, ha, ha…tofu it is, then," said Grandfather. "And something tells me your mother will be quite pleased with that selection…it's been a while since we've had a chance to eat tofu cooked by her."_

_ "Yeah! Mommy's tofu is the best!" Jiro laughed._

_ They continued walking a while longer. Then Jiro glanced up at his grandfather. "Uh, Grandfather, can I ask you something?" he asked._

_ "Why, certainly!" Grandfather replied._

_ Jiro looked innocently up at him. "How old are you?"_

_ "Hmmm…" Grandfather frowned as if in thought. "Seventy-two, I think…"_

_ "Seventy-two? WOW!" Jiro said, his voice filled with awe. "But you look like you could be as old as Daddy, and you look big and strong too!"_

_ "Do I, now?" Grandfather chuckled._

_ "Yeah! You don't look old and wrinkly at all, and you've got muscles too!" Jiro flexed his own biceps for emphasis._

_ Now Grandfather laughed loudly. "Well, I suppose I really do look young and strong for my age," he remarked. "Say, Jiro…would you like to know how I got these muscles?"_

_ "Sure, Grandfather! Tell me!" Jiro exclaimed excitedly._

_ "All right." Grandfather stopped walking, turned and stooped down so he could be on face-level with Jiro. "Come here."_

_ Curious, Jiro stepped a little closer to his grandfather. "Now, take a look, my boy," said Grandfather, rolling up his shirt sleeve and flexing his muscles. "See these muscles? I got these from working at the construction company downtown, helping them to lift heavy things and all that."_

_ "From your job, Grandfather?" Jiro asked, a little perplexed._

_ "Yes, Jiro," answered Grandfather. "And also, I've kept in shape by exercising and eating healthy foods every day."_

_ "But Grandfather, I've seen you go to work at the construction company all this time, and everybody knows you always eat properly and exercise," Jiro remarked. "What's so special about that?"_

_ A twinkle appeared in Grandfather's eye. "What's so special about that? Well…I've been doing it for many years, long before your mother and father were born. I made it a goal in my life that I would have muscles and a healthy body, and I was determined to work as hard as I needed to until I got what I wanted."_

_ "Work? That sounds boring," and Jiro made a face._

_ "Not quite, Jiro." Now Grandfather was speaking seriously. "The only way people can get what they desire in life is through hard work, my grandson. If I didn't work for it, I wouldn't have the muscles I have now, and my face would have a lot more wrinkles than it does. My skin would just be hanging off of me like an empty sack."_

_ "That sounds gross!" Jiro exclaimed._

_ "Indeed it does," agreed Grandfather. "But there's more to it than that, Jiro. If your mother and father did not work hard, they would not be able to give you clothes to wear, food to eat, or a bed to sleep in. If policemen did not work hard, we would have thieves coming to our neighborhood every hour of the day. If farmers did not work hard, there would be no food for anyone to eat. Nothing in this world comes easily, you see…everyone has to work to get what they want."_

_ "Oh…I think I understand," said Jiro._

_ "Now, listen to me, Jiro," Grandfather addressed him. "Someday, you must also work to get what you want. Maybe one day you will want to have a nice car of your own, like what your father drives…maybe you'll want to have muscles, like what I have. But whatever it is you want to get for yourself, always work hard and honestly to get it, and when you get it, work your hardest to keep it for as long as you can. Never become lazy, and never cheat. A lazy man or a man who cheats or takes shortcuts in life will only shame himself and those who expect great things of him. Make sure nobody ever has to be ashamed of you because you were lazy or a cheater."_

_ "Yes, Grandfather. I promise," Jiro answered, nodding solemnly._

_ "Good boy!" Grandfather smiled again and stood up. "Now, how about we hurry and get that tofu?"_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST, THE PRESENT DAY

"So Grandfather said that to me," Jiro continued his tale. "Of course, being as young as I was, I didn't really understand too well the importance of what he was trying to tell me, but I did know that he always gave good advice. So, I made that promise to him, and from that time onward I did my very best at whatever chores or tasks I was given to do. And if I slipped up, I refused to admit defeat—I'd get back up and try again until I got it right.

"But then…two years after I made that promise to him…" Here his voice dropped and his hair suddenly overshadowed his eyes.

"Hmmm?" Janus raised an eyebrow at this.

Jiro's hands were trembling as he resumed speaking. "Grandfather slowly began to shy away from others…secluded himself…kept himself in his room. He'd smile around us, but even I at my young age could tell that that smile wasn't a genuine one anymore. We never did anything together any longer…he'd never even eat with the rest of the family. And then, early one morning, I went to his room to bring breakfast to him…and…"

Janus watched him carefully. "What happened?"

Slowly Jiro looked up; his eyes were like daggers. "He wasn't in his room…so I went to look for him. He wasn't anywhere in the house…then I happened to come around the backyard, and…there he was…hanging from our cherry blossom tree."

Janus's throat inexplicably went dry as he heard that.

"Later on, I found out what had happened to make him do such a drastic thing." Jiro clenched his fists tightly. "He'd been with his construction company for many years…and yet, instead of keeping him, they chose to replace him with a much younger employee who had…an 'aptitude'…for everything Grandfather had worked hard to master, and then some. Grandfather had to toil many hours for years to get the kind of qualifications that he had, and that other guy had never done half the work Grandfather had spent pretty much his whole life to do…and yet HE got Grandfather's job!"

Jiro's voice dropped to a bitter whisper. "Natural talent stole my grandfather's life's effort from him…put him into deep dejection…and then stole him from me…that is why I reject the notion that natural talent is valid compared to true hard work and effort. That is why I duel, Janus…to honor my grandfather's memory and the teachings he left with me!"

Janus crossed his arms and nodded. "Okay…well, Jiro, I think I see where you're coming from with this. But do you really think your grandpa would've wanted to see you nursing hatred in your heart all this time? Because I doubt that holding a grudge is one of the lessons he taught you."

"No…it certainly wasn't." Jiro nodded in agreement, though he did so slowly. "Even so, that still won't appease me. You don't know the kind of pain I had to live with, knowing I'd never see him again…knowing that I'd always have that image of him hanging from that tree."

Janus shook his head. "Okay, that's where I definitely have to disagree with you. True, I may not know anything about how you must've felt…but I definitely know what loss is all about. I just try not to think about it too much—I don't want a stroke while I'm still young."

"Such a laidback view of personal tragedy isn't going to convince me that you know what loss is like!" Jiro growled.

Janus looked hard at Jiro. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "All right, then. Since I can't convince you with my words…I guess I'll have to try convincing you with my cards. And with this deck of mine and the heart of the cards to back me up, I know I'll win—in spite of you and the strength of your Six Samurai!"

"Then go ahead, make your move—because once you do, you're finished!" Jiro replied.

**JANUS: 200; JIRO: 5600**

Indeed, the stats of the duel were heavily in Jiro's favor: He had 5600 life points, while Janus was holding on with just 200. On the field Jiro had the Six Samurai – Irou, the Six Samurai – Nisashi, and the Six Samurai – Kamon in Attack Mode, plus he also had his Shien's Castle of Mist field magic card, the Field Barrier continuous magic card, and the Swift Samurai Storm continuous trap card still active; Janus only had Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in Defense Mode. Both players each held one card in hand.

Janus now glanced at his deck, even as he readied himself to draw from it. _Okay…I'm gonna bet everything on this next card! So…let's do this!_

Then he drew, giving himself a total of two cards in hand. And when he saw what it was…he smiled. "Hm, looks as if I'm not about to be tossed out of this game after all, Jiro!"

"What? What do you mean by that?" Jiro demanded.

"What I mean by that, Jiro is simply THIS!" Janus then held up the card he'd just drawn. "I've drawn a miracle from my deck—or should I say, the magic card Miracle Fusion!"

"Huh…? Miracle Fusion?" Jiro asked, blinking in disbelief. "What's that supposed to be?"

"Let me explain how it works," answered Janus. "Miracle Fusion lets me remove from play, from my side of the field or my Graveyard, any monsters that are listed as Fusion-material monsters on any Fusion monster that has 'Elemental Hero' in its name, and allows me to Special Summon that Fusion monster while treating that summon as a Fusion Summon. And it just so happens that I've got four monsters to remove from play for this summon—my Bustrinatrix and three other Elemental Heroes in my Graveyard! Check it out!"

Suddenly, right there before Jiro's astonished eyes, three monster spirits rose from the Graveyard: Elemental Hero Avian, Elemental Hero Bubbleman, and—much to his shock—Elemental Hero Clayman (ATK 800, DEF 2000)! "Wait! Wait a minute! When did that rock golem get into the Graveyard? I never destroyed him!" Jiro sputtered.

"Actually, you did," Janus told him, with a twinkle appearing in his eye. "Remember when your Samurai friend Irou destroyed my facedown monster a few turns back with his effect? Well, that monster was Clayman—and now he's going to be part of what constitutes your defeat!"

"…no way…!" Jiro whispered.

Burstinatrix quickly stood up and jumped into the air, joining the spirits of her fellow three Elemental Heroes. All four of them then got sucked together into a spiraling whirl above the duelists' heads! "And now," Janus announced, "I'm going to remove all four of these guys from play in order to summon their fused form to the field…my mighty Elemental Hero Electrum (ATK 2900, DEF 2600)!"

At that moment a bolt of lightning burst down from where the Elemental Heroes had fused together—and then, slowly standing up straight from a hunched position, was a warrior of intense light with a stylized letter "E" on his chest. Jiro, shielding his eyes so he could look at the new arrival, could hardly believe what he was seeing. "But…he's even stronger than any of my Samurai right now!" he realized.

"Glad to see you've acknowledged that fact," answered Janus. "But it doesn't stop there, because Electrum's got a really sweet effect—when he's summoned, all cards that were removed from play get returned to their owners' decks, after which the decks are shuffled…" Here he took the four Elemental Hero cards he'd removed from the game, added them back to his deck and shuffled it. "But wait—there's a little more…"

"Say what?" Jiro appeared completely dumbfounded now.

"Elemental Hero Electrum is a Light monster, but his effect also lets me treat him as having four other attributes—Fire, Water, Wind and Earth," Janus explained. "And that ties in really well with this other effect he has—he increases his ATK by 300 points for every monster on your side of the field that he shares an attribute with! And since your Nisashi is a Wind monster, and Kamon is a Fire monster…"

"Uh-oh!" Realization hit Jiro right then. "His ATK will increase by 600 points…!"

"Exactly!" Janus grinned, even as Electrum's ATK suddenly rose to 3500! "And none of your monsters will be able to defend against that kind of power! So…Electrum, destroy the Six Samurai – Nisashi right now!"

Shien's Castle of Mist immediately lowered Electrum's ATK to 3000 via its effect, but nevertheless he formed a huge ball of light energy in his hand and prepared to throw it at a flinching Nisashi. Rearing back for just a moment, he let the ball of light fly with all the strength he could muster to throw…

…but suddenly, at that moment, and much to Janus's astonishment, Kamon jumped in front of Nisashi, screaming out as the light-ball hit him with full force and disintegrated him! Nisashi got pushed back by the shockwave of the attack, and Jiro's life points dropped to 4000!

**JANUS: 200; JIRO: 4000**

"HEY! What gives?" It was now Janus's turn to be confused. "I didn't attack Kamon! Why was he destroyed and not Nisashi?"

"Well…my turn to explain something now," replied Jiro. "All of my Six Samurai possess a special effect—if one Samurai is chosen as an attack target while at least one other Samurai is on the field, then I can choose to have the other Samurai be destroyed instead. Of course, I still get the damage that comes from the battle between your monster and the Samurai that was attacked and would have been destroyed…except, that Samurai is kept safe while one of his brethren sacrifices himself in his place. So you see, Janus, my Six Samurai really do watch each others' backs."

"Yeah…" Janus nodded with respect. "But for how long can they keep it up?"

"We'll soon see, won't we now?" answered Jiro.

"I suppose we will," and Janus nodded again. "Well, anyway, I end my turn now." And as he said that, Electrum's ATK got reconfigured, increasing again by 500 points, then decreasing a little by 300 to leave him with a total of 3200.

Jiro then quickly took his turn and drew a card, giving him two in hand—and did a double-take. Then…ever so slowly, he smiled. "Okay, Janus…now it's time for me to really show you the full power of my deck! And this time around, you'll definitely lose!"

"Oh?" Janus cocked an eyebrow.

"You'd better believe it," and Jiro nodded knowingly. "Now…time for you to meet the master of my deck. For you see, Janus, if I have two or more 'Six Samurai' monsters on the field, then I can Special Summon this card from my hand…" He held up the card he'd just drawn. "Now, arise to the battlefield in Defense Mode…Great Shogun Shien (ATK 2500, DEF 2400)!"

All at once a burst of flame exploded in between Irou and Nisashi, even as both of them stepped back a few paces to make way for the new arrival…and there, kneeling in a defensive stance, was the Great Shogun Shien, his red armor glistening and his cape billowing behind him as he held his katana in hand. "Oh…that's pretty cool…" Janus blinked and nodded at the spectacle.

"Impressed?" said Jiro. "Then listen to this: As long as Shien here is face-up on the field, then you will only be able to activate one Magic or Trap card each turn."

At that Janus flinched. "Okay, _that_ is so not cool…but at least my Electrum's ATK will go up another 300 points, since Shien is a Fire monster." And indeed, Electrum's ATK rose a little further to 3500 once again.

Jiro's eyes narrowed. "Your Electrum is too powerful for any of my monsters to take on head-on…so right now I'll shift Nisashi and Irou into Defense Mode…" At which point the two Samurai warriors knelt down next to Shien, clutching their respective weapons tightly. "And I'll end my turn with that."

Again Janus drew, so he now held two cards. Then he paused and studied his hand. "Okay…here's what I'll do," he announced. "I'll activate this magic card, Pot of Greed, and draw two cards from my deck!"

Swiftly he drew his two cards, so now he held three. "All right…thanks to your Great Shogun Shien, I can't activate any more Magic or Trap cards this turn," he noted. "But that's going to change in just a moment! Elemental Hero Electrum, attack and destroy Shien now!"

Shien's Castle of Mist immediately sapped Electrum of 500 ATK points to leave him with 3000. Notwithstanding, light energy crackled in Electrum's hand as he charged toward the defending Shien—but then all of a sudden, Irou stood up from his kneeling stance and jumped right in the path of the attack, taking Electrum's fist straight through his chest! "WHAT!" Janus exclaimed in disbelief even as Irou's body completely disintegrated from the force of Electrum's blow.

"Let me explain," Jiro said coolly. "If Great Shogun Shien would've been destroyed, I can destroy one of my Six Samurai monsters in his place. All of the Six Samurai are fiercely loyal to Shien, you see, even unto death."

"Hmm. Well, that's pretty admirable, I guess…anyway, I'll set one monster facedown in Defense Mode now, and one other card facedown, and then that's the end of my turn," Janus announced.

Yet again Jiro drew his card…and suddenly a smirk appeared on his lips. "Sorry to disappoint you, Janus, but this duel is almost wrapped up!" he said. "For now I summon the Six Samurai – Zanji (ATK 1800, DEF 1300)!"

In a moment he'd called to the field a red-armored Samurai wielding a massive bladed staff. "Next, I'll shift Shien into Attack Mode…" And then Shien stood up, clutching his katana expectantly. "And then you can say goodbye to your monsters completely!"

"Why's that?" asked Janus.

"Because…" Jiro's smirk grew bigger. "If I have another 'Six Samurai' monster on my side of the field, then when Zanji attacks a monster, his effect destroys that monster at the end of the Damage Step. And I'm going to have him attack…your Electrum!"

Janus's eyes widened—but before he could open his mouth to reply, Zanji was already rushing forward, striking down toward Electrum's unprotected head with his weapon! Electrum reacted promptly, catching the blade in between his hands and simultaneously lifting his foot to deliver a retaliatory kick…

…only for Nisashi, now no longer kneeling in his place on Jiro's side of the field, to rush forward and shove Zanji aside, taking the kick instead and getting his body torn in two for his trouble. The force of the kick was, however, enough to knock Zanji backwards regardless, and Jiro flinched as his life points went down to 2800.

**JANUS: 200; JIRO: 2800**

In the same moment, though, Zanji flung his bladed staff at Electrum's head, and this time the other warrior couldn't react fast enough to prevent the blade from splitting his head in two.

"Grrr…Zanji should've been destroyed in that battle…except for that effect that lets you sacrifice one of your Six Samurai for another," Janus recalled.

"Very good memory!" Jiro applauded him. "Let me reward you for that by destroying your last remaining monster with my Great Shogun Shien! Go, Shien—eliminate the last of his defenses!"

The flame crest on Shien's chest-plate glowed a bright orange as he raised his katana and slashed downward—and created a huge blade of fire that tore Janus's defending monster card in two, revealing it to be Elemental Hero Captain Gold (ATK 2100, DEF 800) in the process. "Next turn, you're dead!" Jiro yelled triumphantly.

"Uh…not quite," Janus said suddenly. "Because now I can activate my trap card, Hero Counterattack!"

All at once, to Jiro's consternation, Janus's facedown card got flipped face-up. "Let me explain how it works," Janus offered. "I could only activate it when an Elemental Hero that I controlled was destroyed by battle. Now, you get to select one random card in my hand, and if that card is an Elemental Hero monster, I get to destroy one monster that you control, then I can Special Summon the selected Elemental Hero."

Jiro gritted his teeth. "And you're holding only one card…!"

"Got that right! So it's a no-brainer as to which card you should pick, hmm?" Janus chuckled and held up his card.

"Argh…fine! I select the card in your hand—not like I have a choice anyway," Jiro muttered.

"Just wait'll you see what you've chosen!" Janus told him. "First things first, though, I must destroy one of your monsters—and the one I pick is Zanji!"

Immediately Zanji spontaneously combusted, being reduced to nothing but ash. "And now, I can Special Summon this card…come out to play, Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!" Janus cried.

A burst of light broke out over Janus's side of the field—then Elemental Hero Neos appeared, shadow-boxing while fixing Great Shogun Shien with a piercing stare. "All righty, then," said Janus. "Now, they're both on the field…and ready to rumble!"

"Quite so," said Jiro. "Unfortunately, I've already used up my attack for this turn, so I'll let you have a go now."

"All right, then," Janus nodded.

Then he glanced down at his deck. _All right…let's win this together!_

He drew.

Jiro watched him expectantly. "Well?"

Janus examined the card he'd drawn. "Jiro…I really will have to admit, these last couple of turns I was genuinely concerned that at some point you'd really wipe me out," he said softly. "But it looks like, this time, fate has smiled on me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jiro cocked a suspicious eyebrow.

"It means…that I've drawn the card that will seal my victory!" Janus held up the card. "Now, I'll equip Neos with this magic card…Neos Force!"

The next thing Jiro knew, Neos's fist began to glow with intense light as his ATK shot up by 800 points, to 3300; that light was intense enough to stir even the fog of Shien's Castle of Mist away from Janus's side of the field! "No!" Jiro screamed.

"Neos Force increases the ATK of Elemental Hero Neos by 800 points," said Janus. "But that isn't all…when Neos, while equipped with Neos Force, destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, my opponent gets damage equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster. And not even the effect of Shien's Castle of Mist can protect you from what's coming next!"

Neos immediately jumped high into the air and punched downward, toward Jiro's side of the field. As he did, several hail-bursts of light exploded from his fist and consumed everything on Jiro's field…

…but all at once, from that explosion of light, Great Shogun Shien himself rocketed upward toward Neos, katana at the ready! "Don't stand down, Shien! Give it everything you've got!" Jiro yelled.

Still hanging in midair, Neos drew his leg back and delivered a kick toward Shien. At the same moment, Shien swung his sword, the blade connecting with Neos's shin with a loud ringing noise. "Whoa!" Janus cried as he witnessed this.

Then Neos and Shien went past each other, Neos descending, Shien still ascending, both in their attacking poses. Neither monster looked at anything in particular, nor turned to look back at his opponent…

…and then, just like that, the blade of Shien's sword exploded into numerous tiny fragments. As Janus and Jiro watched this, Shien's armor began to break apart as well…and then Shien himself vanished into thin air.

"…shit…" Jiro winced and fell to his hands and knees, even as his life points went all the way down to 0.

**JANUS: 200; JIRO: 0**

At length Neos touched back onto the ground, and then he vanished into thin air as well. Sighing, Janus switched off his Duel-Disk. "Well, guess that's the end of that. Gotta say, though, Jiro, that was certainly a close one."

Jiro grunted as he raised himself up on one knee. "You…to think you could've beaten my Six Samurai deck…it's so hard to believe…" He closed his eyes. "Janus…truly you're the better duelist of the two of us, after all…and my efforts were for nothing…"

"Not true." Janus shook his head. "You honestly had me on my toes for a good while, you know. In fact, I'm not so sure I would've been able to win if I'd drawn anything else on that last draw. And anyway, I've got a feeling that I haven't seen _everything_ that your deck is capable of. You and your monsters really work well together, just as I do with mine."

Then he hung his head a little and turned away. "Still…being the best …or any attempts of yours to be the best…it's never enough if you can't save the one you love…is it…?"

Jiro frowned—was that a hint of sadness he heard in Janus's voice?

Then Janus turned to him—and the familiar grin was back on his face. "Ah, what am I sounding so gloomy for? I just kicked your ass, after all!"

"BARELY!" Jiro exploded indignantly, several veins popping up in his forehead.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Janus waved away Jiro's complaints. "Anyway, here's a proposal—how about we go celebrate the fact that we just had a really swell duel? You should join me and my friends for lunch at the cafeteria!"

Jiro blinked. "Even though I lost?"

"Hey, it's not every day I get to duel someone who's got as much passion for dueling as I've seen in you just now," Janus told him. "And besides, you could really use a few human friends around here…having a duel spirit for a friend isn't bad, but it helps to be able to talk to humans once in a while, you know?"

Jiro blinked again…then sighed and shrugged. "Well…I guess you have a point…but I have classes to go to…"

"Oh. Oh, well…let's link up together for suppertime this evening. Of course, we'd have to work on getting out the stick that's up your ass," Janus added with a knowing grin.

"I do not have a stick up my ass!" Jiro bellowed.

"There, see? It's a temper like that that'll keep you from having any pals to hang around with," Janus wagged a disapproving finger at him. "Lighten up a little, man. Sure, there may be problems and regrets, but if you dwell on them too much, too often, you'll get gray hair before you even turn 30. Do you want to get gray hair before you turn 30?"

Jiro scowled at him. "Your laidback attitude is so…so…vexing!"

"Blah, blah, blah," Janus shrugged. "Well, anyway, I'd better hurry back before I miss out on all the good stuff at the cafeteria!"

"You'll need a guide back—it's not as if you know these woods all that well," Jiro told him. "After all, I'm the only one who knows where this clearing is, relative to the school grounds. And like I said, I have to get to class soon anyway."

"Well, let's go then!" Janus urged. "And if you lag and I miss the apple pie, I'll kick your ass again!" And he turned and hurried off.

"Whatever," Jiro grumbled, but nonetheless he stood up and started to follow after Janus.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION

"Remember now, _Señor_ Drake—practice the adjectives and adverbs in time for our next session," said the tutor. _"¡Adios!"_

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Drake mumbled under his breath.

Waving, the tutor picked up his briefcase and headed for the front door, followed by Jasmine. Then off he went down the front steps toward the waiting limousine. "And so, your Spanish tutorial ends for the day," Jasmine remarked as she watched the man leave.

"Bah!" Drake grunted with sheer contempt. "That Spanish tutor of mine needs to go find some other hobby to keep himself busy…maybe jerking off while peeping on women in their bathrooms or something."

"Master Drake!" Jasmine exclaimed, staring at him in bewilderment.

"Okay, okay, fine, forget I said that," Drake replied carelessly, getting up from his seat on the sofa. "But face it, Jasmine, the only reason those tutors waste their time coming here at all is because my parents pay them to do that. And the only reason I tolerate them at all is because I know how many dimes that Mom and Dad paid would've been wasted if I didn't."

"In any case, your Spanish tutoring is done now, and you have no more tutors scheduled to come in today," Jasmine answered. "What will you do now?"

"I've already got something planned, don't worry about that," Drake assured her. "Meanwhile, could you fetch me something to snack on? I'm going to make a phone call to some…very important people."

"Yes, Master Drake," and Jasmine bowed slightly. "What would you like?"

"Hmm, good question…" Drake pondered a moment. "Chicken sandwiches. Two of them. Lettuce, tomato, two slices of cheese, cucumber, on white bread—sliced diagonally. And a glass of fruit juice with plenty of ice."

"Right away, sir." Jasmine bowed again, then turned and hurried in the direction of the kitchen.

Nodding, Drake reached over to the nearby coffee table and picked up the cordless phone that rested there. He punched in a few numbers, then waited…and then, moments later, a voice came over on the other end of the line, bearing a thick accent. "Hello?"

Now Drake smirked. "Mr. Menefer…surely you don't mean to tell me that you've forgotten me already?"

There was a moment's pause. Then: "Mr. Drake, please don't insult me. Of course we could never forget anyone like you! After all you've done for us before, you are like, how do you say, our Father Christmas!"

Drake's smirk grew wider. "Well, Father Christmas has just spent nearly a whole morning being bored shitless out of his mind, and needs some way to relieve the stress. And I promise you, if you can make it worth my while, then you and your fellows can expect some…how shall I say...extra, extra, extra-early presents."

Mr. Menefer chuckled over the phone. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Drake, we have something here that just might tickle your fancy. Tell me…do you know of a certain group of thugs that called themselves JUDAS?"

"I've heard of them," Drake affirmed. "They were supposed to be a bunch of criminals all skilled in Duel Monsters, who had a huge stash of rare cards collected from around the world, as well as some…magical powers of sorts. They were active under a low profile until sometime recently, when their activities came to light and a few of them were arrested. What about them?"

Now Mr. Menefer's accented voice was low. "Well, Mr. Drake…just last night we had one of their number transferred to us. Already he has proven himself more than formidable in the…special arena that you so kindly donated to us during your previous visit. No-one here can stand before him; no-one here can touch him."

"I see." Drake nodded. "In that case, have this person ready for presentation, for I wish to…test him myself. Also, contact as many of your rich friends as you possibly can, and tell them to have their wallets ready within the next few hours."

"O-o-oh! But of course, Mr. Drake!" Mr. Menefer sounded quite pleased. "I shall get right on it!"

"You do that." Drake nodded again. "We shall see each other very soon."

With that said, he hung up and put the phone back down—just as Jasmine came back into the room, bearing a tray with a plate of sandwiches and a glass of juice. "Well, Jasmine, that was pretty quick," he observed.

"Might I inquire what your call just now was about?" Jasmine asked as she placed the tray on the coffee table.

"Just a little arrangement I'm making, is all; nothing to worry about," Drake answered. "Could you be so kind as to tell the helicopter pilot to make sure the chopper isn't already booked by my father, and that it's fully fueled and ready to go? I want to leave as soon as I finish this little snack here."

"As you wish, sir," said Jasmine. "I'll inform the pilot right away." And with that she turned and headed out of the room again.

Smirking once more, Drake reached for the plate and picked up a sandwich, promptly biting into it. _Now…I'll soon find out just how good this guy is…and if he's worth implementing into my plans for Janus Yuki…and if he is, then—heh-heh-heh—Janus had better watch himself! Because one way or the other, I'll definitely bring him down!_

----------

_**neomage:**_ I figure you guys will have noticed that certain old aspects of the old version's format have remained, e.g. the use of the small "n" in my username, instead of making it a big "N" like I'm currently using. Chalk it up to me being too lazy to change it.

Also, something I'd like to point out here: I have an e-mail address that's open and available for answering of any and all questions you may have about this story or its prequels, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Forever" and "Fifteen Years Ago." I'll put it here in all-lettering, since the link obviously won't show here on this site. It's **sageneomage at gmail dot com.**

While you can still leave your reviews here on this site, any specific questions you have on the series—whether about characters, plot points, deck strategies, or what-have-you—can be addressed to that e-mail address. In that way, I'm trying to emulate manga writer Eiichiro Oda (of One Piece fame) and his SBS Corner segment, where he answers questions from fans about the One Piece universe.

Let those questions come in! And also read and review here, everyone!


	13. The Prison Demon

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Time for me to get back in gear! And, as usual, I don't own anything to do with Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 13 – The Prison Demon**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_JAN_

_NAME: Jan Shimizu_

_AGE: 25_

_HAIR: Aqua (think of Yami Bakura with aqua hair)_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Maroon duster trench-coat, brown undershirt, black jeans, black boots_

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, A SHORT WHILE LATER

The pilot sat at the controls to the Phoenix family helicopter, munching away at a bologna sandwich. Not far away from the lawn helipad, the gardener ran a ride-on lawnmower, occasionally flinging disapproving glances in the pilot's direction. "What?" the pilot yelled to him presently.

"'What,' what?" the gardener called back.

"You've been looking at me for the last couple of minutes like you want to kick my ass," the pilot answered. "Care to clue me in as to why?"

"That sandwich you're eating—I can smell the bologna from all the way over here," the gardener explained, stopping the lawnmower and disembarking from its seat. "Don't you know pork products will kill you?"

"I've been eating 'pork products' for well over fifteen years now, and nothing's happened to me yet," the pilot answered scornfully. "What, you have something better to recommend?"

"Yes, I do—plant-based food!" the gardener replied. "Like beans, carrots, avocadoes, spinach, that sort of thing. That's much better for you than that artery-clogging junk you're stuffing your throat with."

"Heh…says the man who butchers poor, innocent grass and gets paid for it," the pilot taunted him.

"You mind repeating that? I don't think I heard you right!" the gardener snarled at him.

"Hey! What're you clowns doing?"

At the ill-tempered outburst, both men looked up and immediately lost their belligerence. "Master Drake!" they exclaimed with one voice.

Drake was striding forward from the mansion's front steps toward the helipad, his eyes narrowed with determination. "You, stop dilly-dallying around and get back to work!" he flung at the gardener. "And if I hear you one more time trying to convert anyone else to your tree-hugging philosophy on the time Dad pays you for, I'll personally haul your ass right through the front gate! Got that?"

"Y-yes, Master Drake! Sorry, sir!" the gardener blubbered, jumping back onto the lawnmower and starting it up again.

Drake then flashed his gaze at the pilot. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir!" the pilot replied, nodding vigorously. "The chopper's all gassed and ready to go! Just give the word!"

"I gave the word before I finished my lunch," Drake answered stoutly, climbing on board and settling himself in the back.

"Yes, sir!" The pilot quickly gobbled down the last of his sandwich, then turned his attention to the controls. Moments later, the chopper's rotors were spinning fast and the vehicle was ascending into the sky.

"Now, then…" Drake crossed his arms. "Destination…Egypt!"

----------

OUTSKIRTS OF CAIRO, EGYPT, SOME HOURS LATER

Just a few miles northwest of the city of Cairo, there was a massive brown-brick building. To anyone viewing it from a distance, it would have held the appearance of a fortress of sorts, for it was bordered on all sides by a huge wall, which in turn was bordered further by a chain-link fence several meters high and reinforced with barbed wire. Anyone curious enough to get closer would have been repelled by the sight of men patrolling the inner and outer sides of the fence, dressed in strict-looking military apparel and armed with heavy batons, automatic rifles, and cross-looking dogs on leashes.

And at this moment in time, the helicopter was fast approaching this forbidding-looking place. "Almost there, sir," the pilot announced.

Looking out the window at their destination, Drake smirked. "All right, then…" and he patted the side of his trench-coat.

At length the helicopter buzzed right over the building—then, slowly and carefully, it began to descend. Keeping an eye out as they landed, Drake took note of several figures emerging on the roof. _The welcoming committee…_

By and by the chopper finally touched down on the roof, and Drake opened the side door and hopped out. Stepping away from the chopper even as its rotor-blades continued to spin, he brushed his trench-coat with his hands and beheld the people standing there, awaiting him. "Howdy-do, howdy-do," he called to them.

The group in question consisted of several men wearing stern-looking uniforms, some bearing automatic rifles. At their head was an older man, clad in a dark green uniform complete with a cap. "Mr. Drake! Welcome back, sir!" he greeted Drake in an Egyptian accent. "We have been waiting and watching for your arrival since you called earlier!"

Drake strode forward and shook the man's hand. "Good to be back, Mr. Menefer," he answered.

"Well, come then, sir," Mr. Menefer invited him. "Our moneyed associates are here, and all are eager to see you and to chat with you."

Flanked by the guards, the two began to head for a staircase that led down from the roof. "So, I hope your prisoners have been behaving themselves since the last time I was here?" Drake asked as they descended the steps.

Mr. Menefer shrugged. "Torture of new arrivals by our 'veterans,' the occasional courtyard slaying begun by a faction rivalry, the really unruly being sent into solitary…the usual," he answered. "But they have not forgotten you at all, you know. They know you are expected here today. Word travels fast among the population here, you see…and already bets are being taken. You know how it gets."

"I see." Drake's brow furrowed. "And your…special new arrival?"

"Been here one night and already he's a local favorite." Now Mr. Menefer smirked. "Two of our 'big-time' residents tried to corner him just three hours after he arrived—and he made short work of the two of them. No big loss for us, really—those two were in for murder, anyhow. Two less pains in the behind for us to deal with."

"This guy…he sounds like someone who knows his ropes," Drake remarked.

"I should say so, myself, Mr. Drake," replied Mr. Menefer. "I could see it in his eyes from the first moment I met him. He may not have much in terms of age, but he's been around the block, so to speak. Just the fact that he was with JUDAS speaks for itself."

"Well, you know there's only one thing I'm interested in," Drake said dryly. "If he _was_ with JUDAS, then he should at least be a decent duelist."

"No need for you to fret about that, Mr. Drake," Mr. Menefer assured him. "I had one man test him in the arena. That fellow…he's got deceptive and frightening skill. He made short work of his opponent."

"Hn." Drake snorted. "Well, the acid test will be if he can impress me with this skill of his. And you know I'm difficult to impress."

"Trust me, Mr. Drake…you will not be disappointed any," and Mr. Menefer grinned.

----------

By and by the group arrived outside a large wooden door. While the walls of the place were sandy brown, by contrast this door was rust-colored but neatly polished. One of the guards reached forward and turned the door-handle, pulling the door outward so Drake and Mr. Menefer could step inside. "Please, Mr. Drake," amd Mr. Menefer gestured for Drake to step in ahead of him.

Drake smirked a little as he entered. "Just as I remember it…"

They were in a rather large office, with a marble-tiled floor, blue carpet coverings here and there, and a bureau off to the side on which rested several figurines and a decanter filled with a red liquid. Just up ahead was a desk with several papers on it, as well as a stack of books on one end and a small television set on the other. And…currently milling about throughout the room were several well-dressed men and women, some holding wine or champagne glasses while turbaned servant walked amongst them to refill as desired.

"Ladies, gentlemen, friends!" Mr. Menefer cried, immediately grabbing the guests' attention. "May I present our guest of honor—Drake Phoenix!"

At once the others smiled at Drake, and some of them applauded. One woman, dressed in a sparkling blue outfit, came forward and held her hand out to Drake. "Why, young Drake, what a pleasure to see you again!" she said to him, her voice thick with her German accent.

"Yes…good to see you, too," Drake nodded stoically, taking her hand as a courtesy.

"We expect a good show out of you today, my boy!" This from a white haired gentleman in a two-piece suit, who spoke with a British accent.

"What are you talking about? This is Drake Phoenix you're speaking to!" another gentleman spoke up, this one being dressed in khaki fatigues and a pith helmet and speaking with an American accent. "He may be younger than any of us, but he'll cream whoever's naïve enough to challenge him to a duel!"

Drake's eyes narrowed a little at that comment, but he said nothing.

"Now, everyone!" Mr. Menefer announced importantly. "In a few moments, it will be time for you to begin placing your bets on our feature entertainment—a duel to be held in our institution's great arena! Which of the two combatants will be victorious, however? Will it be our good friend here, Drake Phoenix, or…will it be the mysterious inmate who you've all been hearing about?"

"Ha! That's an easy one to answer!" the American scoffed. "My money's on Phoenix!"

"I concur—young Drake will make short work of this convict!" the German woman agreed. "I'll stake my entire fortune on that!"

"As will I," the British gentleman nodded.

"Pshaw! What do you people know? You haven't even seen this convict's skill to make such a value judgment!"

All eyes turned to the speaker, a dark-haired man of Asian ancestry clad in a silver suit and tie. At his side stood a beautiful Asian woman, who raked Drake with a contemptuous stare. "Sir, perhaps you should reconsider your argument…after all, this is Drake Phoenix you're talking to," Mr. Menefer advised.

"Say whatever you want—but this is MY money I'm betting, and I'll bet it on whoever I want to bet it on!" the Asian man grated. "And anyway, little Phoenix here may be good, but how do you know this prisoner of yours won't use him as a whipping post…unless, of course, you're going to tamper with this duel somehow?"

"And don't forget, too, dear," the Asian woman spoke up, "even if the match is fair, little Drake Phoenix here isn't invincible…unless the stories I've heard about him being unable to defeat a mere small-fry student of Duel Academy were false?" and again she barbed Drake with a scornful glance.

Drake's eye twitched on hearing that, and he clenched a fist. "Sir…madam…" He spoke slowly, doing his best to keep his temper down. "Feel free to bet however you see fit. But just watch—I don't care how good this convict is, I'll still defeat him. Just watch and see."

"Pfft…tough talk, for a kid," another of the guests declared, this one being a man dressed in casual clothing but also sporting gold rings on each finger, and speaking with an Australian accent. "I'll also put my money on the prisoner—let's find out if the little boy wonder here will be able to last a few rounds against this other guy."

"Then it is settled!" Mr. Menefer declared. "Of course, feel free to change your bets before the start of the duel, if you please…"

He then turned to Drake. "Come, Mr. Drake, let us go down to the arena and get you prepared, eh?"

"Yeah…let's do that," Drake nodded, flicking the two Asians and the Australian a contemptuous glance as he turned to leave.

Opening the office door, Mr. Menefer beckoned to the guards standing just outside. "Fetch the prisoner down to the arena immediately!" he ordered them, and three of them promptly headed off. Then Mr. Menefer exited the office fully, Drake following behind him.

----------

"So, what was it like, being in JUDAS?"

The question was posed by a tall, strapping man with a bald head and numerous scars on his scalp and on both arms. Separated from his fellow inmates by huge iron bars, he'd directed the question to the inmate in the cell just across from his own. "You must've been quite an important guy in that gang," the prisoner went on, "like one of the higher-ups or something. What was it like?"

The man to whom the question was directed was sitting in the shadows, so his face couldn't be seen very well in the area's poor light…but when he spoke, his voice was at once calm and chilling. "Heh…exciting…but at the same time it was…kind of lonely," he answered.

"Lonely?" the questioner cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes. Lonely." The mystery prisoner tapped one foot on the floor. "We were all in there for different reasons. Power…personal revenge…fringe benefits…but there was one thing we all had in common: we'd all been betrayed in one way or another, and we wanted to give as good as we'd gotten. And yet…that was the only thing that we had going for us, you know? It wasn't as if we were a family, or friends…we were all just doing what we thought we had to do. And then after that…emptiness. Nothing but emptiness. Because, sure, you get your due and take your revenge by cutting the throat of the one who crossed you—but after you've thrown everything else away to get that justice, then what?"

"Oh…so is it true, then, that you really gave yourself up? You weren't captured or anything?" the questioner wondered.

"What else could I do? The outside world doesn't have anything to offer me now, nor do I have anything to offer it. As far as I'm concerned, after everything I've done or helped to do, I'm destined for hell…and this place is just a rest stop." At that the mystery prisoner chuckled. "I wonder if those other JUDAS guys who got caught feel the same way…I wonder how they're all doing, after we got split up and sent off to different institutes…"

"Hey! Duelist!"

All at once three guards emerged outside the mystery prisoner's cell. "Time to get you cleaned up and changed, boy," one of them spoke. "You're going to be entertaining guests today!"

"Really?" the prisoner inquired.

"That's right," another of the guards answered. "And there's one guest in particular among the whole bunch who wants to see what you're made of—ever hear of Drake Phoenix?"

"Drake Phoenix…?" For the first time, the prisoner's eyes flashed in the darkness. "Yeah, sure, I've heard of him. He came all this way just to see me?"

"Just to see you," the third guard replied. "Now come on, get up."

----------

A SHORT WHILE LATER

In the midst of the prison, there was an open-roof courtyard, surrounded on all sides by high walls. In the middle of the yard was a huge elevated ring, surrounded by a dual reinforced chain-link fence. The ring itself was twenty feet wide by twenty-five feet across, and decorated with red tiling.

In the middle of the ring at that moment, Drake was glancing around with satisfaction. Every few moments he looked up to his right, at a series of balconies on one of the walls where several prisoners could look out from their cells at what was happening down below. Then he turned to look behind him at another series of balconies, where more prisoners were looking out. And from these two sides he could hear plenty of chatter. "Better not keep these folks waiting," he remarked.

Mr. Menefer was with him. "Who, Mr. Drake?" he asked, amused. "The betting prisoners, or our rich friends?"

"Both groups, actually," Drake replied, even as he reached into his trench-coat and pulled out his Duel-Disk and card deck. "I especially want to teach those three hogs that want to bet against me, that they should know far better."

Off to the side there was a huge metal door—which suddenly swung open. "You're about to get your opportunity now, Mr. Drake," and Mr. Menefer grinned broadly.

And then…emerging from inside the metal door was a tall, lean figure, flanked by three guards. The newcomer himself was dressed in a brown undershirt, black jeans and black boots, all covered by a maroon duster trench-coat, and on one arm he sported a Duel-Disk. He had spiky aqua-colored hair and an emotionless expression on his face. On seeing him emerge, the encaged prisoners immediately began a riotous cheering.

"Yeah, dude! Show your stuff!"

"Kick that little kid's ass!"

"Show him how it's done, man!"

The dueling prisoner approached the arena's fence, and the guards opened up its gate and let him in. He stepped up to the arena and stood at one end of it, regarding Drake with only a slightly raised eyebrow. "Drake Phoenix, huh?" he said. "You're just a kid…but then again, age alone doesn't account for skill."

"At least you're smart enough to know that," Drake acknowledged. "Anyway, I don't like dueling anonymous people. You got a name?"

The prisoner nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "Shimizu…Jan Shimizu."

Emerging outside the gate to the caged arena, Mr. Menefer reached into his vest and pulled out a cordless microphone. "All right, everyone!" he announced into its business end, and his voice reverberated from loudspeakers positioned all over the courtyard. "Today's main attraction is about to begin! Our newest arrival, Jan Shimizu of the former JUDAS organization, versus our most beloved guest, the star professional duelist Drake Phoenix! This is your last chance to make or change your bets, because once they start all bets are off!"

As he spoke he reached into his vest again, this time pulling out what appeared to be a remote control. He pressed a big blue button—

—and suddenly the ground began to rumble! "Whoo! All right! It's showtime!" the prisoners yelled out amongst themselves.

**DRAKE: 8000; JAN: 8000**

Watching from the window of Mr. Menefer's office, the wealthy guests looked on with interest…even as two holes opened up in the ground on two sides of the arena, and two massive scoreboards emerged from them. Immediately the scoreboards lit up, each showing the numerical figure 8000. "Right, then! The show's about to start!" the British gentleman exclaimed.

"Indeed! Now, who will win this bout?" the German woman asked gleefully.

"Pfft…that little boy Drake might probably get lucky, but don't keep your hopes up—I know where my money's going," the Asian man snorted, and his female companion nodded in agreement.

"You really have no faith, do you?" the American guest asked in a disagreeable tone.

"Faith is for losers, mate!" the Australian answered. "Only the one with the greater skill will win—and that prisoner down there's got to be much more ruthless than little Phoenix has ever been! Wait and see!"

Meanwhile, inside the arena itself, Drake readied his Duel-Disk, slotting his deck into its proper place. "Let's not waste any more time—I do have other things to do, you know," he remarked coolly.

"Right to the point…I respect that," said Jan, as he activated his own Duel-Disk. "Very well, then. Let's get to it."

Almost immediately the holographic coin appeared on the field. "Since you're the visitor, how about you call it?" Jan suggested.

"Fine," Drake replied. "I'll call tails!"

The coin was flipped…and it flew into the air for a moment, then came back down to the ground…and indeed it was tails. "Then I'll make the first move of this duel!" Drake declared. "Let's go!"

The two drew their first five cards, then Drake swiftly drew his sixth. "Hmm…good hand I have here," he commented. "All right—to start off, I'll summon my Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then there on the field his warrior emerged, wielding his shield-gauntlets on his arms. "Then I'll set one card facedown, for later. Make your move."

Jan cocked an eye at Drake and scoffed. "Yeah, right! Do you honestly believe I'm going to fall for such an obvious trap?" he demanded. "Well, think again—because I'm no amateur you're dealing with!" That said, he drew his card. "All right, then, my turn! I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for now."

"Really, is that all for now?" Drake asked, drawing his next card. "That's a mistake you're going to end up regretting, buddy! For now, I summon my Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then, right next to Captain Tenacious emerged the cloaked warrior, his razor-like fingers at the ready.

"That monster is…" Jan frowned.

"This monster is going to be a burden on your ass, is what he is!" Drake replied. "For you see, once per turn, if Doom Lord is in Attack Mode, I can use his powers to remove from play one monster that you control!"

As if on cue, Doom Lord swung his arm forward—and from seemingly out of nowhere, knives rained down on Jan's facedown monster, wiping it out of existence. "Ungh…not good!" Jan mumbled.

"Oh, don't worry so much," Drake told him. "I can't attack with any of my monsters during the same turn I use Doom Lord's effect, and in addition the monster that I removed from play comes back to your side of the field in the same battle position it was in, during my second Standby Phase after activation of this effect."

"Doesn't make it any less tolerable," Jan growled.

"It was never meant to be, believe me," Drake replied. "Anyway, take your turn so I can hurry up and finish you off."

"Very well—only, it won't be me who gets finished off in this duel, kid!" Jan spat.

He immediately drew his next card, so he held a total of six in hand once again. "Heh…and I've got a card that'll help me do that properly! But first things first…I'll summon my Mist Archfiend (ATK 2400, DEF 0)!"

All at once, before Drake's eyes, there emerged from the ground a cloud of gray smoke, and from that cloud there appeared a hideous horned skull with clawed arms! "What the hell is this?" Drake demanded. "The Duel-Disk info says that this is a Level 5 monster! How could you summon it without tributing another monster first? Explain yourself!"

"It's true, my Mist Archfiend is a Level 5 monster and thus would normally need a tribute of one monster to be summoned," Jan affirmed. "But it possesses an effect that allows me to Normal Summon it without tributes…although if I do that, then it will be destroyed at the end of my turn and I will lose 1000 life points. However—that should be the least of your worries right now, for I now activate a Magic card from my hand—Giant Trunade!"

Suddenly, taking Drake by surprise, a huge gust of wind burst forth onto the field. "What!" Drake yelled.

"This card returns all Magic and Trap cards on the field to their respective owners' hands," Jan explained. "So that little card of yours that you've got facedown…will now be delivered right back into your hand!"

Immediately Drake's facedown card got blown off the field by Giant Trunade, and back into his hand. _Damn it…so much for using this card…_

"And just to make sure you don't get any bright ideas about that card that you just took back into your hand," Jan went on, "I'll now activate another magic card, Card Destruction! This card will now force both of us to discard our entire hands, then we'll each draw cards equal to the number we discarded!"

On hearing that Drake stared at his hand in shock. "Crap!" he cried.

"Tough," Jan said without pity, casually discarding the three remaining cards in his hand to the Graveyard and drawing three more from his deck. "Discard your cards already."

Stewing, Drake discarded the five cards in his hand and drew another five. "Damn it…you'll pay for that!"

"Now, then, Mist Archfiend, destroy his Doom Lord now! Mist Corruption!" Jan commanded. And in response, Mist Archfiend blew a massive cloud of smoke from its mouth all around Doom Lord, corroding the warrior's skin and reducing him to nothing but ash. Cringing as he watched this display, Drake was only briefly aware that, above his head, his scoreboard showed his life points dropping to 6200.

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 8000**

"And now that that annoyance is out of the way, I can get on with more important matters," Jan spoke up. "I'll now set one card facedown, and end my turn." And then, just like that, Mist Archfiend simply vanished from the field as though blown apart by a gust of wind.

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 7000**

Drake drew another card—and suddenly began to chuckle. "What's so funny?" Jan demanded.

"Nothing, really…except, of course, for Captain Tenacious's effect," Drake replied. "If one of my Destiny Heroes is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, then during my following Standby Phase Captain Tenacious's effect lets me Special Summon that destroyed monster to my side of the field."

"Oh, no!" Jan cried in surprise.

"Oh, yes!" Drake rebutted. "And now, return to the field, my Doom Lord!"

Captain Tenacious stabbed the pointed tips of his arm-shields into the ground—and black electric current shot up from the stabbed spot, opening wider into a portal from which a very miffed-looking Doom Lord re-emerged, in Attack Mode. "I wouldn't advise you pulling off that kind of stunt with any of my Destiny Heroes again," Drake advised Jan. "You see, they happen to be a rather vengeful bunch, more so when one of their own has been felled in battle. And when they give reprisal, believe me, they _give_ it with banker's interest."

Jan narrowed his eyes and growled a little. "Just wonderful…for having such weak offense, those two monsters of yours are a pain in the ass," he remarked.

"At least they're not as weak as you're proving yourself to be!" Drake fired back at him. "Now, then, I summon Destiny Hero – Fear Monger (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) to the field in Attack Mode!" And then Fear Monger appeared, his blaster at the ready. "And now, my three Destiny Heroes, attack directly!"

Doom Lord raised one arm—and immediately a whole hail of blades shot out from seemingly nowhere, stabbing Jan all over.

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 6400**

Then Captain Tenacious ran forward and slammed an arm-shield into Jan's face.

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 5600**

Finally, Fear Monger blasted him down, bringing his total score to 4600. "Damn it…" Jan groaned as he struggled to stand back up.

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 4600**

Drake crossed his arms. "Mr. Menefer said you were good, but he must've been drunk when he made that claim," he declared. "Not even the minor leagues would accept a loser like you!"

Watching above from Mr. Menefer's office, the American guest gloated, "What did I tell you, huh? What did I tell you?"

"Aw, crikey!" the Australian groaned.

From their cells, the prisoners weren't impressed with what they were witnessing. "Some member of JUDAS you are!" many of them were taunting Jan. "Letting a little kid beat you like this!"

Watching from outside the arena, however, Mr. Menefer only smiled. _If they only knew just how talented this prisoner really is when it comes to Duel Monsters…!_

"I'll admit this much, Phoenix," Jan said presently, even as he drew his next card to give him a total of three in hand. "I haven't had this much trouble in a duel since I had to face off against my younger brother."

Drake cocked an eyebrow at that. "How sad. How very, very sad. That your own little brother could beat you must speak volumes about your worthlessness."

Jan's eyes narrowed. "Actually…I say that for a good reason. He, at least, was able to find a way around my traps that I'd consistently set for him…but I strongly doubt I'll be able to say the same for you."

"And why is that, now?" Drake asked.

"Because…of THIS!" Jan suddenly pointed to his facedown card. "Now, I reveal my trap card, Archfiend's Roar!"

In that instant his facedown card flipped face-up—and a loud howl could be heard, ricocheting all across the walls of the prison and unnerving everyone watching. "Now, in exchange for paying 500 life points to activate this card," Jan explained, as his life points went down by the same amount, "I can Special Summon one Archfiend monster card from my Graveyard, although the card in question cannot be tributed under any conditions and will be destroyed at the end of the turn. But the monster I want will be well worth the price—Mist Archfiend!"

**DRAKE: 6200; JAN: 4100**

Again the cloud of smoke emerged on the field, and thus again Mist Archfiend made its presence known. But Drake merely made a rude noise with his teeth. "This guy again? You don't learn, do you?" he wondered aloud.

"Actually, I have learned something—that it's best not to dilly-dally with you any longer, and that it'll be better for me to take you out right now!" Jan replied. "Which is why I'll now activate the effect of a card from my hand—Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800)!"

He held up the card so that Drake could see it. "By discarding this card from my hand," he explained, "I can add the field magic card 'Pandemonium' from my deck to my hand." So saying, he quickly discarded the Archfiend General, then pulled out his deck, thumbed through it and located the card in question, adding it to his hand and replacing the deck in the deck slot.

"Hmmm…okay…so you added a Field magic card from your deck to your hand…" Drake lifted an eyebrow. "To serve…what purpose exactly?"

"You will soon find out," Jan answered. "For now, though…it's time for me to Special Summon a different monster to the field…by removing three Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard from play!"

Suddenly, before Drake's eyes, three Duel Monster spirits could be seen floating out of Jan's Graveyard—the Archfiend General and two other monsters. "Hey, hold on! When did those other monsters get into the Graveyard?" Drake demanded.

"Oh, these?" Jan indicated the other two monsters alongside Archfiend General. "These are my Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500) and my Desrook Archfiend (ATK 1100, DEF 1800). Do you remember when I activated my Card Destruction magic card last turn? I discarded three cards from my hand to the Graveyard…and those other two monsters were two of those cards I'd discarded!"

"…shit…" Realization crept over Drake's face.

"I see you remember!" Jan nodded. "Except now, it's a little late for you to benefit from it! Now…those three Fiend-type monsters of mine have been removed from the Graveyard…so now I can Special Summon—Dark Necrofear (ATK 2200, DEF 2800)!"

Just then, a huge, dark shadow appeared on the field beside Mist Archfiend…and then, standing there moments later was a bald, dark-blue fiend carrying a wooden baby doll in her arms. Then Jan held up one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "And lastly, I'll Normal summon one more monster card…my Warrior of Zera (ATK 1600, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" And this turned out to be a man dressed in green armor and carrying a massive sword.

Drake beheld the three monsters opposing his three Destiny Heroes. "This is bad…they're all strong enough to wipe out my attack force…!"

"Go, Warrior of Zera! Slice his Fear Monger down to size!" Jan ordered. In response, the Warrior of Zera raised his sword, took one flying leap forward, and cleaved Fear Monger cleanly in two.

**DRAKE: 5600; JAN: 4100**

Then: "Dark Necrofear, destroy his Captain Tenacious!" And Dark Necrofear held up one hand in Captain Tenacious's direction, resulting in a solid mass of shadow swirling around the warrior and reducing him to nothing, even as Drake's life points shot down further

**DRAKE: 4200; JAN: 4100**

"And now, the _coup de gras!"_ Jan announced triumphantly. "Mist Archfiend, you destroyed the Doom Lord once—you can do it again!" And once again, Mist Archfiend blew a cloud of smoke from its mouth and disintegrated Doom Lord, reducing Drake's life points even further than before.

**DRAKE: 2400; JAN: 4100**

"WOOO! WAY TO GO, BROTHER!" the prisoners were now yelling and cheering. "KICK THAT KID'S ASS GOOD!"

"So, Drake Phoenix?" Jan queried. "Still think I'm not good enough for even the minor leagues?"

Drake glared at him. "You…you planned this all along, didn't you?"

"Yes, my intention was indeed to get a feel of how you play your strategy," Jan acknowledged. "I may have taken a couple of hits along the way, but at least I was able to see your strategy. And now that I've seen it, I can confidently assure you that I'm going to break both you and your Destiny Heroes."

"Heh…tough talk," Drake remarked, rubbing the tip of his nose with the flat of his thumb. "Is that what you did when you were in JUDAS—break your enemies?"

"That's a pretty accurate way to put it," Jan replied. "For when you go up against the monsters in my deck, it's like you're walking through hell itself. And my style will have you begging for mercy…if you're lucky enough not to get butchered in the first few turns, that is."

"In that case…I should consider myself lucky for now, correct?" Drake elaborated.

"Don't consider yourself anything just yet," Jan warned him. "As I said before, my brother is the only one who's ever given me any real trouble. You tried a while ago, but in the end your effort fell just a little ways short."

Now Drake cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if I can't change that, huh?" he asked.

"You can try all you want—you're not going to defeat me just like that, even if you are a champion duelist," Jan replied. "Anyway, now I'll end my turn." And as he said that, Mist Archfiend vanished into thin air due to the effect of the Archfiend's Roar trap card.

"Now," said Drake, "my move!" And he put his hand to his deck and prepared to draw…

----------

_**neomage:**_ Place your bets, place your bets! Drake Phoenix, or Jan Shimizu? Which of these two will win this bout? Read and review soon, too!

(yamikriz is collecting illegal bets)

yamikriz: What neomage doesn't know won't hurt him…hee, hee, hee…


	14. The Demon's Destiny

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The great Takahashi-sama is the true and only owner of Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 14 – The Demon's Destiny**

A PRISON OUTSIDE OF CAIRO, EGYPT

**DRAKE: 2400; JAN: 4100**

The duel between Drake and Jan continued, with the score looking like this: Drake now had 2400 life points, five cards in his hand, and on the field he had nothing whatsoever; meanwhile, Jan had 4100 life points, one card in his hand—which was the Pandemonium card—and on the field he had Dark Necrofear and Warrior of Zera in Attack Mode. And it was now Drake's turn to draw…

Drake put his hand to his deck slot and drew his next card, giving him six cards in total in his hand—and suddenly, one of the monster slots on Jan's side of the field began to shine! "Hmph…it's been two turns since my Doom Lord removed your facedown monster from play, so now he gets to come back," Drake mused.

"I see…so that part of Doom Lord's effect will still resolve even if Doom Lord himself is not on the field…interesting," Jan replied…and then, in between Warrior of Zera and Dark Necrofear there appeared the facedown monster card once more.

"But that's not the only effect that will activate now—my Destiny Hero – Fear Monger, which you just destroyed, has an effect as well!" Drake informed Jan. "For when Fear Monger is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, during my following Standby Phase I can Special Summon a Destiny Hero monster from my Graveyard to the field, as long as that monster is not Fear Monger himself! And the monster I have in mind is…Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (ATK 300, DEF 300) in Defense Mode!"

Suddenly, before Jan's eyes, the disk-wielding fighter appeared on the field, crouched in a defensive stance. "What the…! Wait, when did he get into the…oh crap…" Jan flinched as memory clicked.

"Oh, you're just realizing?" Drake needled him. "You weren't the only one to discard useful cards when you activated your Card Destruction magic card—the Disk Commander was one of the cards I had to discard, as well. And, in addition, Disk Commander has a special effect as well: if he's Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I get to draw two cards." And this he did quickly, so now he held a grand total of eight cards in his hand.

Jan shook his head. "It would seem you're not the only one who had gotten caught just now," he commented. "You were hoping for me to destroy your Fear Monger in order to do this, weren't you?"

"What else can I say? My Destiny Hero deck is so well-coordinated, I can do pretty much whatever I want with my strategy and still win!" Drake answered. "Now, let's take a look at what I've drawn, hmmm?"

He examined the eight cards he now held in his hand…and slowly a smirk crept over his countenance. "And what do you know—it looks like I've got just the cards to put you in your place, convict."

"Oh?" Jan cocked an eyebrow.

Drake then held up a card from his hand. "I now activate a Magic card—Over Destiny! Now, here's how it works: I select one Destiny Hero that is currently in my Graveyard, then I Special Summon another Destiny Hero from my deck whose Level is equal to or less than half of the selected monster's Level. The only drawback to that is, the monster I Special Summon will be destroyed at the end of this turn…but never mind that now, allow me to show you what I'm going to do!"

He touched a button on his Duel-Disk, and then moments later several holograms of cards popped up. "This is my Graveyard," he announced to Jan. "Take a good look at it. You'll see that there are quite a couple of cards in there now…and there's one monster card in particular that I'm going to select for Over Destiny…"

Jan carefully scanned the Graveyard information before his eyes—and then his gaze fell upon one card in particular. "Wait…that monster card there…"

Drake grinned broadly. "So, I see you've just seen it as well," he acknowledged. "Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?)…another of the cards I was forced to discard when you played your Card Destruction. It is the card I'm selecting for Over Destiny…and it's a Level 8 monster…so now I should select a Destiny Hero monster from my deck to Special Summon whose Level is 4 or less. And so, what will I choose…"

Pulling his deck out of its slot, he rapidly thumbed through his cards, then pulled out one. "All right, I've decided! The monster I have selected is…Destiny Hero – Blade Master (ATK 300, DEF 600), a Level 3 monster, in Defense Mode!"

Moments later, right next to Disk Commander, Blade Master appeared in a defensive crouch as well, his bladed gauntlets crossed before his chest. "That's two Special Summons so far this turn," Drake noted, as he fiddled with the seven cards left in his hand. "Now I'll use my Normal Summon and bring forth Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude (ATK 1400, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" And then, a moment later Diamond Dude appeared on the field in his glittering glory.

"And…what exactly is that supposed to be about?" Jan wondered. "None of your monsters has an ATK strong enough to pierce through my offensive line over here."

"A true statement," Drake nodded. "But watch how the accuracy of that statement changes when I do _this!_ I'll now offer Disk Commander, Blade Master, and Diamond Dude in order to Special Summon my strongest Destiny Hero of all…Destiny Hero – Dogma (ATK 3400, DEF 2400)!"

"What…!" Jan blinked on hearing this.

All at once, Disk Commander, Blade Master, and Diamond Dude vanished from Drake's side of the field altogether…then suddenly, a mighty gust of wind began to blow all throughout the prison courtyard. "Whoa! Holy cow!" many of the inmates yelled out.

Mr. Menefer, too, was shielding himself even as he continued to stand near the arena cage; however, the howling wind slowly but surely blew him back. _Such power…!_

And then…there on the field materialized the great Dogma, his arm-blades jutting out in readiness and his huge wings spreading across the entire width of Drake's side of the field. Upon seeing the monster's stats, Jan scowled. _CRAP! This is not good at all!_

"Now, Dogma, start your rampage! Make shish kebab out of that Warrior of Zera!" Drake ordered. In response, Dogma flapped his wings once and charged forward, slicing the Warrior of Zera to pieces with his blades.

**DRAKE: 2400; JAN: 2300**

"Oy, prison-mate! You're gonna make me lose some big money up here, you know!" the Australian guest yelled from Mr. Menefer's office window. "Do better than that, damn it!"

Jan flinched as he watched what was left of the Warrior of Zera disintegrate into nothing. "Oh, man…what a waste…"

"Next turn, that Dark Necrofear of yours will be the next in line to be butchered by my Destiny Hero – Dogma," Drake warned him. "For the time being, though, I'll just drop a card facedown…and then end my turn."

The flinch on Jan's face was still very present—but then, out of nowhere, he seemed to become calm and collected once again. "All right, I lost a monster just now," he admitted. "Doesn't mean I can't still defeat you. It's just a matter of playing my cards right."

"You haven't GOT any good cards to play at all!" Drake scoffed. "All you have is that Pandemonium field magic card in your hand, and what good can that do you if you haven't played it yet, eh?"

Jan shrugged. "Then I guess I'll have to wait until I do draw a good card."

With that said, Jan drew his next card, so now he had two in his hand. Looking at the card he'd just drawn, he cocked an eyebrow. _Hmph…what a time to get THIS…_

A sudden movement from Dogma caught his eye. He looked up at the towering behemoth—in time to see Dogma firing some sort of dark energy blades from his wrists at him! "Whoa!" he yelled out, jumping to the side to dodge them…but even so, to his utter astonishment, his life point count dropped down to 1150!

**DRAKE: 2400; JAN: 1150**

"Oops, did I forget to mention?" Drake said mockingly from the other side of the field. "If I successfully Special Summon my Destiny Hero – Dogma, then during my opponent's Standby Phase following the summoning their life points are reduced by half thanks to Dogma's effect. Tough break, convict."

Jan's eyes narrowed at this information. _Bastard!_

He glanced at the two cards in his hand, then at his side of the field. "All right…I'll freely admit, I didn't get a good draw just now. So, I'll shift my Dark Necrofear into Defense Mode, and end this turn."

Smirking and shaking his head, Drake drew another card so that now he held five in hand. "Well, time for me to activate my facedown trap card—D – Chain!"

Suddenly, as Drake's facedown card got flipped face-up, from out of nowhere a huge chain with a spiked blade at once end shot out and wrapped around one of Dogma's arms, at the same time increasing his ATK right up to 3900! "When activated," Drake explained, "D – Chain becomes treated as an Equip Magic card and can only be equipped to a Destiny Hero monster that I control. Then, the equipped monster's ATK is increased by 500 points…and when it destroys a monster belonging to my opponent as a result of battle and sends it to the Graveyard, my opponent gets 500 points of damage to their life points!"

"Grrr…" Jan frowned at this.

"And right now, I've got my sights set on your Dark Necrofear! So…Go get 'er, Dogma! Tear that Dark Necrofear to pieces!" Drake commanded. And Dogma pulled back his arm that was equipped with the D – Chain, flinging the weapon forward and decapitating Dark Necrofear in the process. As well, the D – Chain slashed at Jan's shoulder, reducing his life points as a result.

**DRAKE: 2400; JAN: 650**

But even as Dogma reeled the D – Chain back in…Jan suddenly smirked. "You…" He lifted his hand and pointed a finger straight at Drake. "…have just sealed your own destruction, you dismal little fool."

On hearing that, Drake scowled. _Huh? What does he mean by that…?_ Suddenly he frowned more thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes. _Wait a minute—does he know something about what I just did that I don't know? I don't like that look on his face…as if he thinks he's already got me beat…except…what if he just MIGHT? If he's really got something up his sleeve…no! I can't take that chance!_

He glanced at the five cards in his hand. "Hmmm…okay, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and two more cards facedown. Now I'll end my turn and give you a break…"

But all of a sudden—hardly were the words out of Drake's mouth when a sinister shadow began to surround Destiny Hero – Dogma beneath his feet! "Whoa!" Drake yelled, jumping back in astonishment at this unexpected development.

Now Jan really smiled. "Dark Necrofear's effect," he explained shrewdly. "When it's destroyed in battle or by the result of my opponent's card effect, then at the end of that turn it is treated as an Equip Magic card and is equipped to one of my opponent's monsters. And…as long as the monster is equipped with Dark Necrofear, control of that monster belongs to me."

Drake's eyes widened in shock as the realization of what he'd just heard sank in. "Holy shit…!"

But at that moment, the malevolent shadow took the form of Dark Necrofear, who immediately pressed her palms to Dogma's head even as she wrapped the rest of her body around his torso. Dogma quivered for a few seconds as Dark Necrofear's hands glowed with a sinister red energy…then, to Drake's openmouthed amazement, the huge warrior flapped his wings and flew over to Jan's side of the field. "Hey, Dogma! Fight it!" Drake shouted.

"No can do, boy," and now Jan's hair was overshadowing one eye even as his smile grew more into a sadistic grin. "Once a monster is caught in Dark Necrofear's hypnotic trance, it can't break away of its own free will. Oh, sure, it can struggle, but resistance is about as useful as a drinking straw to a drowning man."

"Oh, for the love of…!" Drake snarled.

Ignoring his opponent's distress, Jan drew from his deck again, so he now held three cards in his hand—and his eyes twinkled when he saw what he'd just gotten. "Oh…so I now have this, do I? Then things are about to get very, very interesting…"

"What?" Drake glared at him.

Jan coolly returned the look right into Drake's eyes. "Drake Phoenix…welcome to _**HELL!**_ For now I will activate the field magic card—Pandemonium!"

He swiftly slapped the card down onto his Duel-Disk…and immediately the sky overhead turned inexplicably dark as lightning flashed and the ground began to rumble. "Whoa! Hey, what the hell's happening? What did that guy just do?" the prisoners could be heard clamoring in their cells.

Even the guests in Mr. Menefer's office were now well and truly unnerved at the sudden change of environment. "Goodness…what is this…?" the Asian woman asked, even as her companion swallowed nervously.

Down near the arena, however, Mr. Menefer only smiled. "Yes…now, his real power can emerge."

Suddenly, all around Jan and Drake, numerous stone altars began to shoot up from the ground, even as the sky took on a blood-red color and lightning continued to flash wildly in the sky. "Heh, heh, heh…scared yet?" Jan asked.

Drake looked around him—and made a rude noise with his teeth. "Okay, so you changed the scenery a little. Is that supposed to intimidate me in some way?"

"You should be intimidated, indeed," Jan answered. "You see, Pandemonium is the territorial ground of the most dangerous, most terrifying monster of my entire deck. I'll introduce him to you in a moment…but first, a few precautionary measures must be taken!"

Whereupon he pointed to the facedown monster on his side of the field that he'd had there for so long. "I've had this guy in facedown Defense Mode for a good while now—but now I think it's time for him to be revealed! So now, I'll Flip Summon…the ravenous Pandemonium Watchbear (ATK 1300, DEF 1800)!"

The monster card was finally flipped face-up, to reveal a rabid-looking, blood-red-furred grizzly bear with chains around its neck holding it back from charging at Drake outright. "See this guy? He's hungry for meat, and he wants you for his supper!" Jan chuckled. "And as long as he's on the field, my Pandemonium field magic card cannot be destroyed by my opponent's card effects!"

"Hmph…so all I'll have to do if I want to destroy this hell-hole you've created, is to destroy your Smokey impersonator over there," Drake remarked dryly.

At that comment the Pandemonium Watchbear growled darkly, showing teeth even as saliva dripped from its chops. "Not very smart to insult Pandemonium's protector, kid," Jan cautioned him. "But he's not the one you should be worrying about…as I'll soon demonstrate."

Then he held up one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn! This will allow me to Special Summon a monster from the Graveyard to my side of the field…and I choose a monster from my own Graveyard, the Warrior of Zera, in Attack Mode!"

A cross-shaped shimmer of light shone on Jan's side of the field…and then from that light, the Warrior of Zera appeared with his sword at the ready. "And now…" Jan fingered the very last card remaining in his hand. "It is time for me to unlock Warrior of Zera's potential…for if I offer him as a tribute while Pandemonium is active on the field, then I can Special Summon the king of my deck, the monster who will drag you to the underworld!"

"Uh-huh…" Drake watched him carefully.

Jan held up the card in his hand. "Now…I tribute the Warrior of Zera to summon…_Mazera DeVille_ (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)_!"_

The Warrior of Zera's grip on his sword loosened, and the weapon clattered to the ground. He lowered his head, his entire face being overshadowed—and right then before Drake, the warrior's hands and feet began to grow sharp talon-like claws from the fingers and toes, and huge green bat-like wings with razor-sharp edges sprouted from his back! Massive red horns sprouted from his helmet, and…as he raised his head, his face seemed to have taken on a very monstrous appearance, with blood-red eyes and sharp fangs in his mouth!

"Here he is…Mazera DeVille, ready to tear your internal organs out of you with his bare hands," Jan said smugly. "And I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, boy, but when Mazera DeVille is Special Summoned while Pandemonium is on the field, my opponent is forced to discard three random cards from their hand—and since you've only got two right now, that means you lose your entire hand altogether!"

In the blink of an eye, Mazera DeVille launched forward and slashed at Drake's hand with his claws. Jumping back to avoid getting raked himself, Drake growled in utter dismay and disgust as his two cards that he'd been holding got shredded altogether! "Damn it!" he yelled out.

"So, who's got whom on the ropes now?" Jan taunted him, even as Mazera DeVille flew back to his master's side of the field. "You've got only one monster to defend you, and I've got three to attack you—and to make matters worse, one of these three monsters happens to be your own Destiny Hero – Dogma! So, I suppose not all of your Destiny Heroes are as loyal as you first thought, huh?"

"You prick…that's only because you've got Dogma under your Dark Necrofear's spell! It's not like he's willingly serving you!" Drake snapped.

"Even so, the fact remains that he's on my side of the field now instead of yours—and he's about to help rip you a new one!" Jan smirked. "And now…it's time to end this duel! Get ready, kid, to be buried here in hell! Mazera DeVille, obliterate his facedown monster now!"

Mazera DeVille, heeding the call of his master, flew forward and slashed at Drake's facedown monster card with one sharp-edged wing. The monster was promptly revealed to be Destiny Hero – Defender (ATK 100, DEF 2700), and the rock-solid warrior ended up being cut in two from Mazera DeVille's attack. "So much for your last line of defense, kid!" Jan taunted his opponent.

But Drake only smiled. "Not exactly—for now I activate my trap card, Destiny Signal!"

One of his facedown cards swiftly got flipped face-up, revealing a huge searchlight with the letter "D" in its center, shining out over the field! "Wha…!" Jan stared at this new phenomenon with surprise all over his face.

"I can only activate this card, Destiny Signal, when one of my monsters is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle," Drake told him. "Then, I get to Special Summon from my hand or deck one Destiny Hero monster that is Level 4 or less…and the monster I'll select is a second Destiny Hero – Blade Master, in Attack Mode!"

Swiftly Drake pulled out his deck, thumbed through the cards, then selected one and replaced his deck—and then a moment later, another Blade Master appeared on his side of the field, bravely staring down the opposition on Jan's side. But Jan, seeing this, shook his head. "What good will that do? He doesn't have enough ATK points to even go head-to-head with any of the monsters I have here!" he scoffed. "Pandemonium Watchbear, eat that intruder right now!"

Growling, the Watchbear lunged forward, ready to gobble up Blade Master whole…but then Drake shouted, "I think not! I activate my other trap card, D – Shield!"

Before Jan could respond, all at once a huge electro-magnetic field emerged and surrounded Blade Master, who immediately crouched in a defensive stance. Unable to slow down in time, the Watchbear slammed full-tilt into the force field and got thrown backwards, landing hard on its side. "What the hell…? Explain yourself!" Jan demanded.

"Sure, why not?" Drake shrugged. "The trap card I just activated is called D – Shield. It can only be activated when one of my Destiny Heroes that is in Attack Mode is selected as an attack target…but after that, that Destiny Hero shifts to Defense Mode and D – Shield is treated as an Equip Magic card. And as long as D – Shield is equipped to him, that selected Destiny Hero can't be destroyed as a result of battle."

Jan looked long and hard at Drake…and then he shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Just means your demise has been prolonged a little further. In that case, I'll just call it a turn for now."

"Very well, then…my move!" And Drake drew his next card—then suddenly he chuckled. "And this is what I say to you, convict: You're a tough duelist, but not tough enough to rattle me."

"And why is that?" Jan wondered.

"Because of the card I've just drawn—the card that will win me this duel once and for all!" Drake held up the card he'd drawn. "Now, I'll equip this Magic card to my Destiny Hero – Blade Master…the Cyclone Blade!"

Blade Master held up one of his arms—and immediately that arm was outfitted with a three-bladed weapon that spun like a helicopter rotor! "The Cyclone Blade can only be equipped to a Destiny Hero monster," Drake explained. "And that's not all…Blade Master, stand up now!"

To Jan's amazement, Blade Master quickly stood back up in Attack Mode. "Have you lost your marbles, man? That Cyclone Blade hasn't changed your monster's stats one bit!" he said incredulously.

"That may be true…however…" One of Drake's eyes was overshadowed by his hair. "The Cyclone Blade serves another purpose—which I'll soon show you. Now—Blade Master, attack the Pandemonium Watchbear!"

Bracing himself, Blade Master dashed forward and struck out at the Watchbear with the Cyclone Blade. Snarling, the grizzly swung forward with one mighty palm, knocking Blade Master back to Drake's side of the field and in the process knocking the Cyclone Blade right off his arm, even as Drake's life points shot down sharply. Thanks to the D – Shield trap card, however, Blade Master wasn't destroyed, but merely picked himself up and dusted himself off.

**DRAKE: 1400; JAN: 650**

But now several of the prisoners, watching from their cells, were booing. "What kind of attack was that?" some of them shouted out at Drake. "You're pathetic!"

"Go on, JUDAS-guy! Bury that kid now!" other prisoners were yelling to Jan.

Mr. Menefer's rich guests were still watching the duel. "Unimpressive," the Asian man grumbled.

"Indeed," the Asian woman nodded.

"Hope you guys have your money ready to hand over, 'cause this duel's just about done with that kind of sloppy performance from Phoenix," the Australian man said to the other guests scornfully. "That JUDAS convict's gonna win me plenty today!"

And back in the arena, Jan wasn't impressed either. "Nice attempt…but futile nonetheless," he snorted. "All you're doing is making it even easier for me to destroy you on my next turn!"

But Drake merely cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh? Well, I wouldn't be so sure just yet…just look." And he smirked and pointed upwards.

Puzzled, Jan glanced up to the sky—and his eyes widened. "Wait…isn't that…?"

For, far above their heads, the Cyclone Blade was still spinning—and it was coming back down to the ground and closing in fast. "THAT is the effect of the Cyclone Blade, about to resolve itself," Drake told Jan. "If a monster that's been equipped with the Cyclone Blade attacks, then I'm able to destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field at the end of the Damage Step! And speaking of which, isn't your Dark Necrofear treated as an Equip Magic card now that it's got my Destiny Hero – Dogma under its control…?"

Jan's eyes went wide in sudden realization. "Oh, holy shit!"

But hardly were the words out of his mouth when—the Cyclone Blade came right back down on Jan's side of the field, slicing the captivating Dark Necrofear into pieces! Immediately Dogma reacted, grabbing the Cyclone Blade and flinging it back to Blade Master even as he himself flapped his wings and took flight, re-emerging on Drake's side of the field moments later.

"All right…now Destiny Hero – Dogma is right back where he belongs!" Drake announced triumphantly. "And he didn't take very kindly to being held against his will…so now he's going to dish out some much-needed vengeance!"

"Damn it…he _does_ have enough power to wipe out my life points if he attacks my Pandemonium Watchbear…" Jan growled.

"Actually, your Pandemonium Watchbear is just doing his job—keeping watch over his turf—so he's not of any interest to me," Drake corrected him. "No, I'm going for much bigger fish…your Mazera DeVille."

"What?" Jan asked in disbelief. "But—if you attack Mazera DeVille, that won't be enough to wipe out my life points completely! Or maybe you suck at math?"

"Actually, math happens to be one of my better subjects," Drake needled him. "And YOU'RE forgetting something…Dogma is still equipped with the D – Chain, and when a monster equipped with the D – Chain destroys a monster in battle, 500 points of damage will be done to my opponent! So, in other words, it really wouldn't matter which of your monsters I chose to attack—either way, you're done!"

"…crap…" Jan gritted his teeth.

"Go, Dogma! Teach that bastard not to underestimate your power!" Drake ordered. "Destroy Mazera DeVille NOW!"

Wrapping the end of the D – Chain tightly in his hand, Dogma flailed the weapon around his head until it resembled helicopter blades in motion. Flying forward, he swung his arm at the hapless Mazera Deville and completely skewered the other monster, bringing Jan's life points down to a scant 50.

**DRAKE: 1400; JAN: 50**

Then, in the same movement, Dogma sent the bladed end of the D – Chain flying right toward Jan, slashing him in the shoulder and knocking him down even as his life points finally went down to 0.

**DRAKE: 1400; JAN: 0**

The prisoners were completely silent in their cells as they watched Jan's fall. Then one made his voice heard. "Damn…that kid's got talent!"

Then in the next moment, alternating cheers and groans echoed throughout the cells. "Man, why'd the JUDAS dude have to lose?"

"That was some duel!"

"What a crock…a JUDAS member, beaten by a little kid…"

And up in Mr. Menefer's office… "So? What was that you were saying about us handing over our money to you?" the American guest gloated, even as the Asian man and woman and the Australian man winced.

"My investments are safe…but then again, with Drake Phoenix on the job, of course they were!" the German woman boasted.

"Right-o, young chap!" the British guest called down to Drake.

As the holograms vanished from the field, Mr. Menefer entered the arena and approached Drake. "Well done, sir, well done!" he congratulated him. "An impressive performance, as always!"

"Uh-huh," Drake grunted. "Let's go have a little chat with the convict, huh?"

The two walked over to where Jan was just getting up off the ground, rubbing his shoulder where the D – Chain had struck him. "Ugh…that was unexpected…" he was mumbling to himself.

"Hey, Shimizu. Look here." Drake's voice addressed him.

Jan looked up at Drake and Mr. Menefer, and stood up slowly. "Gotta say, kid…you played a good game," he remarked. "There aren't a lot of duelists I've ever seen that I can honestly say have true skill. My hat goes off to you."

"Uh-huh," Drake nodded shortly. "Well, as for you, your skill is at the very least interesting. Which is why, now that I think about it, you may be rather useful to me…"

"Hmmm?" Both Jan and Mr. Menefer looked at Drake with upraised eyebrows.

Drake's eyes narrowed. "I'm looking for people with skill like what you've shown here," he continued to talk to Jan. "And skill like yours shouldn't have to waste away in a place like this. So…what do you think of putting your skill to better use…working for me?"

Mr. Menefer blinked. "Mr. Drake, are you sure?" he asked uncertainly. "I mean, this is a former member of JUDAS you're talking about!"

"And why not? He's got just what I've been looking for." Drake cast a knowing glance at Mr. Menefer. "Unless, of course, you want Father Christmas to renege on his promise of _early presents…?"_

"N-N-No! Of course not, Mr. Drake!" Mr. Menefer hastily replied. "It's your call, sir, your call completely!"

"Good. That's what I thought, too." Drake swung his eyes back to Jan. "So…?"

Jan frowned. "Work for you? And why should I?"

"Very simple question, for which I have a very simple response," Drake answered. "I'm not exactly giving you much choice in this matter. See, when I want something, and I know where I can get it, I will take it no matter what. Right now, I'm looking for exceptional dueling talent, and I knew that I would be able to find it here the moment I learned about your background, and that you'd been transferred here. So, this is what's going to happen: I'm going to have Mr. Menefer pull a couple of strings, and within an hour you will be out of here and coming back to my mansion with me. You will put your dueling ability to use under my employ—and if you do the jobs I have for you successfully, you will be well rewarded for your trouble. However…if you cross me, or fail at any job I give you, you'll be coming right back to the slammer, to serve your sentence in full."

Jan scowled. "Six of one and half a dozen of the other."

Drake shrugged. "Whatever works."

"Listen, prisoner, don't try to disrespect Mr. Drake," said Mr. Menefer sternly. "It's an honor to work for someone as well-respected, and with such power, as him. Think of it this way—at the very least, so long as you're in his employ, you'll be getting plenty of money in your pocket, all the fanciest outfits he'll allow you to wear, and all the best food you can eat—definitely things you wouldn't get while stuck in here."

"I wouldn't quite go that far—but yes, you'll certainly have a whole lot more benefits working for me than wasting your time in a place like this." Drake smirked a little. "Enticing, isn't it?"

Jan crossed his arms. "So, let's say I do agree to this offer of yours. If, as you say, I screw up, I'll be coming back here anyway. Who's to say it wouldn't be better for me just to stay here?"

"Who's to say? That would be me." Drake nodded with meaning. "Like I just said, after all, you're not being given much choice in the matter. You have skills that I'm in need of…and I _will_ have you working for me."

He then turned to Mr. Menefer. "Okay, start writing up your…official report, would you? This guy—soon as he arrived at your prison, he got iced by your men for attempting to incite a riot. I'll even give you an extra bonus to get physical evidence to make it more convincing."

A huge grin spread across Mr. Menefer's face. "You truly are Father Christmas, Mr. Drake…I've long been looking for an excuse to shoot some of these bag-of-douche inmates, anyway."

"Well, whatever. The fewer mouths you have to feed, the wider the rations can be shared." Drake shrugged.

Jan cocked an eyebrow at this. "Is that necessary?"

"Since when did a guy like you grow a conscience for these bastards in here? It's not like any of them will ever see the light of day again," Drake shrugged a second time. "And like I just told you, when I know what I want and where to get it, I WILL get it regardless of the method."

"Hmmm…" Jan frowned once more, but said nothing else.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, SOME HOURS LATER

"Grrr…where the HELL is that damn brother of mine? Does he even realize what time it is?" Jessica fumed as she cast a glance up at the hall clock, which was now approaching 7:30. "Dinnertime is 7:00 sharp! And where is he? Only heaven knows!"

"Please, Miss Jessica, calm down," Jasmine attempted to appease her young mistress. "Perhaps he's on his way back at this very moment…"

"Yeah, well, he'd better have a damn good excuse for being this late for dinner—and out in Daddy's helicopter at that!" Jessica growled.

Hardly had she finished the sentence, however, when suddenly the sound of helicopter blades over the house arrested their attention. "That would be him now, I believe," Jasmine decided.

"Humph!" Jessica marched for the front door, then moments later was stomping toward the lawn helipad where Drake was just alighting from the chopper.

"Oh, hey, sis," Drake greeted her.

"That's all you have to say to me, Drake? Do you _know_ what time it is?" Jessica snapped at him. "You've been gone with the helicopter for hours, and besides that, dinnertime was half an hour ago! You're just lucky Mom and Dad aren't due back for a couple more hours—they'd have had your head if they were here before you!"

"Relax, would you, Jessica?" Drake asked with some annoyance. "I had to take care of some business, that's all. And anyway, you shouldn't be raising your voice when I have a guest here."

Jessica blinked. "Guest?"

"Got that right." Drake nodded. "A guy that'll be working for me from here on out. He's going to be staying in my old room for the time being—and before you flip your lid again, I'll explain it all to Mom and Dad when they get home."

"But—whether you explain to them or not isn't the point!" Jessica exclaimed. "You can't just get up on a whim and bring home anyone you feel like, Drake!"

"I wonder why not? It's my house, too," Drake rebutted. "As long as I'm responsible enough, I can bring over whoever I like, can't I?" Then he tilted his head slightly. "Oy, Shimizu, come on out and let's get you settled in, eh?"

"Drake…! You're so bull-headed!" Jessica snarled. "So bull-headed, and impulsive, and…"

And then, at that moment, a tall figure appeared at the helicopter door, looking out with a slightly intrigued expression in his eyes. He wore a maroon-colored trench-coat, black jeans and boots, and sported long, spiky, aqua-colored hair.

"…and…" Jessica looked long and hard at the newcomer.

"Sis, meet Jan Shimizu, my newest employee," Drake introduced him. "Shimizu—my annoyingly noisy sister, Jessica."

"Mmm-hmm," Jan acknowledged.

"…and…" All at once stars shone all over Jessica's face even as her eyes were replaced by gigantic pink hearts. "…and forget everything I just said, bro! He can stay here as LONG as he wants!" and she released a heartfelt sigh.

Drake cocked an eyebrow at Jessica's sudden change in demeanor. "Shimizu…one other thing I forgot to mention," he said in a low tone. "If you do so much as look at my sister funny, you won't even get the chance to go back into a cage—because I'll personally rip your throat out with my bare hands. Are we clear?"

Jan shrugged. "She's underage. I don't do that Lolita shit."

"Good. Just so we're on the same page. Now, come on." And Drake began to head toward the house. Jan followed after him, with Jessica in turn trailing right behind him with drool leaking from the corner of her mouth even as hearts continued to replace her eyes.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Now, come on, can you honestly blame Jessica for reacting to Jan the way she has? After all, based on the description I've given him, he's almost like Yami Bakura in appearance…and we all know how crazy Yu-Gi-Oh fan-girls will go for Yami Bakura…

yamikriz: Why don't girls go crazy for me? (sulks)

kRiZ: Because you suck.

REVIEW SOON, PLEASE!


	15. Dark Jewel

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Sleep is for the weak…I want HOT CHOCOLATE! And I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, just so we have that clear from now.)

**CHAPTER 15 – Dark Jewel**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_JEWEL DUELIST_

_NAME: Jewel Duelist (real name unrevealed)_

_AGE: Uncertain (assumed to be mid-to-late teens)_

_HAIR: Black_

_EYES: Black (wears a mask that conceals the lower half of the face)_

_CLOTHES: Blue duffel hooded jacket, blue jeans, indigo gloves, indigo high-heel boots_

SOMEWHERE, EARLY THE NEXT MORNING

"A-ah-ahhhh…"

The punk crawled backwards on the ground, cold sweat washing over his face. "Please…" he sputtered—moments before his back hit the wall, bringing home to him the sudden realization that there was nowhere to go.

At the other end of the dark alleyway, a slender-looking figure stood, dressed in a blue duffel jacket with a hood. The opening of that hood was currently facing downwards so the wearer's face couldn't be seen—but that was not the punk's primary concern at this moment, for right behind this mystery person was something far more terrible: a pair of shining red eyes that glowed in the darkness of where they were, unhindered by the distant rays of the slowly-rising sun.

The hooded figure scoffed with contempt—and then spoke in a female voice. "Is that the best you have for me, cretin?" she asked in a soft, calm voice. "You claim that you can give a performance that proves your toughness on this turf…and yet you end up performing no better than a germ? Is this what I wasted my time and talent on?"

"P-P-Please forgive me!" the punk was practically sobbing.

But the mystery figure shook her head. "Forget it. You won't get any mercy from me…not after all the sins you've committed around here. You're a blight on this jewel of a neighborhood—and I'm here to clean up."

As the hooded figure spoke, suddenly in the darkness behind her, close to the glowing red eyes, seven glittering lights began to shine. Seeing this, the punk's eyes widened in horror. "No! Oh, God please! I'm sorry, I swear!" he wailed.

Again, though, the mystery figure shook her head. "That's what your kind always says when in trouble. Well, you might fool the eyes of Lady Justice from time to time, but you can't fool her seeing-eye dog—ME."

And then, as the twinkling lights and the glowing red eyes advanced on him, the punk whimpered in terror…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 7:20 a.m.

"…the mysterious 'Jewel Duelist' has struck once again, this time in a small neighborhood half a mile outside of Domino City, where a local gang leader was allegedly attacked in the early hours of this morning. When picked up by police, the gang leader, whose name is being withheld pending an identification parade, told officers that he had been defeated in a game of Duel Monsters by a woman wearing a blue hooded jacket and wielding a card deck of jewel-themed monsters—a description that, so far, corroborates the eight previous accounts given of the 'Jewel Duelist' sightings across Japan. Although her modus operandi, so far, has been to challenge and defeat known criminals at Duel Monsters and then leave them for the authorities to find, police are still seeking her for questioning and condemn her actions as the work of vigilantism. If you have any information about the 'Jewel Duelist' or have seen her in your area…"

"What a crock!" Professor Crosskill snapped, switching off the TV.

"Hey! _Some _people were watching that, you know!" Professor Flannigan exclaimed, shooting Professor Crosskill a nasty look.

"But what's the point of a news report like that?" Professor Crosskill glowered at her. "I mean, seriously! There are thieves, killers and psychos out there, and all the police are concerned about is one little girl playing dress-up? What sense does that make, can you tell me that?"

They were in the teacher's lounge, breakfasting with Dr. Crowler and Coach Hassleberry, and had been watching the morning news just at the moment that Professor Crosskill had switched the TV off. "Now, now, Professor Crosskill, don't be so narrow-minded about the whole thing," Dr. Crowler said smoothly. "Sure, there are worse criminals out there, but which do you think makes more interesting or more lasting news? We'll always hear reports of bank robberies and break-ins and the occasional dead body found in a garbage dump, but how often do you hear reports of people using Duel Monsters to fight crime?"

"It's a waste of air-time, as far as I'm concerned," Professor Crosskill replied stoutly. "If that news station wants to deliver news, they should go out and find _real_ news stories to cover."

"And YOU should get a good enema—maybe that'll flush out the iron pipe you shoved up your ass this morning," Professor Flannigan murmured darkly.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, Professor Flannigan?" Professor Crosskill asked dangerously.

Professor Flannigan swiftly took a deep breath. _**"I SAID THAT YOU—"**_

"All right, that will be enough of THAT!" Dr. Crowler said suddenly. "Honestly, the two of you! You're acting like grade-schoolers!"

All this time Coach Hassleberry hadn't said a word, but had continued to eat his buttered toast in relative quiet. Now Professor Flannigan said, "All right, let's hear the opinion of a _real_ man. Hey, Coach, what do you think about that Jewel Duelist that was on the news just now?"

Coach Hassleberry shrugged and dipped his fork into the tangle of sausage and baked beans on his plate. "Well, I reckon that as long as that little guerilla's not causing trouble for the local authorities herself, she can continue acting on whatever orders she's acting on."

"Even though she's on her own out there?" Professor Flannigan asked worriedly. "And so late at that, and taking on the criminal element in such a manner…"

"Well, if she ends up in trouble, it's her own fault," Professor Crosskill said coldly. "What's she doing out on the streets at such odd hours of the night, anyway, hmmm? For all we know, she could just be some streetwalker who happens to like Duel Monsters…not unlike a certain Literature teacher we all know…" and here he smirked.

"Do you _want_ me to shove this fork into your throat?" Professor Flannigan snarled at him, jumping up and holding her fork ominously.

Professor Crosskill jumped up, too, rolling back his sleeves. "Bring it on, you breast-less bi—"

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH! STAND DOWN, BOTH OF YOU!" Coach Hassleberry yelled, jumping up and grabbing them by their shoulders. "And you call yourselves teachers with this kind of behavior…you both ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"

Professors Crosskill and Flannigan immediately lost their own belligerence upon seeing the indignation in Coach Hassleberry's face—and that his eyes had inexplicably become reptilian, the irises narrowing into slits. "He started it…" Professor Flannigan mumbled, sitting back down.

"Now, now, my dear, don't take any notice of Crosskill," Dr. Crowler said soothingly, sipping from his cup of tea. "He just probably forgot to take his daily dose of Viagra this morning."

"Says the gender-confused cream puff," Crosskill grated.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Dr. Crowler bristled instantly. "For your information, I'll have you know, I am a very _manly_ man!"

"I've never heard of manly men that wore frills and lipstick," Crosskill chuckled nastily.

"It's called having a sense of fashion!" Dr. Crowler screamed—in a high-pitched voice.

"A _warped_ sense of fashion, you mean," and Crosskill grinned. "Well, good Doctor, you might be deluded enough to not know which gender you're supposed to be, but at least I possess the right plumbing!"

"But I'll bet the plumbing doesn't work," and now it was Professor Flannigan's turn to smirk.

Coach Hassleberry rubbed his temples as the other three waged verbal war back and forth. "Oy vey…why do I bother?" he groaned as he studiously ate his breakfast.

----------

"Hey, did you guys hear the news this morning?"

"What news?"

"About the Jewel Duelist, man! She, like, came out of nowhere and beat some gang leader in a duel!"

"No way! The Jewel Duelist? Are you serious?"

"Yeah right! The Jewel Duelist is just a myth! A legend! She's not real!"

"Then how come she made the morning headlines, lard-ass?"

"Who're you callin' a lard-ass?"

And so the debate raged amongst the students on the Duel Academy campus on this morning. Jiro Burger, standing on the balcony of the Osiris Red dorm, shook his head as he listened to the chatter of several students as the various red, yellow and blue jackets went past. "What a load of crap," he grunted.

"Yawn…what is?"

Turning, Jiro saw Janus approach him, pulling on his red jacket. "It's just all this talk about this mysterious duelist they call the 'Jewel Duelist,'" Jiro answered. "Everybody's making one big fuss about it."

Janus cocked an eyebrow. "Jewel Duelist? Isn't that just a myth or something?"

"Apparently not," Jiro replied. "This duelist was actually able to make the news this morning, it seems. That's not something that a mere 'myth' can accomplish."

"Hey, Janus! Good morning!"

Janus and Jiro promptly looked down—and standing there below them were Natasha, Cassara and Ricardo. "Come on, Janus, get your butt in gear and let's head over to the auditorium for assembly!" Ricardo called up to him.

"Yeah, yeah," Janus acknowledged. "Oh, and before I forget—"

Suddenly, Janus grabbed a surprised Jiro by his jacket collar, dragging him down the stairs. "Guys! I officially introduce you to the newest member of our little club…Jiro Burger, who now takes the role of 'dark and mysterious stereotype'!" And as he said this he made up a scowling expression with his eyes and pouted his mouth.

"Ha, ha, ha! That's really funny!" Natasha was in stitches as she pointed at Janus.

"Hey, Janus, how about making a face that can actually _scare_ people instead of making them think you're a circus clown?" Cassara sniggered.

"Whaaaaaaaat? But that wasn't the intention!" Janus protested.

"And since when did we have stereotype roles in our group of friends, anyway?" Ricardo added. Then he turned to Jiro. "Don't listen to Janus, friend. If anything, he serves the role of 'comic relief.'"

"I can see that," Jiro answered, somewhat awkwardly.

"The name's Ricardo Misawa," Ricardo introduced himself. "And that's Cassara Blackstone, and the little one there is Natasha Truesdale."

"Pleasure to meet you," Cassara said pleasantly, and bowed.

"Yeah," Natasha nodded. "Okay, everybody, now that we're all friends now, let's go on over to the auditorium together!"

"Well, well, well…so Janus's little nerd squad managed to get one more member…"

The group turned at the sound—and Janus's face suddenly hardened. "Vasha, Calhoun, what're _you_ doing here?"

Standing a little ways away were Vasha Morrison and Calhoun Vincente. "Well, consider yourself lucky today, runt—I'm not here for you," Calhoun answered. "I'm here at the Osiris Red dorm to find and punish those cowards who should have been supporting me when you and I had our duel—those same cowards who ran away like assholes the moment you lucked out and beat me."

"That wasn't luck that Janus beat you by, and you know it!" Cassara said hotly.

"Keep telling yourself that, kid," Vasha said frostily.

Calhoun waved away the argument before it could develop. "As I was saying, I've been seeking out and punishing those idiots, as well as the ones from Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. Those turd-nuts have been trying to avoid me ever since that night, but I'll soon find all of them. And Vasha here's doing her part with those girls that claimed to be supporting her, as well, that ran away too."

"You guys really don't know how to lose with good grace, do you?" Ricardo shook his head.

"Who cares what you think, brainiac?" Vasha hissed. "Anyway, we don't have time to stand around with the likes of you. We have business to finish up. But don't worry, we'll get back at you for Calhoun's humiliation later, at a time and place of our own choosing."

"Later, losers," Calhoun flung at them, and with that parting shot he and Vasha turned and walked off, even as other students hurriedly moved to get out of their way upon seeing them.

"Ugh…I'd like to claw that Vasha's eyes out," Cassara growled.

"Believe me, I just might allow you the opportunity…" Janus muttered.

"Forget about them—that's over and done with," Jiro shrugged. "Let's just go to the auditorium. We don't want to be late for assembly, do we?"

"There, see? Already you're integrating yourself into our company well!" Janus remarked, a bright smile on his face replacing the scowl that had been there only seconds before.

Jiro shook his head. "What are you, a calendar for emotions or something?"

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, AROUND THE SAME TIME

"So, tell me, Drake…this fellow here, Jan Shimizu, that you say you've hired…how long will he be in this house?"

Drake, Jessica and their parents were seated at the dining room table having breakfast, even as various uniformed maids came to and fro with napkins, pitchers of water, and knives and forks to replace the occasionally dropped utensil. The question was posed by Mrs. Phoenix, a pretty thirty-something with raven-colored hair, even as she cut into a slice of cantaloupe with her fork.

Drake took a sip of orange juice. "It'll only be for a little while, Mom," he answered her. "I've been tangling with an idea for something of a Duel Monster competition ever since I was made unable to participate in the World Championships that ended recently."

"In other words, you're compensating for not having been there," Mr. Phoenix remarked dryly.

Drake steadfastly ignored that jab. "Mr. Shimizu is only the first of a few duelists who I'll be hiring for the purpose of this venture of mine," he continued to speak to his mother. "They will serve as, shall we say, endurance challenges for those who I will invite to participate. If there isn't a good degree of difficulty in any given competition, the end victory will not be as sweet for the participants, after all."

Mrs. Phoenix raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And these other duelists who you intend to hire for this competition of yours…surely they will not all be staying in this house? Having three duelists in this house is having three too many, if you ask me."

"Make that four, dear—you know I used to be a champion duelist," Mr. Phoenix grinned.

"But at least you quit years ago…yet Drake and Jessica are doing it, and now this young man is here as well." Mrs. Phoenix sighed. "Honestly, I cannot fathom what you get out of playing a silly card game like that. Just the fact that it's popular is a surprise to me—it's a waste of ink, paper and artistic talent as far as I feel."

Jessica giggled a little. "Maybe you should try it sometime, Mom—then you wouldn't feel the same way," she suggested.

"I most certainly will not!" Mrs. Phoenix exclaimed. "And anyway, I still have to ask you kids: why couldn't you have chosen a more logical and sensible past-time, eh? Like growing flowers, or collecting stamps, or even rock-climbing? At least those serve some long-term purpose…but playing immature card games? Where's the sense in that?"

"Don't worry about it, dear," Mr. Phoenix chuckled. "People who play Duel Monsters could be doing worse things, after all."

"Thanks, Dad." Drake grinned. "Don't worry, Mom. This competition I'm planning will work out for the best, I assure you."

"Just two questions from me, Drake." Mr. Phoenix put his fork down a moment; his face now had a serious look. "When do you plan to call this competition of yours? And, how do you plan to fund it?"

"As soon as I've ironed out a few little details, I'll announce the competition and send out the invitations," Drake replied. "And don't worry about funding, Dad; I'll take care of it."

"Well, I don't want you using up all of your allowance just for something like this," Mr. Phoenix told him. "If you need money, I'll lend it to you. Just make sure you pay me back, that's all."

"When have I never repaid a debt, Dad?" Drake smirked.

"How about all those times you borrowed my pocket money when we were kids?" Jessica grumbled—then flinched as Drake kicked her shin under the table.

Shrugging, Mr. Phoenix picked up the morning paper and opened it up. "Heh…looks like the fabled 'Jewel Duelist' has struck again," he remarked.

"Now there's another idle character for you!" Mrs. Phoenix made a face as she continued to eat.

"I don't know, Mom…she seems pretty cool," Jessica replied.

"Assuming she does exist—all we're getting from these stories is hearsay," Mr. Phoenix pointed out.

Drake merely smiled. _Hearsay or not…if she DOES exist, then it'll probably be worth having her on my little team that I'm going to assemble together for my grand plan! Hmmm…I think I'll have Shimizu take a little trip…and possibly kill three birds with one stone…_ And his smile grew wider.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 8:15 a.m.

Jan Shimizu sat at a small table on the balcony just outside the room where he'd been put to sleep the previous night. "Hmph…fine living isn't quite my style," he muttered to himself as he mixed his scrambled eggs around in his baked beans. "Although a comfy mattress sure does beat the bunk beds in jail…"

There was a knock at his door. "Yes?" he called, a little irritated.

Then in stepped Jasmine. "Apologies for the disturbance, sir, but Master Drake wishes to have a word with you," she addressed him, and then she stepped back outside.

Moments later Drake himself walked in. "Morning, Shimizu," he greeted Jan. "So, what think you of my hospitality so far?"

Jan shrugged. "Not to sound ungrateful, but fancy living isn't me."

"Oh, well, guess that can't be helped," Drake replied. "Anyway, soon as you've finished your breakfast, I've got your first assignment for you."

"Oh, yeah?" Jan scooped some of the baked beans into his mouth.

Drake reached into his jacket and pulled out a rolled-up newspaper. Opening it up, he placed the front page on the table before Jan's plate. "See the headline?" he asked.

Jan glanced casually at the headline. "The Jewel Duelist…I've heard rumors about her," he remarked. "They say she's not the easiest person in the world to find, and she's definitely one of the hardest duelists to defeat. The underworld speaks of her with a bit of respect and envy, more so because she's said to have a whole bunch of rare and powerful cards at her disposal."

Drake nodded. "Someone with such notoriety is perfect for what I have in mind. I want her."

Jan cocked an eyebrow at him. "You're actually willing to chase down some phantom duelist? After all, nobody's ever _really_ seen her, or even taken pictures of her. And the people who've claimed to see her have all been well-known and unrepentant criminals—who's going to believe them?"

"What's your point?" Drake eyed him.

"My point is, why not just seek out other duelists who we know actually exist and have decent skill?" said Jan. "Like those members of the Zodiacs, for instance."

"The Zodiacs?" Drake frowned.

"Yeah, surely you've heard of them—that bunch of rogue duelists who infiltrated the Dueltropolis tournament," Jan explained. "It was all over the news from last week, you know."

"I know about them—they're the reason I wasn't allowed to enter that tournament in the first place," Drake recalled. "So? What about them?"

By this time Jan was scraping the last of the food on his plate onto his fork with his knife. A smirk appeared on his lips even as he raised his fork to take his last bite. "As far as the news goes, three of those Zodiacs were interceded for by Maximillion Pegasus, and are now said to be working for him in lieu of a prison sentence," he informed Drake. "And another three are supposed to be students at that Duel Academy, so you know they'll definitely have dueling skill suitable for whatever it is you have in mind."

Drake fingered his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting…very, very interesting," he mused. "All right, Shimizu—I'll check up on those little suggestions of yours. Meanwhile, you'll go search for the Jewel Duelist."

Still chewing on his last bite of food, Jan nearly choked at that. He hurriedly grabbed his glass of water and took a long swallow. "You're kidding, right?" he sputtered as soon as he'd removed the glass from his lips.

"No. I do not kid around. You WILL go and seek out the Jewel Duelist, or information on her whereabouts, at the last place where she was reported to have been sighted." Drake's tone had a great degree of finality in it. "Unless, of course, you wouldn't mind being back in jail by this very afternoon…?"

Jan closed his eyes, sighed and shrugged. "Well, whatever. I'll do what I can."

"Good." Drake nodded. "This morning's sighting, according to the paper, was in Domino City. Go there and dig up what you can on this mystery girl."

"Domino City…" Jan's eyes reopened, slightly narrowed.

Drake regarded him. "What?"

Then Jan shrugged. "…nothing. I used to live there, that's all."

"Then you should have no trouble finding the necessary places to squeegee information on the Jewel Duelist from." Drake nodded. "Your breakfast is finished. Get to it."

"Right, right. Well, if you'd excuse me so I could get dressed to leave…?" Jan waved him away dismissively.

Shrugging, Drake turned and headed for the door, leaving Jan to himself. Watching the younger man leave, Jan sighed. "Well…looks like the old neighborhood's gonna get a visit once again…"

----------

Outside of Jan's room, Drake pushed up the door—then turned to Jasmine, who'd been standing outside waiting on him. "Jasmine…you know what to do. Keep me posted on everything he does, everyone he talks to. Do not let him out of your sight—not even if he goes into a men's room."

"Yes, Master Drake."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 8:30 a.m.

"Sigh…too bad Janus actually has a full day of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays…and this is Thursday…"

So said Natasha to herself as she sat in the auditorium alone, idly turning the pages of a textbook that was nestled on her knees. "I could sure use a study partner right now," she continued mumbling as she turned a few more pages.

"Natasha! What's the big idea, talking to yourself like this?"

"H-huh?" Natasha looked up. "Oh—hi, Cassara. I thought you had a class?"

Entering the auditorium was, indeed, Cassara. "That's what I thought, too," she admitted. "But the instructor apparently took sick this morning and had to go to the nurse. Which basically means I have a free period right now, and I have to spend it doing absolutely nothing whatsoever. Say, you mind if I join you?"

"Sure, come on up!" Natasha invited. "I don't have anything to do until 9:30, myself. I was hoping I could find a study partner."

Cassara ran up to where Natasha was sitting. "What're you studying?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" Natasha held up the book she'd been reading. "This is for my Dueling Strategy class at 3:30 later today. We're supposed to discuss how best to defend against certain types of deck strategies…but so far, this one strategy that I've been reading up on has me totally stumped. I don't see how anybody could possibly win against a strategy like this one!" and she rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Which strategy is that?" Cassara asked, curious.

Natasha scanned the book again. "The book calls it a 'life point strategy'—that's when your opponent is constantly increasing his or her life points. But honestly, what's the sense in trying to defeat somebody who can simply replenish their life points with ease?"

At that Cassara smiled a little. "Hey, Natasha…how about I help you analyze that strategy fully?"

"What? Really?" Natasha looked at her, surprised. "But how can we do that?"

"Easy!" Cassara nodded. "You and I can have a duel right now!"

"A duel…?" Natasha's eyes widened a little. "Wait a minute—Cassara, do _you_ use a life point strategy?"

"Indeed I do!" Cassara nodded. "It's no surprise that you wouldn't know about it, because to my knowledge you've never seen me duel before. But I know how to use that strategy well, and I know its strengths and weaknesses inside out. Want to see?"

Natasha nodded. "Okay, then! I guess if I see it up close and in person, I'll be able to discuss it better in class later!"

"That's the spirit," Cassara commended her. "Now, let's take our Duel-Disks and go down onto the platform arena down there, hmmm?"

"Okay!" Natasha said brightly.

Taking their respective Duel-Disks from their jackets, both girls quickly adjourned to the dueling arena. "Just so you know, Natasha, I was watching your performance at the World Championships on TV," Cassara commented. "And I have to tell you, you didn't do too badly at all."

Natasha blushed at that. "R-really? But…I lost…"

"Your opponent was your brother, the Emperor of Duel Academy," Cassara noted. "And he's more experienced than you are. But you had a great deal of determination, and you played with good sportsmanship—that, to me, counts for something. I think that as long as you just try your best, nobody can really fault you whether you win or lose. And anyway…something tells me that you've gotten a lot stronger since that duel."

"Well, yeah, I did get a couple new cards from my uncle before school started back," Natasha admitted.

"Great! Then let's see what kind of cards your uncle gave you, huh?" Cassara said, obviously pleased. Then she put her Duel-Disk on and activated it. "So, Natasha, ready to practice?"

"Yeah!" Natasha activated her Duel-Disk as well, pulling out her deck and slotting it into the deck slot. "Let's get busy!"

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 8000**

At once, the holographic coin emerged on the field. "I want to call it," said Natasha. "And I call tails!"

The coin was then flipped…and it fell down, down, down…and when it landed again, it showed tails. "Nice, Natasha! You get to go first!" Cassara beamed.

But then Natasha shook her head. "No, I want you to go first," she said. "I want to at least get an idea how somebody can play with a life point deck."

Cassara shrugged. "If you say so," she replied, and with that the two drew their first five cards.

Then Cassara drew her sixth card to start. _Hmmm…not a bad hand to begin with…_ "Okay, Natasha. For my first turn, I'll set two cards facedown, and then I'll summon my White Magician Pikeru (ATK 1200, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" And then, there on her side of the field emerged a young girl in a white robe with a shining staff. "And then that's all for now."

Swallowing a little out of nervousness, Natasha drew her card—but instantly she brightened when she saw what it was. "All right! I've got one of the new cards that my uncle gave me!" she cried happily.

"Oh, do you?" said Cassara. "Well, why don't you show me what it is, then?"

"Okay!" said Natasha. "I summon my Submarineroid (ATK 800, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later a big blue submarine with a cartoonish-looking rocket appeared floating on Natasha's side of the field. "Okay, uh…" Natasha paused and read the text on the Submarineroid card. "Oh, yeah! Its effect says I can attack you directly!"

Cassara cocked an eyebrow at this. "Oh, boy…"

But in that moment Submarineroid released its rocket at Cassara, the missile shooting right past the bewildered White Magician Pikeru and exploding on Cassara's side of the field! "YEEOUCH!" Cassara shrieked as her life points shot down

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 7200**

"And that's not all," Natasha continued. "After the Damage Step, I can shift Submarineroid to Defense Mode." And as Submarineroid's rocket inexplicably rematerialized in its holding area, the big blue cartoon vessel shifted slightly so as to appear hunched over. "And then that's it for me!"

"Not bad…your uncle gave you a pretty good card there," Cassara remarked. "Its DEF is pretty high right now, too, so I can't attack it or anything. This is a really good play."

"Aw, shucks," and Natasha turned pink with embarrassment.

Cassara drew her next card. "Unfortunately…I've got something better!" she informed her opponent. "During my Standby Phase, my White Magician Pikeru increases my life points by 400 for every monster I've got on my side of the field!" And then, Pikeru raised her staff and it began to glow with bright energy, effectively increasing Cassara's life points.

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 7600**

"Oh." Natasha frowned. "So, that means…"

"It means that every turn, I'll be able to increase my life points even if you do damage to me!" Cassara answered. "Okay, now where was I? Oh, yeah! I'm going to summon the Absorbing Kid from the Sky (ATK 1300, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" She then summoned a fat little boy wearing angel's wings on his back. "Then, she continued, "I'll put another card facedown, and call it a turn."

"Hmmm…" Natasha drew another card and then considered her hand. "I think I'll put a card facedown…and summon Patroid (ATK 1200, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" Then she brought forth a cartoonish-looking police car, complete with sirens blaring.

Cassara frowned a little as she beheld the new arrival. "Hmmm…"

"Okay—I'm gonna use Patroid's effect now!" Natasha announced. "Once per turn, I can pick up one of your facedown cards and look at it…and I'll do that with the card you just set facedown!"

Going down on all its wheels, Patroid blared its siren as it rushed over to the facedown card that Cassara had just set. At once the card in question was flipped face-up, revealing it to be a Trap card, The Spell Absorbing Life. "Huh? What's that card?" Natasha asked, confused. "I've never seen it before…"

"Well, since you're seeing it now thanks to Patroid's effect, I may as well tell you what it is," Cassara sighed. "It's a Trap card that allows me to flip all facedown Defense Mode monsters face-up, without activating any effects that they may have, and then it allows me to increase my life points by 400 for each Effect Monster on the field. That means that if I were to activate it now, I could increase my life points by 1600, since there are four Effect Monsters on the field right now."

"Uh-oh…" Natasha looked crestfallen now.

"But don't worry," Cassara went on. "I'm not going to activate it now, anyway—I like to save my cards for when it's really important. So, continue with your turn."

"Okay, if you say so." Natasha then looked again at her cards in her hand. "Um…well, I guess the only thing I can do right now is shift Submarineroid into Attack Mode again, and then use him to attack you directly!" And at this Submarineroid's rocket flew over to Cassara and exploded once again, this time knocking her down even as her life points went down with her. Then, as per its effect, Submarineroid went right back into Defense Mode once more.

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 6800**

"Heh…" Cassara picked herself up and dusted herself off. "Natasha, you really are improving, I have to tell you that. That Submarineroid of yours sure has a really cool set of effects."

"Well, your monsters aren't so bad, either," Natasha answered. "I mean, they can replenish your life points at any time!"

"That's true…but…" Cassara suddenly appeared thoughtful. "They CAN still be beaten, even with an effect like that. The question is, though, can you do it in this duel?"

Natasha frowned as she considered this. "I…I don't know…but I'll try, I guess…"

"Come now, Natasha—you're giving up too easily before this duel's even begun!" Cassara chided her. "I mean, chances are that you really might beat me. It's just a matter of playing the rest of this duel and finding that out. You're not going to chicken out on me now, are you?"

Natasha shook her head. "No! Of course not!"

"That's what I wanted to hear." Cassara smiled again. "Now…let's continue!"

----------

As Natasha and Cassara continued their practice duel, neither was aware that, meters away at the entrance to the auditorium, a shadowy figure had appeared and was watching the two of them…and then the figure smirked.

"Look at that…two little Osiris Red dweebs who think they can play Duel Monsters," Vasha Morrison chuckled scornfully to herself. "Well, I guess I may as well watch a little while. That little weakling Natasha is of no consequence, but that bitch Cassara…oh, how I'm gonna make her pay for her insolence…"

Vasha stepped back into the shadows where the two dueling girls wouldn't see her. _Maybe if I watch her duel, I can pick up a weakness that I can exploit later…then it'll just be a matter of catching her in the right place at the right time, heh, heh, heh…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ There, now, THIS is what we need to see more of—two duelists having a battle just for fun! Only, Vasha's being up to no good right now…anyway, review soon, please!


	16. Return to Domino City

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Honk! Honk! Beep! Beep! Vroom vroom vroom! Translation in the language of Vehicroids: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX!)

**CHAPTER 16 – Return to Domino City**

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 6800**

As Cassara and Natasha's practice duel continued, the scores were shown: Natasha was still in the lead with an intact 8000 life points, while Cassara had 6800. Natasha held four cards in her hand, and on the field she had Patroid in Attack Mode and Submarineroid in Defense Mode, plus one card facedown. On the other hand, Cassara held two cards in her hand, while on the field she had the Absorbing Kid from the Sky and White Magician Pikeru in Attack Mode, and she also had three cards facedown, one of which had already been revealed by Patroid's effect to be the Spell Absorbing Life trap card. And at this moment, it was now Cassara's turn to draw.

Cassara swiftly drew her card, so she held three in hand—and White Magician Pikeru's effect kicked in once again, increasing her life points by 800 points to put her back at 7600.

**NATASHA: 8000; CASSARA: 7600**

"All right, then! Time to step things up a notch!" Cassara declared. "I summon the Spirit of the Breeze (ATK 0, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode!"

At once a beautifully-clothed angel, with an aura surrounding her that was as colorful as the rainbow, appeared on the field. But Natasha looked at the new monster, dumbstruck. "Uh, Cassara, why'd you do that? That monster doesn't have a single ATK point!" she exclaimed.

"I have my reasons," Cassara said plainly. "Meanwhile, you should concern yourself with this! I'll equip my White Magician Pikeru with this Magic card, Trial of the Princesses!"

Suddenly, before Natasha's eyes, Pikeru's ATK shot up to 2000! "No way…she's gotten stronger?" she asked in disbelief.

"Got that right," Cassara affirmed. "Trial of the Princesses increases Pikeru's ATK by 800 points, as you've just witnessed—which makes her strong enough to take down your Submarineroid at the very least! Go, Pikeru, and destroy Submarineroid with your White Enchantment Staff!"

Her staff glowing with immense power, Pikeru took aim and blasted Submarineroid into smithereens. "Looks like that battleship's been sunk!" Cassara chuckled. "And next, your Patroid's going down! Absorbing Kid from the Sky, attack!"

The Absorbing Kid flapped his wings and took flight—but suddenly Natasha cried, "Hold it! Almost forgot about this trap card, but now I'll activate it—Supercharge!"

"Huh?" Cassara exclaimed. But even as her eyes widened in astonishment, Natasha's Trap card got flipped face-up, revealing a yellow Volkswagen Bug with its bonnet open and its engine making revving noises. "Hey—what the heck…?"

"I could only activate this card, Supercharge, when you declared an attack while the only monsters on my side of the field were Machine-type monsters that have 'roid' in their names, like a Vehicroid monster," Natasha explained. "But now, this card will let me draw two cards…it's just too bad I forgot about it until just now." And she then drew her cards so that she held a total of six in her hand.

"But that still won't protect you from my Absorbing Kid's attack! Do it now, my monster!" Cassara shouted. And the Absorbing Kid suddenly belly-flopped onto Patroid from up on high, flattening the cartoon police car like a pancake and lowering Natasha's life points slightly.

**NATASHA: 7900; CASSARA: 7600**

"And before I forget," Cassara spoke up, "when Absorbing Kid from the Sky destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, his effect increases my life points by an amount equal to the destroyed monster's Level times 300 points. And since Patroid was a Level 4 monster, that means I get 1200 life points!" And then just like that, her life points rose to 8800!

**NATASHA: 7900; CASSARA: 8800**

"Okay, Cassara, that's pretty neat," and Natasha nodded respectfully. "But I'm afraid what I'm about to do is gonna be even neater than that."

"So show me, then!" Cassara challenged.

Nodding, Natasha drew another card so now she held seven. "Okay, then!" she announced. "I'm going to activate the magic card, Polymerization! This will allow me to make a Fusion Summon, so…I'll fuse my Rescueroid (ATK 1600, DEF 1800) and Ambulanceroid (ATK 300, DEF 1200) in my hand to form…Ambulance Rescueroid (ATK 2300, DEF 1800)!"

The silhouettes of Rescueroid—a bright blue fire truck—and Ambulanceroid—a small white ambulance—appeared on Natasha's side of the field for a moment…and then both suddenly got caught together in a whirling vortex that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere! And then…in what seemed to be seconds, from that vortex came a loud honking noise as a huge red fire truck drove up! "And now, time to knock down your life points a little!" Natasha declared triumphantly. "And I'm going to attack your Spirit of the Breeze!"

Honking its horn, Ambulance Rescueroid drove straight toward the flinching Spirit of the Breeze, intent on mowing her down. But as it came within mere feet of striking— "Not so fast!" Cassara cried out. "I activate my Trap card, Draining Shield! This will negate your truck's attack and increase my life points by an amount equal to its ATK points!"

"Uh-oh!" Natasha flinched.

But just at that moment, one of Cassara's facedown cards flipped upright, and a huge force field emerged in front of the Spirit of the Breeze. Honking its horn wildly, Ambulance Rescueroid slammed on its own brakes, screeching to a halt just inches from the force field even as Cassara's life points skyrocketed!

**NATASHA: 7900; CASSARA: 11,100**

Watching from the shadows, Vasha cocked an eyebrow in interest. _Hmmm…_

"Aw, man! And I could've brought your life points down at least a little so you'd be easier to beat!" Natasha complained. "Oh, well. I guess I'll just set one card facedown, and give you a go."

"Don't feel too bad, Natasha—you _did_ nearly get me," Cassara consoled her. "And anyway, this is only a practice duel. At the very least, you'll get to see how useful a life point deck can be in certain rough situations."

So saying, she drew another card—and suddenly Spirit of the Breeze began to shine with numerous colors! "Heh…here's why I put my Spirit of the Breeze in Attack Mode, Natasha," Cassara remarked. "If it's in Attack Mode during my Standby Phase, I increase my life points by 1000." And immediately the colorful light shone all over her, increasing her life points by the stated amount.

**NATASHA: 7900; CASSARA: 12,100**

Natasha scowled. "As if your White Magician Pikeru's effect wasn't going to be tough enough…"

"Oh—that's right, isn't it?" Cassara grinned a bit. "Since I currently have a total of three monsters on my side of the field, Pikeru will increase my life points by another 1200 points!" And then Pikeru's staff shone once more, and Cassara's score increased significantly.

**NATASHA: 7900; CASSARA: 13,300**

Then Cassara looked at the card she'd drawn—and her eyes widened when she saw what it was. "Wonderful! I've finally gotten my deck's chief player!" she announced joyfully. "Okay—I summon Injection Fairy Lily (ATK 400, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!"

Hearing this, Vasha frowned. _I see…so that's it, isn't it?_

All at once, emerging on Cassara's side of the field was a young girl in a nurse's outfit with angel wings on her back, riding on a floating hypodermic needle. Natasha made a face at the new arrival. "THIS is your deck's chief player? I thought she'd have more ATK points than that!" she argued.

But Cassara just smiled. "It's not always about ATK points, Natasha," she told her friend. "Let me show you what I mean! Now…Injection Fairy Lily, attack and destroy her Ambulance Rescueroid! Hypodermic Skewer!"

Natasha blinked in disbelief at this seemingly suicidal command. _Is she NUTS? Ambulance Rescueroid has far higher ATK than that Injection Fairy Lily—she'll only end up destroying her own monster that way!_

But as the hypodermic needle flew fast toward the gigantic fire truck—suddenly Injection Fairy Lily's ATK shot up to 3400! "What!" Natasha screamed out—right before the flying nurse ripped through Ambulance Rescueroid, causing the truck to explode as Natasha's life points shot down to 6800.

"Surprised? Wondering how I did that just now?" Cassara asked. "Well, it was the effect of my Injection Fairy Lily—during the Damage Step, I can pay 2000 life points to increase her ATK by 3000 for the duration of the Damage Step only." And she pointed out her own life point count—it had indeed dropped by 2000 points, to 11,300.

**NATASHA: 6800; CASSARA: 11,300**

Natasha shook her head in wonder. "Gee, Cassara, you're really a tough duelist!" she exclaimed. "I bet you'd have given the people at Dueltropolis a run for their money, if the school had chosen you to be one of its representatives for the tournament!"

"I guess so," Cassara shrugged a little. "Maybe they would have chosen me, if I hadn't been sick that day. In any case, I don't have any regrets about it…Janus did get third place, after all, and that's a pretty good accomplishment."

But Natasha frowned inwardly. _What's going to be a good accomplishment is whether I can actually knock her life points down a little…and I think I have the card that can do it! Now, if only I can just draw that card…_

She drew from her deck again, so now she held four cards in her hand…and a happy little smile appeared on her face. "YES! I've got just what the doctor ordered!" she exulted.

"The doctor's over _here,_ in case you forgot," Cassara giggled, even as Injection Fairy Lily blinked in confusion at Natasha's statement.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" said Natasha. "Anyway…I activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted, to revive one monster from my Graveyard to my side of the field in Attack Mode—and I choose my Ambulanceroid!"

A few seconds later, Ambulanceroid emerged on the field with its siren blaring. Then Natasha held up one of the three cards in her hand. "And now, I'll summon another monster to the field—my Expressroid (ATK 400, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" And as she played the card, a cartoonish bullet train appeared on the scene, its own horn blasting loudly.

"Expressroid…another gift from your uncle?" Cassara inquired.

"Indeed it is!" said Natasha. "And here's how it works: When Expressroid is summoned, I can add two other monsters that have 'roid' in their names, like the Vehicroids, from my Graveyard to my hand…and the two I have in mind are Rescueroid and Submarineroid!"

Swiftly she thumbed through her Graveyard pile and added the two selected monsters to her hand—but suddenly, Ambulanceroid's siren began to wail again. "Oh, yeah, something else," Natahsa recalled. "When a 'roid' monster is added from my Graveyard to my hand, Ambulanceroid's effect lets me Special Summon that monster—and since I just added two Vehicroids from my Graveyard to my hand, both of them will be Special Summoned! So, come on to the field in Attack Mode, Rescueroid and Submarineroid!"

Seconds later, Submarineroid and Rescueroid appeared on the field together. "Sorry to tell you this, Natasha, but those cute little guys don't really scare me much," Cassara chuckled.

"Well, maybe they should," Natasha answered. "Because now I'm gonna activate the power of a mighty Magic card from my hand…"

Whereupon she selected the card she'd drawn and slapped it down on her Duel-Disk. "And the card I activate is—Power Bond!"

Vasha, still hiding in the shadows, started at that. _Power Bond?_

"Power Bond…but…that card is…!" Cassara's eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Let me explain how this works," Natasha said coolly. "I can now send, from my hand or my side of the field to the Graveyard, any monsters that are Fusion material for a Machine-type Fusion monster, then I can Special Summon that Fusion monster to my side of the field and treat the summon as a Fusion Summon. But that's not all—the monster will then increase its ATK by an amount equal to its original ATK—in other words, it doubles its ATK!"

Now Cassara frowned. "And…you're going to summon…?"

Natasha held up the last two cards in her hand. "See these cards? These are my Steamroid (ATK 1800, DEF 1800) and my Drillroid (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)—and I'm going to send them to the Graveyard, along with the Submarineroid that I have on the field, to call forth my ultimate Vehicroid…Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill (ATK 3000, DEF 2000)!"

The silhouettes of Steamroid—a cartoon train—and Drillroid—a drilling machine with a cartoonish face—appeared above Submarineroid…then all at once, all three monsters got caught in another vortex that completely sucked them in. Watching all this from her hiding place, Vasha smirked. _So, that little brat had a Power Bond on her all this time…guess her deck's not quite so worthless after all. I think I might bump its rank to a C-…but now let's see how the bitch Cassara gets out of this one!_

Then—from the vortex there emerged a gigantic vehicle of sorts, with the periscope and fins of a submarine, the body of a train, and humongous drill serving as its nose. As it snorted in greeting, its ATK immediately shot all the way up…to 6000! Cassara flinched as she watched this development. _That ATK increase…it must be the effect of Power Bond taking place!_

"And now, time for me to make a big dent in your life points!" Natasha laughed. "And let's see…which monster should I attack…I know! I'll attack your Spirit of the Breeze, since it doesn't have any ATK points at all!"

"Oh, no, you won't!" Cassara objected. "I activate my facedown Magic card—Mystic Wok!"

To Natasha's astonishment, a huge pot appeared out of nowhere! "What the heck is that thing?" she asked, bewildered.

"It's my Mystic Wok," Cassara explained. "It's a Quick-play Magic card that allows me to tribute one monster on my side of the field and increase my life points by an amount equal to that monster's ATK or DEF. And so, I'll increase my life points by an amount equal to the Spirit of the Breeze's DEF!"

At once a hiss of steam rose from the Mystic Wok, and Cassara breathed in its aroma as her life points shot up to 13,100 even as the Spirit of the Breeze vanished from the field. "More life points for me!" she declared.

**NATASHA: 6800; CASSARA: 13,100**

"Not for long!" Natasha countered. "I just have to change the target for my attack…and I'm gonna go for your Absorbing Kid from the Sky! Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill, use your Mega-Driller Assault!"

Its massive drill-nose spinning wildly, the Jumbo Drill rumbled forward at the cowering Absorbing Kid. The huge drill soon bored right through the chubby angel, and Cassara winced as her life points took a huge hit, going straight down to 8400!

**NATASHA: 6800; CASSARA: 8400**

"All right! I did it!" Natasha cheered. "All right—your Injection Fairy Lily is next to go! Rescueroid, bash that monster now!"

Rescueroid's tires screeched along the ground as it drove forward, preparing to ram Injection Fairy Lily. But suddenly Cassara shouted, Injection Fairy Lily, counterattack!" And all of a sudden—Lily's ATK shot up to 3400 again, even as she tore straight through the hapless fire truck and reduced Natasha's life points some more to 5000!

"HEY!" Natasha shrieked. "What happened? Why'd your Injection Fairy Lily's ATK rise? I thought you could only activate that effect during your turn!"

"Actually…" Cassara suddenly appeared sheepish. "It can be used during the Damage Step of either player's turn, just as long as I have enough life points to spare." And she pointed out her own life points, which had gone down to 6400—she'd paid the 2000 life points for Lily's effect.

**NATASHA: 5000; CASSARA: 6400**

_Oh, no…!_ Natasha winced—and suddenly jerked as her life points inexplicably went down to 2000! "Ow! Hey! What the…!"

**NATASHA: 2000; CASSARA: 6400**

"Hmmm…it was the effect of your Power Bond," Cassara noted. "During the End Phase of a turn you used Power Bond to summon a Fusion monster, you take damage equal to that monster's original ATK. And your Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill's ATK was originally 3000…so you took 3000 points of damage. That's not going to go well for you at this point, I'm sorry to say."

"Huh?" Natasha blinked.

"Remember this, Natasha: power comes with a price," Cassara warned her, even as she herself drew her next card to give her two in hand. "And in your case, the price you have to pay for summoning your monster the way you did will be your life points." Then White Magician Pikeru again raised her staff, and since Cassara had a total of two monsters on her side of the field now, she gained 800 life points.

**NATASHA: 2000; CASSARA: 7200**

"Now, time to end this duel!" Cassara announced. "I'll offer up 2000 more of my life points to increase Injection Fairy Lily's ATK one more time…and destroy your Ambulanceroid in the process!"

**NATASHA: 2000; CASSARA: 5200**

As Cassara's life points dropped, Injection Fairy Lily's ATK rose to 3400 once again, and she flew straight through Ambulanceroid! The little ambulance looked around for a second, confused—and then exploded, knocking Natasha down and bringing her life points to 0! "Eek!" she screamed as she hit the floor.

**NATASHA: 0; CASSARA: 5200**

A moment later all the holograms on the field vanished, and Cassara hurried over to where Natasha had fallen. "Hey, you all right?" she inquired, holding out a hand to help her up.

"Yeah…I think so." Natasha accepted Cassara's hand, and the other girl pulled her up. "But gosh, Cassara! Your deck is really strong!"

"Well, it's not all that powerful," Cassara shrugged. "I just know how to coordinate my cards, that's all. But tell me, have you learned anything from this duel?"

"Yeah—not to challenge anybody who uses a strategy like yours!" Natasha declared.

"Well, that's not what my intention was…" Cassara sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "But you really didn't do badly at all—just the fact that you were able to summon such a powerful monster was impressive. I just had a slightly better advantage, that's all."

"Slightly better advantage? Your life points were higher!" Natasha told her.

"Yeah, yeah," Cassara admitted. "Well, anyway, wanna go grab a little bite to eat before we head off to class? That duel left me feeling a little hungry."

"Okay!" Natasha nodded eagerly. "Just let me get my stuff together—although I gotta say, you're almost like Janus in that way, having to eat every now and again."

"What does THAT mean? I'm nothing like Janus!" Cassara protested. "For one thing, I do not pig out on food—I am a lady when I eat!"

Neither of the girls noticed Vasha as she turned and walked away, chuckling to herself. _Well, Cassara-bitch…at least now I know what your deck strategy is all about…and already I think I know a way to utterly defeat it! And then when I do, I'm going to totally humiliate you, just like your little friend Janus humiliated me and Calhoun! Just you wait and see!_

----------

DOMINO CITY, 9:20 a.m.

"You sure you wanna get off here, buddy? I could just drop you right out in the town square…"

"Thanks, but I think I'd like to take in the sights up close and personal."

"Well…okay, if you say so."

"Here's your fare."

"Much obliged, man."

With that, the taxi reversed, turned, and then went off down the road, leaving Jan Shimizu on the outskirts of the city. Watching the taxi for a few minutes as it went off, presently Jan turned and looked at the nearby sign that blared its message for anyone to see: _Welcome to Domino City._

"All right," he said softly. "Time to do some searching."

----------

Domino City wasn't an extremely large metropolis, but it was teeming with life and energy nonetheless. Specializing in shipping, industry, and technological growth—all thanks largely to the biggest local conglomerate, Kaiba Corporation—the city provided jobs for all working-age adults living there. But these were not the only things that the city thrived on—it had its supermarkets, its schools, its telecommunications centers, its malls…and most importantly, its human resources. Several great minds had helped to build this city to what it was today—without its people, as with any other city, it would not have existed.

Traffic bustled along the roadways, even as pedestrians walked along the sidewalks and into the various shopping centers or other buildings that abounded. Mothers pushed their babies along in their prams. Groups of friends laughed and joked together as they walked along. The occasional policeman stood at the corner of an intersection, guiding traffic or otherwise keeping an eye on civilians for any unscrupulous activity.

All in all, it was a normal day in Domino City.

Jan walked along the streets of the city he'd once called home, keeping his ears peeled for any talk about the Jewel Duelist that had supposedly shown up there that morning. If in fact this girl—and he could only go by hearsay that the person in question was even female at all—did exist, he needed to find her, and find her quickly. He didn't know what Drake Phoenix had in mind or what he was planning, but…

He stopped and sat on a sidewalk bench—and suddenly swiveled his head around to face the direction he'd just come from, sending a stinging glare toward the street corner near a boutique he'd just passed. Raising one finger, he made a come-here gesture with it, never once taking his eyes off the street corner in question.

And then…out popped a familiar face. The servant girl from Drake Phoenix's mansion…Jasmine, was it? Now, looking guilty, she made her way across the street and over to where Jan sat. "Um…hello," she said quietly.

Jan looked her over. Gone was her maid's uniform—now she sported a dark brown jacket over a simple white blouse and blue jeans. "How long did you think you could stalk me without being found out?" he asked harshly.

Jasmine bowed her head. "I'm sorry, sir; it's what I was instructed to do," she said softly, but with conviction in her voice.

Jan snorted. "That little brat thought I was going to escape…well, go back and tell him that he doesn't need to worry about that."

Jasmine stood her ground, however. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that," she answered. "I gave Master Drake my word that I would stick to you until you'd completed your mission, and until then I wouldn't let you out of my sight. And I'm not going to disappoint him, no matter what."

Now Jan shook his head. "Suit yourself," he said. "Just don't think for one minute that if anything happens to you, I'll be responsible for your safety."

"As you wish." Jasmine nodded. "How do you intend to start your search for the Jewel Duelist, assuming she's even still in this city?"

"I've been thinking of how to do that—before I got distracted with the fact that you were stalking me," Jan told her. "In any case, I'll have to start at the bottom of the ladder and work my way up—but I doubt you will be able to accompany me."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine wondered.

"I mean, I'm going to have to go where the Jewel Duelist is usually said to go," Jan answered. "And that is to seek out criminals who may have run across her path, or who may know what her patterns are."

He stood up again and started to walk, Jasmine hurrying up behind him to keep up. "Even so, where will you start your search?" she asked. "It's not as if you'll easily find criminals hanging around in broad daylight."

"Watch and see," Jan said, in a mysterious manner.

Presently he turned and headed into an alley. Puzzled, Jasmine followed after him—and was just in time to see him pulling out his Duel-Disk. "What are you—" she started.

"Your master summons you! Reveal yourself, Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)!"

As Jan whipped out a card and slapped it down on his Duel-Disk—suddenly a shimmer of light appeared in the alleyway in front of them. The next thing Jasmine knew, a massive winged fiend appeared before them! "Eek!" she yelped.

Oblivious to Jasmine's fright, Jan addressed the new arrival. "Scout out this city from the skies, my monster. Find any unscrupulous persons that are in hiding close by, and lead us to them."

Nodding once, Mazera DeVille flapped his immense wings and took flight, soaring up into the sky at incredible speed. Jan then turned and nodded to Jasmine. "All right…now, we wait."

"Using a mere Duel Monster to act as a scout…" Jasmine shook her head. "I would never have thought of that…"

"Of course not—you're not a duelist," Jan told her bluntly.

They both looked up to the sky, where far above the city the shadowy form of Mazera DeVille flew around for a moment. Then suddenly, it shifted and headed off in a direction away from them. "He's going eastwards," Jan noted. "Let's go!"

"All right!" Jasmine nodded, turning and running after Jan even as he raced out of the alley.

----------

A few blocks away, there was an open-air café where patrons were coming and going, either sitting down to enjoy porcelain cups of coffee, or leaving with Styrofoam latte cups, all the while laughing and talking. Hardly any of them noticed, nor did any of the other civilians going by for that matter, that above their heads a mysterious winged figure was flying by at incredible speed.

Well, actually, one person did notice it.

Sitting down on one of the café's stationary chairs, a young woman was calmly sipping at a strawberry cappuccino. She sipped…and sipped…and sipped…enjoying the strong strawberry scent and the sharp, sweet flavor that touched her lips with each sip. And she looked up to the sky, watching the clouds floating by…

…and saw the winged creature zooming overhead, momentarily blocking out the sun as it did so.

"Interesting," she mused. "A Duel Monster…only, it doesn't look like it's being used in a duel…"

As she said that, out of the corner of her eye she saw an aqua-haired man and a young woman running past where she sat. "Hmmm…perhaps I should check this out," she chuckled, and then she stood up.

----------

Mazera DeVille presently slowed down its trajectory…then landed on a nearby rooftop and promptly seemed to disintegrate. Seeing this, Jan redoubled his own speed, with Jasmine hurrying to catch up. "Wait for me!" she cried.

"If you can't keep up, you shouldn't have followed me in the first place," Jan retorted…but he did soon slow down as he approached the building where his monster had stopped. "Well, girl, consider yourself lucky—we're here."

Jasmine soon caught up, panting as she did. "I'm so not used to this," she groaned. "I hope Master Drake gives me extra compensation for this…"

Jan peeked around the corner of the building. "Hmmm…you stay here, this could be troublesome," he cautioned her.

As Jasmine watched, Jan walked around the corner. Frowning, she decided to peek after him to see where he was going. And…it turned out he was walking into another alley, only this one seemed much more foreboding than the one where they'd stopped before. And as she looked, she saw why. At the far end there were several tough-looking youths, some drinking beer or other alcoholic drinks, some smoking, one or two fiddling with knives…and all of them now looking up to bear witness to this intruder on their turf.

"Hey, buddy, you lost or something?" one of the punks queried.

"We could act as guides for you…for a fee, of course," another suggested, and this drew a few chuckles from his companions.

Jan, however, didn't seem much disturbed by these guys. "I'm quite fine, thanks," he assured them. "But actually, I'm looking for information."

"Information? Then go check the library or the newspaper!" another punk snorted, and this drew several laughs from the others.

"Actually…" Jan's eyes flashed and he smirked. "This type of info is the type that guys like you would definitely have. It concerns the Jewel Duelist."

All chatter from the punks stopped. Suddenly they all began to look a little nervous. Seeing this, Jan pressed on. "What's wrong, boys? Did I just call the name of the boogeyman or something?"

"What's it to you?" one punk demanded.

But Jan shook his head. "That doesn't concern you. Now, do you know where I can find her or not? Because if you don't, I'll just be on my merry way…"

"Nuh-uh, pal." This voice came from behind him—and one more punk was standing there, a knife to Jan's throat! "If you walk onto our turf like you own it, then you've got to be either the bravest or dumbest guy alive. And we don't tolerate that around here…but we might consider letting you leave without a scratch if you hand over all your valuables right quick and in a hurry…"

The next thing the punk knew, he found his hand that was holding the knife in a steel-vice grip, his wrist-bone being squeezed without relief! "Ah-aaaah!" he cried out, involuntarily releasing the knife—seconds before he found himself being flipped over Jan's shoulder to land hard on the ground! As the punk landed, a heavy boot slammed down on his neck, sharply cutting off his breathing and causing him to swiftly reach for his crushed windpipe.

"I had no idea that the trash of Domino City had begun to stink this much ever since I left all those years ago," Jan grunted. "Now, I'll only say it once: If any one of you tries to get in my way, you're going down."

But now the other punks were quite clearly angry. "You little piece of shit!" they roared as they rushed at Jan, brandishing all sorts of weapons.

Watching from her safe perch at the mouth of the alley, Jasmine covered her mouth in horror. _He's not going to make it against so many…!_

But Jan merely smirked and held up his Duel-Disk. "Idiots." And he played a card.

Then all of a sudden—from out of nowhere, a massive skull-faced creature emerged in a burst of lightning, stopping the punks in their tracks! "Now…say hello to my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200)," Jan declared crisply. "Go get 'em, my Skull Archfiend! Tear these suckers new ones!"

Flexing its gigantic muscles, the Skull Archfiend let out a thunderous roar as lightning sparked from its huge wings and into its claws—then it dashed forward, slashing at the terrified thugs and knocking them left, right and center! Many of them screamed in agony as they felt the sharp claws ripping into their flesh…as they felt the heavy limbs slamming into them with the force of wrecking balls…as they felt themselves being sent airborne with blood flying from their fresh wounds…

At length they all lay on the ground, all semi-conscious; those that were still most aware of their surroundings lay in fright, wondering if perhaps Jan would finish the job with his terrifying creature that he'd conjured up. And it certainly seemed that way, for the Skull Archfiend was still sparking its electricity, growling menacingly all the while as it glared down at the fools who had dared to attack its master.

Jan frowned in puzzlement, however. "Hm…all of that just now took ten seconds. Methinks we're getting sloppy," he remarked, and the Skull Archfiend turned and growled softly at him as if to say that it agreed.

"Ulp…uh…ah…uh…"

The sound of frightened breathing caught Jan's attention, and he turned to see one of the fallen punks trying to inch away along the ground. "And one's still conscious enough to move…yeah, we're definitely getting sloppy," he growled in self-reproof.

The realization that he'd just been found out swept across the punk's face, mixed with a great deal of terror. "PLEASE!" he screamed out, backing up very quickly away from Jan and the Skull Archfiend. "Please, mister! I'll do anything! Just please don't kill me-e-e-e!" The last word came out in a choked, sobbing voice.

Jan cocked an eyebrow at him and scoffed. "Oh, please. Do you honestly think I'd get my hands all shitty on filth like you?" he asked very softly, very coldly. "If I'd known you and your boyfriends here couldn't give me what I want, I wouldn't have even wasted any effort on the likes of you. Now I've only got two words of advice for you, boy…run along."

The punk scrambled to his feet and bolted for the alley entrance, tripping once and just as quickly picking himself up again, dashing off down the street and whimpering all the way. Shaking his head, Jan deactivated his Duel-Disk, and the Skull Archfiend of Lightning disappeared. "Sheesh…well, that was a waste of time…"

From where she'd been hiding and observing, Jasmine slowly emerged. "Um…is it safe to come out now?" she asked, rather timidly.

"Pretty much," Jan acknowledged. "Right now, these guys are about as dangerous as leaves."

_Clap._

Jan's attention was suddenly arrested by the echoing noise. "Eh?"

_Clap._

Jasmine heard it, too. "What…" she began.

"Shh!" Jan put a warning finger to his lips.

_Clap. Clap. Clap._

The noise was a little louder this time. Slowly, Jan turned his face toward where he could most distinctly hear it coming from. And when he looked…he cocked an eyebrow. "Hmmm…when did you get there?"

Standing at the extreme end of the alley, on top of the wall that made up the dead-end, was a girl in a blue hooded jacket and blue jeans. The hood concealed the upper half of her face, but from the shape of her figure Jan could tell that it was definitely a female. And at this moment it was she who clapped, slowly, loudly. "I'm impressed," she remarked. "You were able to take out all of this trash without breaking a sweat or wasting any time. I salute you."

"You've been watching for quite a little while, haven't you?" Jan asked.

"You could say that." The girl now hopped off the wall, landing on the ground with ease. "Only thing I have to wonder is, why on earth would an obviously powerful guy like you waste his time roughing up the city's local toughs? Maybe you're some sort of vigilante for justice…and that girl there is the Robin to your Batman?" and she pointed out Jasmine, who was still standing a little ways off and watching the newcomer warily.

Now Jan allowed himself a little smile. "You flatter me. But actually, I'm no vigilante myself…although I _am_ looking for someone who the papers say is. And that person was supposed to have hit Domino City early this morning, as a matter of fact."

"Oh?" the girl queried.

"That's right—so…perhaps you may have heard something of it, although I'm probably just sticking my neck out for nothing." Jan shrugged. "But I'll ask anyway. Have you heard anything regarding the Jewel Duelist?"

"Hm." The girl chuckled. "Wonder why you're looking for her…you a cop or something?"

_"Why_ isn't your concern." Jan then chuckled himself. "The only way it becomes your concern…is if you are her yourself. Don't you think so?"

The girl's expression didn't change. "Right on the money."

----------

_**neomage:**_ So…Jan and the Jewel Duelist meet for the first time…what will transpire from this encounter? Stay tuned!


	17. Duel on the Tower

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Oooh…such pretty colors…huh? Oh, uh, heh, heh…I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 17 – Duel on the Tower**

DOMINO CITY

Jasmine watched the mysterious girl with narrowed eyes. "This girl…this is the Jewel Duelist girl that Master Drake is looking for?" she asked.

"Master Drake?" the girl asked in a curious tone.

"Drake Phoenix," Jan clarified. "I don't know why he wants you, but he sent me to look for you so he can recruit you for…something."

The Jewel Duelist shook her head. "How embarrassing…a dog gets sent to play fetch by his master without even knowing why he's playing fetch."

Jan maintained his composure. "Well, at least I can tell you the basics. Apparently he's planning to recruit strong duelists like yourself for some purpose or other. I don't know what he's got planned, but nevertheless I've got a job to do for him. So…are you coming back with me?"

The girl crossed her arms. "What if I were to say no?"

"Actually…that sort of answer won't be taken so easily." Jan smirked. "If there's one thing I've learned about Drake Phoenix in the time I've been working for him, it's that when he wants something, he won't stop till he gets it. I should know—he wanted my skill, and he got it, when he could've just as easily left me where he found me."

Again the girl shook her head. "Then Drake Phoenix must be an even bigger douche-bag than I thought."

"What! How dare you!" Jasmine snapped.

"Listen up, puppies—go back and tell your master that he sent you to go fetch for nothing. I work for myself, on my own terms. I don't take orders from anyone. I don't scratch at anyone else's feet. So if he thinks that he'll be putting me on a leash to do his bidding at his beck and call…" and now the Jewel Duelist turned her back on Jan and Jasmine. "…then he has another think coming."

"Don't you dare turn your back on us!" Jasmine shouted.

"Hey, hey—you're being too noisy behind me, now," Jan waved away Jasmine's anger. Then he turned back to the Jewel Duelist. "All right, let's put this another way. How about I test your mettle—see if you're really as big as the rumors say you are?"

The Jewel Duelist didn't turn to face Jan again. "You want to duel me? And what makes you think you can win?"

Now Jan smirked. "You saw how I was able to handle my monster to deal with these punks a while ago," and he waved his hand to the ground to indicate the still-fallen punks. "It's a little early for you to say you won't lose a duel—up to now you've only been playing against weak-level players, and those players were all scum to whom everyone will say good riddance. You haven't gone up against a true duelist yet."

The girl snorted. "So you're saying you can put up a fight, at the least?"

"At the least, I'll do more than put up a fight—I'll beat you and carry you back with me," Jan replied. "How about it?"

Now the girl chuckled. "Well, since you seem so convinced you'll be able to win against me…fine. If you win, I'll accompany you back to see Phoenix and hear what he has to say…if I win, on the other hand, you go home empty-handed AND you'll also let him know that he mustn't seek me out again." She turned her head to Jan. "How does that sound?"

Jan nodded. "Fair enough."

The girl then turned and pointed to a distant building. "See that high-rise over there? That's only a couple of blocks from here—let's go up to its rooftop and have a duel there. Nobody will disturb us there."

"All right," said Jan. "Lead the way, then."

"In that case, I hope you like obstacle-course races—as you know, I don't like showing myself in public," the Jewel Duelist told him. "Besides, this way will be the fastest way to get there. Let's go."

So saying, she turned and ran back to the wall, jumping up with surprising agility and flipping over it in one move. Jan shook his head as he watched her go. "As if she'll really leave me behind."

"Wait—you really intend to follow her like that?" Jasmine demanded incredulously. "Why can't we just take a taxi to that building or something?"

"You take a cab if you want," Jan answered. "As for me, I'm going to take the more scenic route. Meet me at that building within ten minutes." And then, not waiting for Jasmine's response, he ran up to the wall and jumped up, grabbing its edge and vaulting himself over it in one fluid movement, just as the Jewel Duelist had done.

Jasmine shook her head in disbelief. "You people are so impossible," she grumbled as she turned and headed out of the alley.

----------

Seemingly gliding between buildings as she ran along, the Jewel Duelist took momentary glances behind her and saw Jan, several meters away, hurrying to catch up. "Ah, good, he decided to follow behind me after all," she chuckled. "This should prove interesting, indeed…"

They were now passing through a park only a few meters away from the town square; further behind, Jan observed as the girl dodged past a few trees and bushes to avoid the nearby townspeople. _Guess she wasn't kidding about not being spotted by anybody…she's an odd one, but if she can duel like they say she can, then this whole chase will be worth it! _And with that thought in mind, he redoubled his own efforts, following exactly in her footsteps so as not to be seen himself by any passersby.

----------

A SHORT WHILE LATER

"How much further, driver?" Jasmine asked anxiously.

"Just another block or so," the taxi driver assured her. "What's your rush, though, lady?"

"I'm trying to catch up to some people," Jasmine explained. "They decided to ditch me and come to this place on their own, and I intend to give them a piece of my mind when I reach them."

"Ah," and the driver nodded his head sympathetically. "Oh—well, now, we're here."

Indeed, they were pulling up outside a rather massive building—the same building, Jasmine noted, that the Jewel Duelist had pointed out. And, as luck would have it, on the other side of the street she spied both the girl and Jan emerging from a tree-line, walking normally but swiftly. "Okay, I see them now," Jasmine announced. "Thanks a bunch."

With that, she paid the driver and then hopped out of the cab. At that moment the two duelists were just crossing the road to join her. "Oh, looks like your lady friend beat us here by a couple seconds," the Jewel Duelist remarked with a tone of amusement.

"What is WRONG with you two? Couldn't you have taken public transportation like normal people instead of acting like a bunch of super-humans, jumping over walls and all that?" Jasmine screeched at the two of them. "Honestly, why Master Drake would even bother with a bunch of weirdoes like you is beyond my understanding!"

"What's the difference? The point is that we're here now, isn't it?" Jan shrugged indifferently. "Anyhow, let's go up to the top floor of this building and get this duel over with."

The Jewel Duelist scoffed. "In a hurry to lose, now aren't you?" she jabbed at Jan. "Don't worry, there's more than enough time for that." And then she walked on ahead, into the building.

"Ugh!" Jasmine groaned in disgust and followed after her; Jan shrugged again and fell into step behind the two.

----------

TEN MINUTES LATER

The roof of the building was approximately twenty-five stories up from the ground, and naturally it tended to get rather windy up there from time to time, as it often did with some of the skyscrapers here in Domino City. Around the edges of the roof were railings to prevent anyone from falling over—for safety purposes really, as there hadn't been a recorded incident of anyone falling to their deaths from this particular roof in ages, except for one or two suicides over the last twenty years. The roof grounds included a skylight, through which one could see the ground floor far below if one looked carefully enough.

Off to one side, there was the sound of a _ding_…and then the elevator that was there opened up, allowing Jan, Jasmine and the mystery girl to emerge. "Hmmm…not too shabby," Jan commented, looking around.

"The site where this building now stands used to be the site for a duel, many years ago," the Jewel Duelist told him. "Back during the famous Battle City tournament, it is said that Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto dueled two members of the criminal group known as the Rare Hunters on this very rooftop. Ever since then, this building has been remodeled and reinforced for safety purposes; it's said that only suicide cases have accounted for any deaths from this rooftop."

"Suicides…" Jasmine looked off to the side, where the rooftop railing stood solemnly, and shuddered.

"An historical landmark, then?" Jan asked. "How fitting."

"I agree," the girl answered. "So, are you sure you're not having any second thoughts about this duel now?"

"Should I have?" Jan cocked an eyebrow.

"I suppose not." The Jewel Duelist shrugged. "Very well, then. Let's get ready."

Jan turned to Jasmine. "You stay back," he cautioned. "This could get a little rough, and I don't want to be responsible for you if you get hurt because of this duel."

"Right," Jasmine nodded, and she moved off to one side to observe the impending confrontation.

Satisfied, Jan turned back to the Jewel Duelist. "All right, then."

The girl crossed over the skylight and stood at one side, opposite Jan. "As I said before," she reminded him, "if you win, I go back with you; if I win, Drake Phoenix never bothers me again."

"I know," Jan nodded.

The Jewel Duelist then looked over at Jasmine. "Since you're not really doing much over there, would you be so kind as to shuffle our decks?"

"All right!" Jasmine promptly hurried over to where the other girl stood; the Jewel Duelist then pulled out a deck of cards from her jacket and handed it to her. Jasmine vigorously shuffled the deck, then handed it back to the Jewel Duelist. She then went over to where Jan stood, his deck already in hand; taking it from him, she shuffled it for a good long minute, then handed it back to him and went off to one side again.

"All right, now that that's out of the way…" Jan announced as he slotted his deck into its place on his Duel-Disk. "Take out your Duel-Disk and let's begin!"

Nodding, the girl reached into her jacket and pulled out her Duel-Disk. At once both Jan and Jasmine seemed captivated by it: it had numerous sparkling gemstones all over its design! "Wow…" Jasmine whispered loudly.

"That's…interesting," Jan commented.

The Jewel Duelist shrugged. "Are you going to stand around admiring my Duel-Disk all day, or are we going to actually duel?" she asked.

"Now who's in a rush to be beaten?" Jan smirked.

The girl allowed a small chuckle. "Touché."

Whereupon both duelists activated their disks—and a holographic coin appeared on the field. "Ladies first, I was always taught," Jan invited.

"Very well," the Jewel Duelist replied. "Then I'll call tails."

The coin was promptly flipped—but when it landed, it showed heads. "Hmph! So much for that!" Jan declared, as both he and the girl drew their first five cards. "In that case, I will be the one to go first!"

"As you like," the girl replied.

**JAN: 8000; JEWEL DUELIST: 8000**

Jan nodded and drew his sixth card, even as both players' life point counters rose to 8000. "Hmmm…sorry to say it, girl, but you have already lost this duel!" he announced. "Because the hand that I have here will be the beginning of your demise!"

"The only way you'll be able to convince me of that is if you actually _play_ the cards," the girl pointed out.

"Very well!" Jan held up one of his cards. "First, I'll activate the field Magic card—Pandemonium!"

All at once, the scenery around them changed as the familiar stone altars grew up out of the ground and the sky turned crimson with lightning flashing all about! "Then," Jan went on, "I'll summon my Warrior of Zera (ATK 1600, DEF 1600) to the field in Attack Mode!" And then, moments later, his warrior appeared wielding his massive sword and ready to attack. Then Jan picked out another card from his hand. "And then…since I have Pandemonium active on the field, I'll offer my Warrior of Zera as a tribute to Special Summon my deck's most powerful beast! Come forth, Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)!"

At once the Warrior of Zera's physical features altered, until he was sprouting the familiar wings and claws of his fiendish counterpart, Mazera DeVille. "And there's more," Jan continued, "Because when Mazera DeVille is Special Summoned, his effect forces my opponent to discard three random cards from their hand! So, go ahead—discard three cards from your hand right now!"

Mazera DeVille promptly flew over to where the Jewel Duelist stood and slashed at her hand, causing three of her cards to go to the Graveyard—but oddly enough, she didn't flinch, but merely stared coolly at the monster. "Is that all?" she asked. "I would've expected that a monster this imposing would have a more intimidating effect than just discarding a couple of cards."

"Hmmm?" Jan cocked an eyebrow. "Not frightened, are you? Well, that's a first."

"I don't see why I should be," the Jewel Duelist answered.

Evidently, Mazera DeVille did not take kindly to that comment, for it snarled menacingly at her. But Jan just shrugged. "Oh, well…since it's the first turn of the duel, I can't attack you. So, I'll just end my turn."

Nodding, the Jewel Duelist drew from her deck, so now she held three cards in hand. "All right…my turn," she announced. "And I summon…Crystal Beast – Sapphire Pegasus (ATK 1800, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly, there on her side of the field appeared a bright blue sapphire gem—which shattered into thousands of tiny pieces to reveal a winged white horse with one smaller sapphire gem under each wing. Jasmine, on the sidelines, was immediately captivated by the creature's majestic appearance. "Ooohhh…"

"And here's his effect," the Jewel Duelist spoke up. "When he is summoned, I can place one 'Crystal Beast' monster card from my hand, deck or Graveyard into my Magic/Trap card zone, where it will then be treated as a Continuous Magic card. And I have one card in mind, straight from my deck…Crystal Beast – Ruby Carbuncle (ATK 300, DEF 300)!"

Immediately a brightly-shining ruby jewel appeared on the Jewel Duelist's side of the field, this time hovering over her Magic/Trap zone. Jan frowned as he looked at this development. "Crystal Beasts…I've heard about these cards," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh, have you?" the Jewel Duelist inquired.

"Yes," Jan nodded. "They were unique and rare cards owned by the legendary duelist, Jesse Anderson, many years ago. It's said that those cards were made specifically for him, and that he made a great name for himself as the champion of one of the dueling academies with those cards."

"Seems you know your history well," the girl remarked. "Then you must also know that the Crystal Beasts possess immense power, power that won't be toppled so easily…power which I'll demonstrate to you in a little bit from this. Now…" She glanced at the two cards left in her hand. "I'll just set one more card facedown, and take a rest for now."

Jan nodded. _An interesting strategy so far…and she seems to handle it well, so I can't afford to take anything she does for granted. So…I'll just have to keep cool and play my cards cautiously this turn. And then we'll see whether her gems will be able to withstand the force of my power! _He drew another card for his turn, so he held four. "Okay…time to step up this game a notch! I summon Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then, there appeared next to Mazera DeVille a massive monster with large bat-like wings and wielding a jagged-edged sword. "And now, Archfiend General, destroy her Sapphire Pegasus! Pandemonium Sword!"

Archfiend General hefted his sword over his shoulder, then flung it at Sapphire Pegasus. The winged horse was promptly cleaved in two, while the sword itself immediately flew back to the General like a boomerang.

**JAN: 8000; JEWEL DUELIST: 7700**

But then, curiously enough, the remains of Sapphire Pegasus transformed into one huge sapphire that floated over the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap zone! "Hey!" Jasmine cried from the sidelines. "What is the meaning of that?"

"Let me explain," the Jewel Duelist spoke to her. "This is an effect that all of the Crystal Beast monsters share: when they are destroyed while they are monsters, I can then treat them as Continuous Magic cards instead of sending them to the Graveyard—and that's exactly what I did with the Sapphire Pegasus a while ago."

"Be that as it may, girl, your life points are now wide open for an attack!" Jan reminded her. "Do it now, Mazera DeVille!" And his other fiend promptly flew forward and slashed at the Jewel Duelist with its claws.

**JAN: 8000; JEWEL DUELIST: 4900**

"And lastly, I'll set one card facedown and end my turn," Jan finished. "So, it looks like you'll be coming back with me to see Phoenix, after all."

But the Jewel Duelist merely shrugged as she drew her next card, giving her a total of two in hand. "Hmmm…all right, now I will activate a Magic card: Rare Value!"

"Rare Value?" Jan cocked an eyebrow.

"I could only activate this card when I had two or more 'Crystal Beast' monster cards in my Magic/Trap zone," the girl explained. "Now, you get to choose one of those 'Crystal Beast' monsters that are in my Magic/Trap zone and then send it to the Graveyard, after which I get to draw two cards."

"Very well," Jan nodded. "In that case, I'll send your Crystal Beast – Ruby Carbuncle to the Graveyard."

Nodding in turn, the Jewel Duelist sent the selected card to the Graveyard, and Ruby Carbuncle's representing gem instantly shattered into pieces and vanished; then, just as quickly, she drew two more cards from her deck so that now she held three. "Now, what to do…I'll summon Crystal Beast – Amethyst Cat (ATK 1200, DEF 400) in Attack Mode!"

A large amethyst gem appeared on the field—then broke apart, revealing a huge Persian cat with ornate decorations on its body. "Say hello to another of my Crystal Beasts," the Jewel Duelist told Jan. "Sure, its ATK may be weak compared to your two monsters, but its effect more than makes up for that—even if you have monsters on the field, it can attack you directly, although then the battle damage you take will be halved!"

Jan frowned. "Nuts…!" But suddenly, Amethyst Cat bounded forward with surprising agility, rushing straight past the bewildered Mazera DeVille and Archfield General. Immediately, it began to scratch and bite at Jan, who had a rather hard time fending off its rabid assault…although, true to the girl's statement, he only took 600 points of damage—half of Amethyst Cat's ATK.

**JAN: 7400; JEWEL DUELIST: 4900**

"Not too shabby," Jan remarked, recovering from Amethyst Cat's attack. "But in the end, even with an effect like that, your monster is still dramatically weak compared to my monsters. Next turn, you're going down."

He drew from his deck again, so now he held three cards. "I'll summon one more monster—Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500)!" And moments later he'd called forth a horned fiend wearing a purple cape. "And with this, I have enough power to knock you out of this duel for good! Archfiend Soldier, lead the attack and destroy her Amethyst Cat!"

Flinging the edges of his cape behind him, Archfield Soldier dashed toward the snarling Amethyst Cat—but all at once the Jewel Duelist exclaimed, "And you've triggered my Trap card! Activate—Radiant Mirror Force!"

As she said that, suddenly a massive force field, glittering with colorful lights, shone in front of Amethyst Cat for a few brief seconds before exploding in a shower of sparks! Those sparks tore through Archfiend Soldier, Archfiend General and Mazera DeVille, completely ripping all three monsters limb from limb! "UNGH!" Jan flinched, covering his face with one arm to shield his eyes from the glittering glare of the Radiant Mirror Force's effect.

"Surprise, surprise," the Jewel Duelist remarked. "I could only activate my Radiant Mirror Force when you declared an attack while you had three or more monsters in Attack Mode on your side of the field. Then, Radiant Mirror Force destroyed all of your Attack Mode monsters—which, right now, means you haven't got any monsters on your side of the field to protect you now."

"Shit…!" Jan cursed under his breath. "All right, fine…but I'll make up for that with the effect of Pandemonium!"

"Hmmm?" the Jewel Duelist wondered aloud.

Jan laughed. "What, did you honestly think that Pandemonium was only good for helping me to summon Mazera DeVille? Well, it's got more power than that! You see, if one or more of my Archfiend monsters are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by any means other than battle, such as with card effects, I'm allowed to add one Archfiend monster that has a lower level than the destroyed monster from my deck to my hand."

At once the altars scattered around Pandemonium's field began to glow with power, even as Jan pulled out his deck and searched through it. "And the card I choose…is Vilepawn Archfiend (ATK 1200, DEF 200), which is a Level 2 monster!" He held up the card for his opponent to see, then added it to his hand. "And then with that, I'll end my turn for now."

The Jewel Duelist promptly drew another card. "All right, then—time for me to strike back!" she announced. "Now, I summon my Luster Dragon #2 (ATK 2400, DEF 1400), offering my Amethyst Cat as a tribute for the summon!"

Amethyst Cat disappeared in a shower of sparks—then in its place arose a massive dragon seemingly made out of pure emerald. Then the girl held up another card from her hand. "And now, I'll activate my Monster Reborn magic card, in order to revive a monster you'd forced me to discard with your Mazera DeVille's effect a while back…say hello to my Hyozanryu (ATK 2100, DEF 2800)!"

A shimmer of white light emerged on her side of the field in the form of a cross—and then, from that light emerged a dragon that appeared to have been perfectly sculpted from diamond, with two horns on its head and another on its nose. "Now, your life points are mine for the taking!" the Jewel Duelist announced. "Hyozanryu, Luster Dragon #2, attack him directly!"

Both shimmering dragons promptly flew up high into the sky—then Luster Dragon #2 fired pure emeralds from its own body down upon Jan, knocking him down from the force of the assault and lowering his life points to 5000.

**JAN: 5000; JEWEL DUELIST: 4900**

Then Hyozanryu's three horns shone brightly, and it blasted a beam of white light at Jan, knocking him down again even as he tried to get up.

**JAN: 2900; JEWEL DUELIST: 4900**

"Argh…" Jan winced as he mustered the strength to get back up. "Crap…you're a hell of a lot more powerful than I expected."

The Jewel Duelist crossed her arms and nodded. "You have bitten off way more than you can possibly chew. If you know what's good for you, forfeit this duel now and keep what little remains of your dignity."

But Jan shook his head. "Giving up is not something I know how to do, sorry. And anyway, I still have plenty of cards left to play before I'll concede."

"As you like." The girl shrugged. "At least I tried to warn you."

On the sidelines, Jasmine watched Jan. _Okay…your life points have been knocked down by this girl…what will you do next?_

Immediately Jan drew another card, giving him a total of four in hand. Then he did a double-take at the card he'd just drawn. _This is…!_

The Jewel Duelist regarded him. "Got something worthwhile, I take it?"

"Not just worthwhile—priceless!" Jan replied. "Now, time to make a comeback! First, I'll summon Vilepawn Archfiend to the field, in Attack Mode!" And then, in a few moments he'd called forth a skeletal figure with a sword for one arm and a shield for the other.

"That's the monster you added to your hand with your Pandemonium's effect just now," the Jewel Duelist remarked. "But what good will that do against my two gemstone dragons?"

"By itself, not much—but watch this!" Jan promptly held up the card he'd drawn. "I activate the Equip Magic card, Falling Down—and I'm equipping it to your Luster Dragon #2!" He immediately played the card—and all of a sudden, the emerald dragon's lustrous shine faded quickly, replaced by a sickening gray look that swiftly covered its scales. Then, astonishing the Jewel Duelist even further, the dragon flapped its wings, coming over to Jan's side of the field! "What is this? Explain yourself!" she cried.

"Certainly," Jan nodded. "My Equip Magic card, Falling Down, gets equipped onto one of your monsters, and then I take control of that equipped monster. But of course, there are two conditions to this: during each of your Standby Phases, I'll take 800 points of damage, and the Falling Down card will be destroyed if I don't have any Archfiend cards on my side of the field…which is why I summoned the Vilepawn Archfiend first, you understand."

"Grrr…" the girl growled softly.

"Now, how about I take a shot at _your_ life points?" Jan taunted her. "Luster Dragon #2, destroy her Hyozanryu now!" And Luster Dragon #2 promptly fired numerous emerald bullets at the diamond dragon, cutting it into tiny pieces

**JAN: 2900; JEWEL DUELIST: 4600**

Then: "Vilepawn Archfiend, your turn! Pawn Sword Slash!" and Vilepawn Archfiend rushed forward and delivered a direct attack, slashing the girl on the shoulder and reducing her score further.

**JAN: 2900; JEWEL DUELIST: 3400**

Jasmine watched the entire proceedings with a frown on her face. _Mercy…just when I think one of them has a clear advantage, the other bounces right back somehow…but will that girl bounce back from this sudden turn of events?_

The Jewel Duelist held her shoulder where Vilepawn Archfiend had attacked her. "Hmm…taking control of my own monster…I wasn't expecting that at all from you. Not too shabby…you're definitely better than the riffraff I've been dueling lately. Even so…" Her tone went lower, and deadly serious. "You will not win this duel—I won't allow you to!"

Quickly she drew another card—and immediately Falling Down's effect sapped Jan's life points, bringing him down to 2100. "Ugh…well, so much for that…that was pretty damn uncomfortable," Jan muttered.

**JAN: 2100; JEWEL DUELIST: 3400**

Shrugging, the girl then studied the card she'd drawn. "Hmmm…all right, then. I'll set one card facedown, and then summon Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle (ATK 1400, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"

A cobalt-blue gem appeared on the field—then it shattered, unleashing a brown eagle with blue gems underneath its wings. "Now, you were saying something about that Falling Down card being destroyed if you don't have any Archfiends on your side of the field, right? In that case…bid your Vilepawn sayonara, because I'm going to destroy him with my Cobalt Eagle!"

Cobalt Eagle flapped its wings, readying itself to take flight toward the tensing Vilepawn Archfiend. But suddenly Jan shouted, "I don't think so! I activate my Trap card, Bark of Dark Ruler!"

"Huh?" the Jewel Duelist started in amazement.

Just then, however, Jan's facedown card flipped face-up. "I could only activate this card if a Fiend-type monster on my side of the field got involved in a battle," he explained. "Bark of Dark Ruler allows me to pay life points in multiples of 100 to reduce the ATK and DEF of one of your monsters by the same amount of points till the end of this turn! And…I'll pay a full 1400 life points to reduce your Cobalt Eagle's ATK and DEF by that amount!"

**JAN: 700; JEWEL DUELIST: 3400**

Jan's life points dropped sharply—and in turn, from the Bark of Dark Ruler trap card a blast of energy hit Cobalt Eagle, reducing its ATK and DEF to zero!" Oh, no!" the girl cried out—but it was already too late, for Cobalt Eagle was flying forward! But Vilepawn Archfiend reacted swiftly, carving the eagle in two with his sword-arm.

**JAN: 700; JEWEL DUELIST: 2200**

Jan smirked, even as Cobalt Eagle's remains crystallized into a single blue gem and shifted to the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap zone. "I might have just paid a piss-load of life points to pull off that stunt, but it was definitely worth it," he chuckled. "Now, next turn I'll be able to destroy what's left of your life points, and then you'll be coming back with me!"

"Don't count on it, pal," the Jewel Duelist warned him. "This duel's still on, after all."

Jan's eyes narrowed at that statement. _That's true…she DOES still have that facedown card of hers that she just set…but I'll have no way of knowing what kind of card it is until my next turn…_

He drew once again. "Hey—not that it matters at this point, but let me tell you one more power that my Pandemonium card has," he spoke to the Jewel Duelist. "Under normal circumstances, certain of my Archfiend monsters—like Vilepawn Archfiend here—require that I pay a certain life point cost during each of my Standby Phases, and in this case I'd have to pay 500 life points for Vilepawn Archfiend…"

"…but your Pandemonium card negates that cost, correct?" the Jewel Duelist finished. "You must feel quite satisfied, then."

"Not as much as I'll feel when I destroy you with your own dragon!" Jan answered. "And now, Luster Dragon #2, wipe out her life points and bring an end to this duel!"

But suddenly the Jewel Duelist shouted, "Not a chance—for I activate my Trap card, Crystal Raigeki! By sending one 'Crystal Beast' card from my Magic/Trap zone to the Graveyard, I can destroy one card that you control—and I'll destroy your Vilepawn Archfiend with this effect!"

A gleam appeared in Jan's eyes. "Not a bad attempt," he chuckled, "but now you've activated Vilepawn Archfiend's effect! When he's targeted by a card effect, I get to roll a six-sided die…and if the result is 3, then I get to negate that effect and destroy that card!"

"But what are the chances you'll actually get the right number for your roll, hmmm…?" the girl challenged him.

At that Jan frowned again. _Crud…she's got a point there…I DON'T have that guarantee! _But he had no more time to deliberate, for a huge die appeared in front of Vilepawn Archfiend and was rolled. It rolled all about the field…and then came to a stop. And the result showing on its face was—2. "Shit!" Jan cringed.

Jasmine, still watching the duel, flinched a little. "So close…"

Immediately the Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle vanished from the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap zone—and in response, the Crystal Raigeki card fired a massive blast of lightning that decimated Vilepawn Archfiend into ashes! Then, like a chain reaction, the Falling Down card vanished from Jan's side of the field—and, freed of its captivity, Luster Dragon #2 shook itself and then flew back over to the Jewel Duelist's side of the field.

"Damn it…I botched the die roll…and right when I was about to win, too," Jan growled.

Nonchalantly, the girl drew a card for her turn once more. "Relying on luck of a gamble at the very last moment…how utterly foolish," she chided Jan. "Now you're going to pay for that lapse in judgment—and for stealing my Luster Dragon #2 from me! Now, Luster Dragon #2…end this duel with your Emerald Bullet Attack!"

Luster Dragon #2 complied, firing a huge hail of emeralds from its body at Jan! He, in turn, flinched as the sharp gems hit him all over his body, knocking him down and reducing his life points to 0! "YEOUCH!" he yelled as he landed hard on his back, badly scraped up from the emerald shower.

**JAN: 0; JEWEL DUELIST: 2200**

"Oh, dear!" Jasmine ran to his side. "Are you all right?"

Wincing, Jan managed to glare at her. "Try getting hit all over your body with plenty of sharp emeralds, and then try asking me that question again," he grunted.

"Hey."

Both of them looked up, to see the Jewel Duelist switching off her Duel-Disk even as the holograms on the field vanished. "As we agreed, since I won this duel I get to leave peacefully," she spoke to them. "Now run along back to Drake Phoenix and tell him that if he tries to seek me out again, he will not get the opportunity to regret his foolishness." Then she turned and headed for the elevator.

"You—you dare to threaten Master Drake, you hussy…!" Jasmine spouted.

"Let it go, kid…she's earned the right to taunt," Jan said flatly, slowly sitting up. "This just means Phoenix won't be getting her in his employ." And he watched as the elevator doors closed, with the Jewel Duelist inside.

Jasmine sighed. "Master Drake will not be pleased…"

----------

The Jewel Duelist was now in the elevator, idly watching the floor numbers as they lit up in descending order, coming down toward the ground floor. "So…this is how low Drake Phoenix has sunk, huh? All for his blind ambition?" she sighed aloud. "Guess I've got no choice, then…I may have to take matters into my own hands…"

----------

THE PHOENIX HELICOPTER, EN ROUTE TO SOMEWHERE

The Phoenix helicopter was currently zooming high above the open sea, with Drake Phoenix on board. Drake, for his part, was leaning back in his seat with arms folded. "What's our ETA?" he asked the pilot.

"Twenty minutes to our destination, Master Drake!" the pilot answered.

"Good." Drake nodded affirmation. "By this time Shimizu should've found that Jewel Duelist, or at least gotten info on her…" Suddenly his pocket began to sound out a melodic ring-tone; casually, he reached in and pulled out his cell-phone, answering it. "Talk to me."

"Master Drake, Jasmine reporting in," the familiar voice spoke up. "Jan Shimizu actually found the Jewel Duelist, but before she would consent to come back with us he had to agree to defeat her in a duel."

"And?" Drake prompted.

"I'll answer this one," Jan's voice came over the line. "Unfortunately, Phoenix, I lost that duel—and the girl basically said to tell you to shove your head up your ass. You're not going to get her as one of your lackeys anytime soon."

Drake growled a little in irritation. "Well, at least we know for certain now that she's no mere urban legend—and also that she could be a real thorn in my side if I'm not careful."

"And I learned something else about her," Jan pointed out. "The reason why they call her the Jewel Duelist—she uses the extremely rare and legendary Crystal Beast deck, with a few modifications."

"Crystal Beast deck…" Drake's eyes narrowed at that. "Well, all right then, I'll take that into consideration for later. In the meantime, Shimizu, I want you to run another errand for me—and since Jasmine is with you, you can probably give her a helping hand with the task I'm going to assign her."

"Yes, Master Drake?" Jasmine asked expectantly.

Now Drake allowed himself a small smirk. "Jasmine, since you are still in Domino City, this is what I want you to do. Go over to Kaiba Corporation and ask for an audience with their CEO, Seto Kaiba. Tell him that I want to reserve his entire Kaiba Land amusement park in Eastern Japan for this weekend. I will iron out all necessary financial arrangements for the reservation with him tomorrow, or later this evening if need be."

"And if he asks what your intentions for making this reservation are?" Jasmine queried.

"In that case, tell him…that it's going to be a surprise, one that'll greatly boost his company's reputation amongst its stockholders if he accepts." Drake smiled fully now. "I'm counting on you."

"Understood, Master Drake," Jasmine replied.

"Hey, what about me? What's the errand you want me to run?" Jan asked.

"It's very simple—and it's what you yourself suggested to me earlier," Drake replied. "After you two have left Domino City, I want you to go over to Duel Academy and find those three students that were members of the Zodiacs that invaded the Dueltropolis tournament…and bring them back to me, one way or another. And if you succeed at that task, Shimizu, I'll consider it a pardon for your _failure _to bring the Jewel Duelist to me."

"Pfft." Jan scoffed. "Well, fine. It's a pretty tall order you've placed, but it's not a job I can't do."

"Good. Now, get to it."

With that, Drake snapped his phone shut and leaned back again in his seat. "Now…next stop, Duelist Kingdom Island…" he muttered to himself.

----------

_**neomage:**_ At last, I have updated after such a long time of not doing so! But what does the Jewel Duelist mean by her cryptic statement? What is she planning to do? Stay tuned!


	18. The Zodiac Trio, Part 1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(busily typing away) **You know how it goes, but I'll say it again—I don't own any form of Yu-Gi-Oh except for my fanfics and a couple of cards.)

**CHAPTER 18 – The Zodiac Trio, Part 1**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_HONEY_

_NAME: Honey Pegasus_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: Purple pin-up blouse, gold knee-length skirt, blue shoes_

_RAVEN_

_NAME: Raven Pegasus_

_AGE: 17_

_HAIR: Dark (think of __**Trigun**__'s Knives with black hair)_

_EYES: Brown_

_CLOTHES: Orange blazer, blue undershirt, dark blue jeans, white and red sneakers_

_MALACHI_

_NAME: Malachi Jordan_

_AGE: 18_

_HAIR: Blond (think of Yami Marik with shorter blond hair and NO glowing third eye)_

_EYES: Green_

_CLOTHES: Navy blue net T-shirt, white jeans, black socks, black shoes_

_MIRIAM_

_NAME: Miriam Jordan_

_AGE: 16_

_HAIR: Black, with a black hairpiece_

_EYES: Green (wears black eye-shadow like a Goth girl)_

_CLOTHES: Tight black blouse, black jeans shorts, black ankle boots_

_LUKE_

_NAME: Luke Jericho_

_AGE: 17_

_HAIR: Curly brown hair_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Blue T-shirt, green camouflage pants, blue sandals_

_DAVID_

_NAME: David Jericho_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Curly blond hair_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Purple jacket with rolled-up sleeves; indigo jeans; white sneakers_

_CHRIS_

_NAME: Chris Gear_

_AGE: 22_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Brown (wears glasses)_

_CLOTHES: Cream shirt, brown tie, dark brown pants and suspenders, black shoes_

_FELIX_

_NAME: Felix Sanchez_

_AGE: 23_

_HAIR: Black (sports a thin mustache)_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: Black hat, black long-sleeved shirt and trousers, black knee boots_

_VICTOR_

_NAME: Victor Greaves_

_AGE: 26_

_HAIR: Black (done in a wild and creepy fashion, similar to Panik)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Black merino, black leather pants, black boots_

DUELIST KINGDOM, A SHORT WHILE LATER

Several miles away from Domino City, there lay an island out in the middle of the ocean. On a map it would seem fairly small, but in truth it had enough square mileage to house one of the world's biggest company bases: Industrial Illusions, the company responsible for the creation of the Duel Monsters card game many years ago. The island itself boasted several fascinating natural attractions, including forests, waterfalls, caves, and the like. It also housed several buildings where Industrial Illusions carried out its primary operations…as well as a castle that served as the home of the company's founder and CEO, Maximillion Pegasus.

And at this moment, on the front lawn just outside the castle entrance…

"Oh, for the love of crap! I lost!" a young man groaned, sagging to his knees even as his Duel Monster cards slipped from his hand. He was dressed in brown pants with suspenders, and a shirt and tie.

Standing a little ways to the side was another guy, this one with wild black hair and dark clothes. "Guess the mighty Chris Gear doesn't have what he used to," he said mockingly.

"Shut up, Victor!" Chris snapped at him, numerous fangs appearing in his mouth in his indignation. "I just struck out on my luck, that's all!"

Chris's opponent, in the meantime, was busy switching his Duel-Disk off. He sported spiky blond hair and a frown on his face. "Don't blame luck or lack of it for your pathetic playing," he grunted. "You need to train a lot more than you've been doing, Gear. And that goes for you as well, Victor Greaves."

"H-hey, now, cut us a break, man!" Victor pleaded, instantly groveling before the blond. "I mean, you've been pushing us like crazy ever since we came under Mr. Pegasus's employ!"

Not far away, a small crowd was watching the proceedings—four more boys and two girls. "He has a point, you know, Malachi," one of the girls spoke up, a girl wearing Gothic makeup. "It's just a practice duel, after all. You don't have to be so strict."

Malachi merely scoffed at that remark. "Listen, Miriam, if you ease up in your training, you'll get soft and weak before you know what's happening," he told the Goth girl tartly. "The only way to maintain yourself at peak level is to always keep the pressure hard on yourself when you train. Nothing less than that will be tolerated."

"That's definitely the kind of thing you would say, isn't it, _Señor_ Jordan?" one of the boys asked Malachi, a young man wearing a black hat and sporting a thin mustache, and speaking in a Spanish accent. "Although, round-the-clock training is no good if you don't take a rest somewhere in between. Lack of rest defeats the purpose of training, wouldn't you agree?"

Malachi shrugged. "Well…I guess we have been going at it a good while. All right—a fifteen-minute break, and then we're back at our rotation training once again."

"Uh…remind me how the rotation's supposed to go again? I got so caught up in all the dueling, I kinda forgot," another of the guys sheepishly spoke up, this one sporting curly blond hair.

"Hmph…all right, fine, a refresher for those of you with short memory syndrome," Malachi growled. "We started our training session this morning with a drawing of lots to decide which two of us would duel first. From there, everyone would take turns to challenge the winner, and whoever won would then decide the order of player rotation, and the cycle would repeat. So…"

As he spoke, he pointed toward Victor and the guy with the Spanish accent. "As you will recall, Victor Greaves and Felix Sanchez were the first two to duel, and Greaves won. Then from there, Raven Pegasus…" pointing toward another of the guys, this one wearing an orange blazer and sporting dark hair. "…was the next one to win…then I defeated him…and from there the rotation hasn't changed since I stipulated it."

"Yes, brother, we remember your selected rotation," Miriam spoke up. "According to your arrangement, you'd duel against Victor, then Raven, then his sister Honey—" and she indicated the other girl that was there. "—then me, then David and Luke here as a tag-team—" indicating the curly blond guy and another boy sporting curly brown hair. "—then Felix, and finally Chris. And, just now you've beaten Chris, so the rotation will be repeated."

"Which means I gotta be prepared to have my ass kicked again…and by Malachi Jordan, known for his brutality as the past champion of the Intercontinental tournament…not ideal…" Victor's shoulders sagged at the thought.

"You get used to it," David answered somewhat cheerfully. "After all, my brother Luke and I have been the boss's sparring partners for a long time—we're pretty used to his brutal training."

"When you look past the obvious bruises you're bound to get from training with the boss, it's actually pretty beneficial," Luke spoke up. "And I guess Miriam's more used to it than us—she's his sister, yet he shows her no mercy when they train."

"…that you're all still alive after all that must be a miracle," Chris mumbled. "I thought I was gonna die during that duel!"

Raven, who hadn't spoken up to now, chuckled. "Is that cowardice I hear in the voice of a former member of the Zodiacs?" he sneered. "Maybe you're yellow-bellied, or perhaps spineless…"

"Aw, shut your face!" Chris snarled.

"Yeah, big brother, that wasn't very nice," Honey protested. "I mean, sure, they're former members of the elite group of criminal duelists that infiltrated the World Championships a while back, but they're not invincible, and they ARE still human. Cut them a little slack, at least—this training is pretty difficult, especially because Malachi's the one in command right now."

"Well, if you can't take the pressure of this training, then you're not fit to even be a duelist in the first place," Malachi answered. "So, Greaves, unless your getting into the Zodiacs or the World Championships was just a lucky break, you'd better be ready to continue training when this break is up!"

"Oh, so you've finally taken a break, have you?"

Everyone turned at the sound of the new voice. "Father!" Honey greeted him. "I thought you were busy with work…?"

It was Maximillion Pegasus himself, coming toward them with a broad smile on his face, dressed in his trademark red suit and wearing a yellow eyepatch over his left eye. "Me, the great Maximillion Pegasus, busy with work on a 24-hour basis? Not likely!" he laughed. "Even a man of my caliber needs to take a relaxation period once in a while, you know. And I know I'm about ready to have lunch, so why don't you all come join me in the dining room?"

"What do you think, boss? We could use a little food in our bellies before we can continue training," Luke said to Malachi.

Malachi shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever. If it's Pegasus's suggestion, then I guess we can go along with it…but as soon as we're all done eating, it's back to training, got it?"

"Hey, Dad, your timing couldn't have been better," Raven whispered to Pegasus. "Malachi's a real slave-driver!"

"Oh, is he now?" Pegasus chuckled. "Well, my boy, consider this as a way to ensure that you never get knocked out of another competition in the very first round, like what happened to you during the Intercontinentals and Dueltropolis."

Raven immediately appeared to deflate like a balloon. "Did you HAVE to remind me of that?" he moaned.

Suddenly Chris cocked his head. "Say—do you folks hear that?"

"Hmmm?" Luke frowned. "Hey, yeah, I hear it too…sounds like a helicopter's coming this way or something…"

No sooner had Luke said that than, out of the blue, the silhouette of a chopper swooshed far above, momentarily blocking their view of the sun! "Hey, yeah, it _is_ a chopper!" Honey exclaimed. "Except…who is it?"

"Hmmm…I'm not expecting any special visitors today," Pegasus mused.

"Or maybe it's not stopping and is gonna pass over us," Victor suggested.

The helicopter, however, paused in the air—then began to descend. "No, looks like it's definitely come to visit," Felix remarked.

The group watched as, a short distance away, the helicopter made a landing on the grass. Then Pegasus noticed the insignia on the chopper's door, and chuckled. "Oh, I know who this is—it's a member of the illustrious Phoenix family, come to say howdy-do to us!" he said. "Luckily, my kitchen staff's made more than enough food to serve for extra guests as well!"

"Your kitchen staff makes enough food for two armies," Miriam said to him, looking at him with shifty eyes.

"And we all more than make up for armies when it comes to food!" David grinned.

"Speak for yourself, you greedy prick," Chris muttered.

Presently the helicopter's door slid open—and out strutted Drake Phoenix in his green trench-coat. "Mr. Maximillion Pegasus!" he called out. "I'd like a moment, if you'd be so kind…"

"But of course!" Pegasus answered. "In fact, Drakey-boy, it's been quite a long time since your last visit! Why don't you come on inside with all of us and have lunch? I'm quite certain my chefs have your favorite dish prepared today…"

Drake approached the group, a stern expression on his face. "Sorry, but mine isn't a social visit," he told Pegasus. "I'll get straight to the point and tell you why I'm here."

"Oh, all-business, now aren't we?" Pegasus asked, amused. "Very well, then, Drakey-boy. If you're not here for pleasure, what brings you to come and see me?"

Now Drake's eyes narrowed. "Mr. Pegasus…I'm here because you have something I'd like to borrow for this weekend," he said.

"Something I have that you want to borrow?" Pegasus raised his eyebrows, a little perplexed. "Well, whatever could that be now? Perhaps your parents are planning a huge banquet and you need some of my world-class kitchen staff to help with your catering, is that it?"

"Always Mr. Comedian, aren't you?" Drake asked, an edge creeping into his tone.

Raven noticed the change in Drake's voice and stepped forward. "I'd be careful what I say if I were you," he warned. "I won't have you insult my father on his own turf."

"Now, now, Raven, it's quite all right," Pegasus placated him. "Well, then, Drakey-boy—what _is_ it that I can help you with?"

"It's like this," and Drake turned his full attention to Pegasus once again. "I've been informed that you've recently included three special individuals to your employee list…three people who happen to be former members of the gang of thugs that infiltrated the Dueltropolis tournament a little while back."

Now Pegasus lost a little of his smile. "You've been informed correctly," he replied. "And I suppose it's no big secret, after all, as to the circumstances for my making such a decision." He turned to the group. "Chris, Felix, Victor, step forward, please."

The three obliged. "I introduce to you Chris Gear, Felix Sanchez and Victor Greaves," Pegasus told Drake. "These three are indeed former members of the Zodiac organization that broke into our Dueltropolis World Championship tournament…however, upon being apprehended, they agreed to submit testimony against their former comrades and come into my employ in exchange for not going to prison for their misdeeds."

"That's right," Honey spoke up. "Ever since then, they've been appointed as bodyguards for me and Raven, as well as training partners for us and our houseguests here," and she indicated Malachi and his group.

Drake examined the three…and growled softly. "So…I get to meet face-to-face three of the reasons I was prevented from entering the tournament in the first place," he commented. "Since you Zodiac punks were targeting Seta Kaiba, I was pulled out of participating for my own safety. Do you guys have ANY idea how much that _**PISSED ME OFF?"**_

Felix sighed and touched the brim of his hat. _"Lo siento, señor,"_ he answered. "If there were some way we could make it up to you, then perhaps we would…"

Suddenly Drake smirked. "As a matter of fact, there just may be a way for you to do that—which is why I'm here," he replied.

"It is?" Chris and Victor asked, simultaneously and with some confusion on their faces.

"That's right, boys." Drake nodded. "Here's how it's gonna go: I'm making plans for a big event this weekend, one for which I'll need to employ a number of powerful duelists. And since you were all members of the Zodiacs, you'll fit the bill perfectly. So…I want to test your skills, all three of you."

"Test our skills…in a duel, you mean?" Chris asked.

"That's right," said Drake. "And if you manage to impress me enough, then I'll take you all on as members of my dueling team for this weekend, with some pretty good benefits. So, how about it…" His eyes twinkled and he smirked again. "You up for it, fellows?"

Felix, Chris and Victor looked at each other, then back at Drake. "Are we up for it? Hell, yeah!" Chris replied eagerly. "This'll be a good chance to test out all the training we've been doing with the others up to this point!"

"Hmph…this should be interesting to watch," Malachi remarked, crossing his arms. "Let's just see if any of these three guys can match up to a pro like Phoenix."

"I don't think I've ever really seen him duel, though," Honey admitted. "Sure, I've heard stories, but is Drake really that skilled?"

"Of course he is, Honey-girl," Pegasus smiled. "His father's Aster Phoenix, the legendary duelist of the Destiny Hero deck. Drakey-boy's gotten substantial training from his father for a long time now, and his is a big name in the tournament circuit. It really is a shame he wasn't able to make it for the Dueltropolis tournament—I believe he would've been a fine contender for the crown."

"Destiny Hero deck, you said?" David queried. "Is that anything like Janus Yuki's Elemental Hero deck, I wonder?"

Drake heard the question—and his lips curled in a snarl. "For your information, the Destiny Hero deck is WAY superior to that flimsy pack of faux Heroes—and I'll prove it here and now!"

"Ooooh…guess you touched a nerve just now, David," Luke remarked.

"Anyways…" Victor rubbed the back of his head. "What say we go one-on-one with you, one at a time, huh, Phoenix? That way you can get to see each of us putting our respective skills against you!"

"Suit yourself," Drake shrugged. "You could all come against me at the same time for all I care—it won't make much of a difference to the outcome of this test."

"Arrogant, now aren't we, _señor?"_ Felix queried. "In that case, let the three of us battle you simultaneously, and then we'll see how confident you are!"

"Three against one? That's a little much, isn't it, you guys?" Miriam asked uncertainly.

"I don't mind—it's a perfectly good handicap," Drake shrugged it off. "Now, Mr. Pegasus, if you'd be so kind as to referee…?"

"Certainly." Pegasus stepped forward officiously. "Gentlemen, ready your Duel-Disks and cards, and then I'll institute a few rules for the sake of fairness to all."

The four boys at once positioned themselves, pulling out Duel-Disks and slotting their cards in the respective slots. And then…the holographic coin appeared and was flipped. "All right, I'll call it! And I call heads!" Drake announced.

Everyone watched as the coin fell back to the ground…and indeed it was heads. "Very well, then I'll be the one to go first," Drake declared as they all drew their first five cards.

**DRAKE: 8000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 8000**

"Hold on—before you draw your card, Drakey-boy, let me explain how this will work," Pegasus interrupted. "Chris, Felix, Victor, you will all naturally share one side of the playing field, which means that while you can each have up to six cards in your hand per turn, you cannot have more than five monsters or five magic/trap cards on the field at any one time, as per normal regulations. In addition, you will alternate your turns—and I declare that Felix will take the first turn for your side, then Victor, then Chris. Is that agreeable to you?"

"That's quite fine," Victor replied. "All right, Phoenix, take it away!"

"You'll regret that request," Drake answered, even as he drew his sixth card to start off. "All right, then…to start off, I'll activate the Magic card, D – Spirit! If I have no Destiny Hero monsters on my side of the field, then I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my hand…and I choose to summon my Destiny Hero – Defender (ATK 100, DEF 2700) in Defense Mode!"

A moment later he'd called forth to the field his huge rocky warrior, crouched in a defensive stance. "Goodness…that's one powerful defense you have right there," Felix remarked even as he stared at the monster with wide eyes.

"That's nothing! I've got plenty more where that came from!" Drake snorted. "Next, I'll activate another Magic card, Destiny Draw! By discarding one Destiny Hero monster from my hand…" and here he discarded his Destiny Hero – Blade Master (ATK 300, DEF 600) to the Graveyard. "…I get to draw two more cards!" And this he did, so now he held four. "But I'm not done yet…"

"Oh, is that right?" Victor asked.

"Indeed!" Drake answered. "Next, I'll use another Magic card, Over Destiny! Now, I select one Destiny Hero monster in my Graveyard, and then I can Special Summon from my deck another Destiny Hero whose level is equal to or less than half of the selected monster's…and I select the Blade Master that I just sent to the Graveyard!"

He immediately pulled out his deck and shuffled through it. "Now, since I selected Blade Master, and he's a Level 3 monster, that means I need to find another Destiny Hero in my deck whose Level is less than 2…and I have one that fits the bill perfectly: my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (ATK 300, DEF 300)—and I'll summon him in Defense Mode!"

At once Disk Commander appeared beside Defender, also crouched in a defensive stance. "Over Destiny also has another effect—the monster I Special Summoned with it gets destroyed at the end of the turn," Drake admitted. "Although, I'm not worried about that—for I'll be able to accomplish what I want long before then. Now, I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth my Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later Captain Tenacious appeared next to his brethren, his arm-shields at the ready. "Wait—so that's it? None of your monsters has a very high ATK strength! Even if your Defender's got a powerful DEF, beating you will be even easier than I expected if their ATK isn't so much to speak of!" Chris sounded cheerful.

"Oh?" Drake raised an eyebrow. "Then let me hear you say that again when you see what I do next! For now…" He held up one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "I'll offer Defender, Disk Commander and Captain Tenacious as tributes to Special Summon my mightiest monster…Destiny Hero – Dogma (ATK 3400, DEF 2400) in Attack Mode!"

"WHAT?" the other three guys exclaimed.

But just then, with absolutely no warning, the three Destiny Heroes transformed into orbs of black energy. Those energy orbs then collided together—and a large explosion blasted on Drake's side of the field, so powerful that it nearly knocked the others over! "Whoa! What the hell is up with that?" Luke exclaimed.

Malachi, however, was unmoved. "Hmmm…seems something's coming…"

And then…from that explosion of dark energy there emerged Dogma himself, glaring at Drake's three opponents from glowing red eyes. Seeing this new arrival, Victor started to sweat. "Oh, hell…look at the size of this guy…!"

"And now, I'll end my turn." Drake smiled smugly.

"Wow…incredible! He managed to get such a powerful monster onto the field on the very first turn of the duel!" Honey exclaimed.

"True," Raven agreed. "Now let's see how those three intend to match it."

Felix cleared his throat. "Well…you're quite done now, then? In that case, I'll go! And I draw!" And that he did, drawing his card from his deck…

…but all of a sudden, black energy converged in Dogma's arm-blades, and he slashed forward, releasing blades of dark power at the trio! "YEEEOUCH!" they all screamed out as they got knocked down and, inexplicably, their life point counter went down from 8000 to 4000!

**DRAKE: 8000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 4000**

"That's Dogma's effect for you right there," Drake told them. "When he's Special Summoned, then during my opponent's following Standby Phase, Dogma reduces your life point total by half. So…what was that you were saying about my Destiny Heroes being weak?"

"Very well, so your Dogma has some amount of power," Felix admitted, "but even it is not infallible, _señor!_ And I shall be the one to prove it!"

Whereupon he held up three cards from his hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Polymerization! This will allow me to fuse together two monsters from my hand in order to Fusion Summon a new one! So, I'll fuse together my Barrel Dragon (ATK 2600, DEF 2200) and my Blowback Dragon (ATK 2300, DEF 1200) in order to call forth…Gatling Dragon (ATK 2600, DEF 1200)!"

Silhouettes of Barrel Dragon, a huge black mechanical dragon with three large energy cannons, and Blowback Dragon, a mechanical dinosaur with a rail-gun for a head, appeared on the field and swirled into each other…merging to form a monstrous mechanical creature with numerous Gatling guns and wheels for legs. "But that's not all, you see," Felix went on. "For Gatling Dragon has an effect, as well—once per turn, I can toss a coin three times, and then I can destroy a number of monsters on the field equal to the number of heads that I get for each coin toss. So…coin toss, GO!"

Three holographic coins appeared before Gatling Dragon and were flipped. "Sanchez, I'm warning you, this is really gonna suck if you get all tails," Victor cautioned.

"Don't jinx the coin toss, idiot!" Chris hissed.

At length the three coins came back down, and their results were displayed—one tail and two heads! "Two heads…that means both of our monsters will now be destroyed!" Felix announced.

Gatling Dragon trained its guns forward, letting loose with a barrage of ammunition that tore Destiny Hero – Dogma to shreds. Then, a moment later, Gatling Dragon itself began to glow—and exploded with concussive force! "Heh…a shame that I should lose such a great monster this soon," Felix sighed. "In any case, I shall now use my Normal Summon and set one monster in Defense Mode, and also set two cards facedown. And then that will do."

"Nice! That Dogma monster's gone from the field before it ever got the chance to do any significant damage!" Miriam smiled.

"Yeah, but we shouldn't write off Phoenix just yet," Malachi told her. "For all we know, he may still have a strategy waiting in the wings, and he _does_ still have intact life points."

Meanwhile, Drake bit his bottom lip a little. "Not too bad, taking out my Destiny Hero – Dogma like that," he remarked. "But know this—this little act isn't going to sit well with the other Destiny Heroes, and they will have their vengeance for their fallen comrade!"

He took his turn and drew again, so now he held two cards. "Now, I summon my Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude (ATK 1400, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" And then a moment later Diamond Dude appeared on the field, his cape billowing all around even as his diamonds shone brightly. "And I'll activate his effect now…"

"What? That monster's got an effect too?" Chris asked.

"All the Destiny Heroes do," Drake replied. "In Diamond Dude's case, his effect allows me, once per turn, to look at the top card on my deck. If that card is a Magic card, I can send it to the Graveyard and then activate its effect from the Graveyard during the Main Phase of my next turn. If, on the other hand, the card is anything but a Magic card, I must move it to the bottom of my deck. And so…"

Diamond Dude's diamonds shone brightly once again even as Drake took up the top card on his deck and looked at it. "And it seems I'm in luck—for it IS a Magic card!" And he held up the card in question for them to see…the Magic card, Misfortune. "Now, I have to send it to the Graveyard, and then activate its effect next turn. So, for now, I'll just set this last card of mine facedown, and then I end my turn."

"Okay—finally it's my turn!" Victor eagerly drew his card, so he held a total of six in hand. "And I summon Fear from the Dark (ATK 1700, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later a dark shadow-creature appeared on the field, grinning wickedly at Drake. "Then," continued Victor, "I'll throw another card facedown…and now it's time to attack! Fear from the Dark, destroy his Diamond Dude with Corruption Shadow!"

Fear from the Dark swiftly slunk toward Diamond Dude, its claws poised to rip him apart. But suddenly Drake shouted, "I don't think so! I activate my Trap card, D – Shield!"

All at once a magnetic force seemed to surround Diamond Dude, and he swiftly stooped down in a defensive stance just in time to ward off Fear from the Dark's onslaught! The force field knocked the shadow creature back, much to Victor's astonishment! "What! But—how?" he demanded.

"It's the effect of my D – Shield trap," Drake explained. "It could only be activated when a Destiny Hero of mine that was in Attack Mode got targeted for a battle attack. Then, I simply shifted my monster to Defense Mode and equipped him with the D – Shield—and as long as he's equipped with it, he can't be destroyed in battle."

Victor silently cursed. "All right…I'll call it a turn, in that case."

"Very well, then—my move!" Drake quickly drew his next card. "Hmmm, interesting…but I think I'll save this card for later. Right now, though, the Magic card that I sent to the Graveyard with Diamond Dude's effect last turn…I'll activate it now! The effect of my Misfortune card—which will allow me to select one face-up monster on your side of the field and inflict damage to your life points equal to half of that monster's original ATK! And I select your Fear from the Dark!"

All at once, bolts of dark energy shot up from the ground underneath the three duelists' feet—and they all screamed in pain as they lost 850 life points!

**DRAKE: 8000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 3150**

"Well, boys, that seemed to have hurt you a lot," Drake observed. "And I promise you, it's only going to get worse from here on out. For now, I'll end my turn, but mark my words…before too long, you'll all be on your knees before me!"

"Not yet we won't—because now it's MY turn!" Chris drew his card. "And now, allow me to show you why I'm known as Chris Gear…yo, Felix, this facedown monster of yours—you mind if I borrow it for a minute?"

"Help yourself," Felix invited him. "Just be careful with it, though—it's pretty dangerous."

"Is it? Well, let me see what it is," said Chris.

Felix lifted up the card for his facedown monster slightly so Chris could see what it was. "Hmmm…yeah, you're right, it's a pretty dangerous card if it's not used properly," Chris remarked. "But I'm trusting you've got a backup for this?"

"Ready and waiting," Felix assured him.

"In that case," said Chris, "let's see you use it—because I intend to use your monster's power to the fullest!"

"What are you blathering about over there?" Drake asked impatiently.

"Watch and learn, _amigo!"_ Felix answered. "Now, I activate my Trap card, Dice Re-roll! Now, for the rest of this turn after this card has been activated, I can negate one die roll and re-roll the die as necessary."

"And now that he's done that," Chris added, "I'll Flip Summon Felix's facedown monster and reveal—Dice Jar (ATK 200, DEF 300)!" And he then revealed a huge jar with a grinning face.

Miriam, watching the duel, frowned. _That's…_

"Since Dice Jar is my monster, allow me to explain its effect," said Felix. "When it's flipped face-up, both sides roll a six-sided die once each, and the player with the lower result gets damage equal to his opponent's result times 500 points…however, if a player rolls a 6, then the loser gets 6000 points of damage. And, by the way, if both results are the same, both players roll again."

"Hmmm…quite a gamble…" Drake noted.

"True—but one we're willing to risk!" Chris declared. "And now, let's roll our dice!"

Immediately a huge die appeared on each side of the field, and both were rolled. "Come on…come on…come on…" Victor mumbled fretfully as he watched his side's die twirling around.

By and by both dice settled down…and while the three duelists' die showed a 5, Drake's was—a 6! "Ha, I rolled a 6, so you take 6000 points of damage—more than enough to wipe you losers out!" Drake said triumphantly.

"Not quite yet!" Felix shot back. "Or have you forgotten about the effect of my Dice Re-roll trap? I can cancel out the effect of this die roll, and now both our sides must roll the dice again!"

"Shit…" Drake growled.

Again the dice were rolled, and again Felix, Victor and Chris looked on with a sense of anxiety as their die rolled about. But finally the dice stayed still, and while the trio's result was 4 this time, Drake's was…1. "For the love of—you rolled higher than me this time?" Drake asked in disbelief.

"Looks like we did, sucker," Victor said triumphantly. "And we rolled a 4, so that means you take 2000 points of damage!" And even as he said that, Dice Jar blasted a wave of energy from its wide-open grinning mouth, hitting Drake hard and lowering his previously intact score to 6000.

**DRAKE: 6000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 3150**

"Okay, NOW I'm upset—you snatched my victory right out of my clutches with a re-roll of dice!" Drake stormed.

"Deal with it," Chris said frostily. "Anyway, it's still my turn, so now I'll offer the Dice Jar as a tribute in order to summon…Ancient Gear Engineer (ATK 1500, DEF 1500)!"

Dice Jar vanished from the field—and then in its place arose a huge mechanized monster with a huge spinning drill for a hand. "But wait—there's more!" Chris continued. "I'll equip the Ancient Gear Engineer with an Equip Magic card, Ancient Gear Tank, to increase its ATK by 600 points!"

A huge motorcycle-type machine with a gun turret on the front appeared on the field, and the Ancient Gear Engineer jumped on even as its ATK rose to 2100. But Drake looked at it condescendingly. "Have you forgotten already? My Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude is equipped with the D – Shield, and it protects him from being destroyed in battle! What you did just now is, therefore, pointless!"

"You know, that would be true, except for one little factor…" Chris grinned. "Ancient Gear Engineer has that little thing called a special effect—and his states that when he attacks, at the end of the Damage Step he destroys one Magic or Trap card on my opponent's side of the field!"

Drake's eyes widened at that information. "What the hell? But—!"

"Go, Ancient Gear Engineer! Attack his Diamond Dude!" Chris yelled. And the Engineer revved the Ancient Gear Tank up, racing forward and pointing its drill-arm at the defending Diamond Dude. However, due to the D – Shield, the attack was harmlessly reflected…only, even as the ancient motorcycle was pushed back, the Engineer revved it forward again, this time drilling into the D – Shield's representing card with its drill and destroying it, in the process disabling the force field altogether!

"And now that your Diamond Dude's protection is forfeited…Fear from the Dark, attack!" Chris called out. Once again, the shadow-monster lurched forward, its claws at the ready—and this time around there was nothing Diamond Dude could do as he found himself being torn asunder by the shadow's attack.

"Argh…my Diamond Dude…!" Drake sputtered.

"Now, to wrap up my turn, I'll play one more card," Chris went on. "And that card is a Magic card…my Ancient Gear Castle!"

To Drake's astonishment, a large castle seemed to form behind his trio of opponents, and the Ancient Gear Engineer's ATK rose further to 2400. "The Ancient Gear Castle is a Continuous Magic card, that increases the ATK of all monsters on the field with 'Ancient Gear' in their names by 300 points," Chris explained. "It also has another effect—but why should I tell you what it is now, when you can discover that for yourself later on? Right now, though, I'll just take a break and let you have a go."

"Are you seeing this? They're actually holding their own against Drake Phoenix!" Luke exclaimed. "This is pretty cool, don't you think, boss?"

"Hmph." Malachi's expression didn't change. "They've certainly managed to take the advantage away from Phoenix, but…for how long can they keep it up?"

"No offense, boss, but that's kind of a redundant question," David objected. "I mean, just look at the field! Drake Phoenix has nothing, and those guys have plenty of stuff! And besides that, Phoenix only has one card in his hand, and that's not going to help him out much!"

"That may be…but even so, some duelists have a way of calling forth a miracle at the last moment," Malachi rebutted. "I should know. I've seen it happen plenty of times. Will this be one more time? That's the question."

In the meantime, Drake sighed loudly. "All right, so I'll acknowledge that you three can pool your respective skills and cards together to create at least some semi-decent results," he told the trio. "But you're still a long way from actually defeating me…and it's my turn now, anyway, so…you'd better stay on your guard!"

And with that, he readied himself to draw…

----------

_**neomage:**_ A three-on-one match…how about I just let you readers give your own take on it, eh? And especially with the stats as they currently stand…review soon, please, everyone!


	19. The Zodiac Trio, Part 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Let us now repeat the national pledge: "neomage does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!")

**CHAPTER 19 – The Zodiac Trio, Part 2**

DUELIST KINGDOM

**DRAKE: 6000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 3150**

As the three-on-one duel continued, the stats were plain for all to see: Drake had 6000 life points, only one card in his hand, and absolutely nothing whatsoever on his side of the field. By contrast, Felix, Victor and Chris had a collective 3150 life points, and Felix held no cards in hand, Victor four, and Chris three; on the field the three boys had Victor's Fear from the Dark and Chris's Ancient Gear Engineer, the latter equipped with the Ancient Gear Tank and both monsters in Attack Mode, and also on the field was Chris's Ancient Gear Castle magic card and two facedown cards, one belonging to Felix and the other to Victor.

And now Drake was about to take his turn…but he looked at his deck with a small degree of concern, even if it didn't show on his face. _Okay, I'm in serious trouble here…they've got two powerful monsters on their side, plus that Ancient Gear Engineer's being further powered by that Ancient Gear Tank and the Ancient Gear Castle, so his ATK's at 2400…if they attack me next turn and I don't have something sensible to protect myself with, the shit will really hit the fan! And besides that, they've still got two facedown cards, and I've got no way of knowing what they are or what they're supposed to do…no doubt about it, these guys are good when they pool their resources—I just have to wonder how good they are individually…well, now that I think about it, that would be a bit more troublesome, because then they'd each be able to really show their full power without their strategies being tangled up by each other… _Suddenly he shook his head. _Okay, methinks I'm thinking about this too much! I gotta concentrate on winning this duel! Losing to Janus is bad enough already…but if I lose to these three guys, who're part of why I never got to go to the World Championships, I'll NEVER live it down!_

_"Master Drake…"_

"Huh?" Drake's head snapped up and he glanced around. "What the…am I hearing things…?"

_"Master Drake…over here…"_

The strange voice was coming from his left. Drake's eyes shifted to that side—and then he did a double-take. "Wh-wha…?"

Standing there was a familiar figure: tattered maroon cape…dagger-like fingers…a white head on top of a body encased in gray clothing…Drake rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand and looked again. "Who…what…how…?"

It was the semi-transparent form of his Destiny Hero – Doom Lord!

Pegasus's eye narrowed at this. _Well, well…so Drakey-boy's got a Duel Monster spirit, now, does he? This is quite a surprise…it's been a while since I saw anybody who actually had one!_

And Malachi saw it, too. "Hey, sis," he nudged Miriam. "you see that?"

"Hmmm?" Miriam looked at him. "See what, Malachi?"

"Right there!" Malachi pointed toward Drake's general direction. "I could've sworn I just saw something near Phoenix…like an apparition of sorts…"

Miriam looked toward Drake, then back at Malachi with a puzzled expression on her face. "What're you talking about, brother? I don't see anything near him."

Malachi's brow furrowed. "Oh. Well, never mind, then…my eyes must've been playing tricks on me." But even as he said that, he kept staring hard at the strange semi-transparent figure next to Drake, and wondered.

Meanwhile, Doom Lord was still speaking to Drake, and now his voice was clearer to Drake's ears. _"Yes, Master Drake, you know me well,"_ he said. _"I am Doom Lord, ready and willing to serve you however you see fit. Just look—you're already holding my card in your hand."_

Drake glanced down at the one card he was holding—and indeed it was the card of Doom Lord. "Okay, I must be going nuts," he mumbled. "I'm actually talking to some kind of ghost or something that looks like my damn Doom Lord!"

_"No, my master, you are not going crazy,"_ Doom Lord hastened to reassure him. _"You have, in fact, succeeded in tapping into a great power that's been laying dormant inside you for years—the power to see and converse with Duel Monster spirits such as myself."_

"Duel Monster spirits? That's absurd!" Drake countered. "Duel Monsters are just cards—paper and ink! They're not real!" Then, just as suddenly he realized something. "What am I doing? I'm trying to convince some transparent Duel Monster that Duel Monsters aren't real! I really am loony!"

_"Think whatever you like, Master Drake,"_ Doom Lord replied patiently. _"But for now, trust in us, your humble servants, to see you through to the end of this battle."_

Drake frowned. "Well, I don't know what's going on here, but I'll play along with it for now," he sighed. Then he turned his attention back to his trio of opponents. "All right, guys! My move!"

"About time," Victor replied. "You were standing over there talking to yourself so long, we were starting to worry."

Drake flinched at that. _Oh, great—they didn't see Doom Lord? So I genuinely AM going bananas! But in any case, I've got a duel to win! _He drew his next card—and blinked in astonishment when he saw what it was. _This is…! HA! In your face, ass-wipes! _"All right, boys…first I'll set one card facedown…" And he placed the card he'd just drawn onto his Duel-Disk. "And then I'll call forth the might of my Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800)!"

Immediately, the solid form of Doom Lord emerged from the ground to face the opposition…and as he did so, he turned his head slightly and nodded to Drake. Seeing this, Drake groaned mentally. "Oh, brother…"

Suddenly, a huge glowing orb appeared on the Ancient Gear Castle! "Huh?" Drake looked up at it suspiciously.

"I suppose I should explain that now," said Chris. "Each time a monster is Normal Summoned or Set, the Ancient Gear Castle gets one counter. What are these kinds of counters good for, you ask? Well…when it comes around to my turn again, you will see."

"Your Destiny Hero – Doom Lord…you call that mighty, _amigo?"_ Felix asked Drake. "It doesn't have enough attack strength to take on the monsters we've got over here!"

"True, his ATK power isn't much to speak of," Drake admitted, "but his effect more than makes up for it! For you see, if Doom Lord is in Attack Mode, he can remove one monster on your side of the field from play for your next two turns! And I choose—the Ancient Gear Engineer!"

"What the hell? NO!" Chris screamed in dismay.

But Doom Lord waved his arm—and a moment later numerous knives appeared out of thin air, flying forward and skewering the Engineer all over! As Chris watched with growing agitation, the Engineer and the Ancient Gear Tank disappeared from the field altogether! "Let me elaborate," Drake spoke up. "Your monster will return to the field in the same battle position it was in during my second Standby Phase after I've activated this effect. And furthermore, when I use Doom Lord's effect, none of my monsters can attack the same turn…not that I'd want to right now, anyway."

BOOM! The next thing Drake knew, a massive explosion from under his feet threw him backwards. "What the hell…!" he sputtered even as he hit the ground hard.

"Oops, looks like I forgot to mention…my Ancient Gear Tank's got another effect," Chris explained. "When it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it inflicts 600 points of damage to my opponent." And then, to further the point, Drake's life points decreased.

**DRAKE: 5400; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 3150**

"Argh…" Drake picked himself up, shaking his shoulders to steady himself. "Fine, I'll end my turn now."

Chris turned to Felix. "Hey, Felix, you're up now—avenge my Engineer!"

_"No problemo,"_ Felix replied as he drew his card to replenish his hand. "And it would seem that I have just the card I need! Okay—I activate the Trap card, Level Conversion Lab!"

A holographic die immediately emerged on the field. "This is how it works," Felix explained. "I select one Monster card in my hand and show it to you, then I roll the die that you see here. If my result is 1, the monster is sent to the Graveyard; but if the result is anywhere between 2 and 6, my monster's Level will be made equal to the result until the end of this turn. And so…" He held up the card he'd just drawn so Drake could see it—and it was the monster card Cyber Prima (ATK 2300, DEF 1600). "This is a Level 6 monster as it is right now—but that can change in a moment!" Felix declared. "Now, go, die roll!"

At once the die was cast, and it rolled all about the field even as the participants looked on. Then, little by little the die stopped rolling…and its result was—1! "WHAT?" Felix cried. "No! This is so unbelievable!"

"Suck it up, man," Drake said frostily. "Now you have to discard your monster to the Graveyard."

Felix complied. "Well, even if I couldn't summon my Cyber Prima just now," he said, "at the very least I can still attack you! Go, Fear from the Dark—crush his Doom Lord right now!"

Again the shadow-monster slithered forward, toward Doom Lord—but suddenly Drake shouted, "I activate my Trap card, D – Counter!" And then…out of nowhere a blast of light enveloped Doom Lord, and Fear from the Dark was consumed!

"Oh, great—now my monster's bit the dust, too?" Victor asked, exasperated. "What the hell was that card just now?"

"It was my D – Counter trap," Drake explained. "It could only be activated when my Destiny Hero monster was chosen as an attack target—then, the attacking monster was destroyed."

_"Lo siento mucho,_ Victor," Felix said, apologetic.

"No biggie…you're not the one who activated that Trap card a while ago," and Victor glared daggers at Drake.

Unfazed, Drake drew once again. "Heh…and now the fun really begins," he spoke up. "Now, I'll set one card facedown…and now, Doom Lord, go ahead and attack directly!"

Doom Lord promptly released a barrage of knives from out of thin air at Felix, Victor and Chris; all of them flinched as their life points shot down to 2550. "Why, you…you're gonna pay for that!" Victor sputtered.

**DRAKE: 5400; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 2550**

"Am I, now?" Drake queried. "Because I'm not convinced I will be."

"Just watch and see…for it's my turn now!" Victor drew his card, so now he held five in his hand. Then suddenly he grinned a feral grin. "Oh, Phoenix…could you do me a favor and count the number of cards sitting in your Graveyard right now?"

"Why should I?" Drake countered.

"Just do it." Victor's eyes narrowed.

Shaking his head and shrugging, Drake touched the button on his Duel-Disk that would bring up his Graveyard information. "Hmmm…okay…from the looks of things, there're twelve cards in there right now. But…why would you want to know that?"

"Because I've got THIS—my own Trap card, Cemetery Bomb!" Victor replied, even as his facedown card finally got flipped face-up. "It inflicts damage to your life points equal to 100 times the number of cards in your Graveyard—and since you've got twelve cards in your Graveyard right now, that means you take 1200 points of damage!"

All at once, right where Drake stood—BANG! A gigantic explosion launched him right off his feet and onto his back; he grimaced as his life points went down sharply to 4200. "Ouch…that wasn't ideal…" he muttered as he gingerly picked himself back up.

**DRAKE: 4200; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 2550**

"That's nothing compared to what you're about to get!" Victor told him. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Call of the Mummy! If there are no monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon one Zombie-type monster from my hand…and it just so happens that I've got the most ideal one to call forth! Now, come on out, Despair from the Dark (ATK 2800, DEF 3000)!"

All at once, an eerie howling noise could be heard as, from the ground, a monstrous shadow rose up, sporting sharp-looking talons and a chilling grin on its face. "But that's not all—now I can use my Normal Summon to bring forth the terrifying Zombie Master (ATK 1800, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" Victor then brought to the field a ghoulish imp with what appeared to be purple energy strings protruding from his fingers—and almost immediately another counter appeared on the Ancient Gear Castle.

"Okay…that Castle's got two counters now…" Drake frowned.

"That shouldn't concern you right now—my Zombie Master should!" Victor answered. "For he's got a very spooky effect: Once per turn, I can send one Monster card from my hand to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Zombie-type monster from either player's Graveyard…and I'll go for one from mine, thank you very much!"

Immediately Victor discarded one of his two remaining cards to the Graveyard, holding it up so that Drake could see that it was the Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower (ATK 400, DEF 1500). "And now, which monster should I choose from my Graveyard…? Ah, of course! I'll go for the Fear from the Dark that was destroyed a short while ago!" Victor announced—and then Zombie Master pulled on his energy strings, seemingly pulling the revived Fear from the Dark out of the ground.

"Nice! Now there's enough firepower there to wipe Drake out of the duel!" Honey remarked from the sidelines.

"That may be," said Raven. But to himself he added, _Even so, I doubt Drake's going to just roll over like that…especially with that facedown card of his…_

"Now go, my zombie armada! Crush his Doom Lord and wipe out his life points!" Victor ordered. And, heeding their master, the three ghouls charged toward Doom Lord—

—but Drake countered: "Not quite yet! I activate my Trap card, Mirror Force, to destroy all of your attacking monsters!"

"Say what?" Victor shouted. But before he could blink, a massive force field rose up around Doom Lord, and Despair from the Dark slammed full-tilt into it. The monster got promptly thrown back, right into Fear from the Dark and Zombie Master, and all three were immediately destroyed!

"Well…that was utterly careless…" Malachi shook his head in disapproval.

"Too bad…you came close, but close doesn't cut it," Drake said mockingly. "Now, my turn once again!" Once more he drew his card—and then, quite suddenly, Ancient Gear Engineer reappeared on the field in a burst of light, the Ancient Gear Castle promptly increasing its ATK to 1800! "Oh, yeah…this makes my second Standby Phase since I activated that effect of my Doom Lord, doesn't it?" he asked. "So, your Ancient Gear Engineer comes back to play—but unfortunately, he won't be sticking around long!"

"Let me guess—you're going to activate his effect again, right?" Chris asked sourly.

"Indeed I am!" Drake nodded. "Show 'em how it's done, Doom Lord!" And again, from out of nowhere, Doom Lord conjured numerous knives to skewer the Ancient Gear Engineer, removing it from play once more.

"Grrr…twice in a row…this is embarrassing…" Chris snarled.

"That's the whole point," Drake taunted him. "Now, unfortunately, neither Doom Lord nor any other monster I might summon this turn can attack the same turn he's used his effect, so…I'll just shift Doom Lord into Defense Mode, set one monster facedown in Defense Mode as well, and end my turn for now."

At once a third counter appeared on the Ancient Gear Castle. "There's a third counter on my Castle now, because you just set your monster in Defense Mode," Chris reminded Drake. "Now, my turn once again—and this time, you're going down, for real!" And he drew again, so now he held a total of four cards in hand. "So…"

"So?" Drake asked.

"So…now it's time for me to explain the true purpose of the Ancient Gear Castle." A smile slowly appeared on Chris's face. "If I happen to Tribute Summon a monster that has 'Ancient Gear' in its card name, then I can offer the Ancient Gear Castle itself as a tribute, as long as the number of counters it bears is equal to or greater than the number of tributes that that Tribute Summon would've required. And so, I've got three counters on this Castle here now, so I can easily tribute the Castle to summon a monster of immense power!"

He held up one of his cards. "Now, I'll offer the Ancient Gear Castle as a tribute to call upon my Ancient Gear Golem (ATK 3000, DEF 3000)!"

All at once, the Ancient Gear Castle and its three counters got caught up in a massive explosion, one that blasted the walls of the Castle here, there and everywhere! And—rising from the rubble and dust was a huge mechanized golem, with a glowing red eye that stared down at Drake's side of the field. "Impressed?" said Chris. "Well, it gets worse…for when Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster that's in Defense Mode, and that monster's DEF is lower than the Golem's ATK, the difference is done to my opponent as battle damage!"

"And he's got 3000 ATK…shit…!" Drake hissed.

"Go, Ancient Gear Golem! Attack his Doom Lord with your Mechanized Melee!" Chris shouted. And the Golem, in turn, pulled back one arm and thrust its fist forward, crushing Doom Lord altogether—and Drake got violently pushed back as his life points shot down to 2000!

**DRAKE: 2000; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 2550**

_"Muy bueno, amigo!"_ Felix cheered. "Now our life points are higher than his!"

"Yeah, and all he's got now is one monster left to protect him…although even that won't matter against this bad boy we've got here," and Victor looked up appreciatively at the Ancient Gear Golem.

Drake stared at the field, his teeth gritted. _Damn it…that's a hell of a lot of power right there…and unless I get something worth drawing on this next turn, they'll be able to wipe me out! But I can't lose—not to guys like this! Not to the people who caused me not to enter the World Championships—who cost me the chance to be Number One in the dueling world!_

_ "Fret not, Master Drake. There is hope yet."_

Startled, Drake turned to one side and saw the semi-transparent Doom Lord standing there again. "What do you want now?" he hissed, keeping his voice as low as possible so the others wouldn't hear him talk. "Get out of my head and go find some other place to haunt!"

_"I am sorry, Master Drake, but that is not something I can do,"_ Doom Lord replied. _"For one thing, I am not a figment of your imagination—Duel Monster spirits are as real as the clothes on your back or the air that you breathe. Besides, I and the other Destiny Hero warriors have taken a vow to be by your side always, to protect you, to follow your bidding without question no matter what your purpose or intentions are. We served your father Aster for much of his dueling career…and now, we shall do the same for you, no matter where you shall go in life."_

"Well, you've been doing a mighty fine job up to now," Drake said sarcastically. "Good job protecting me from that giant tin-can that's about to squash me!"

_"As long as you still have life points, my master, you have not yet been defeated,"_ Doom Lord answered. _"In any case, didn't you say it yourself? If you cannot defeat these three dregs, how will you ever be able to hold up your head again? How will you ever, for that matter, be able to look your rival Janus Yuki in the eye, knowing that you lost to a bunch of cretins that he could just as easily have beaten?"_

That did it. Drake's eyes widened—and reddish blood vessels popped up within them even as his irises turned white and as other blood vessels became extremely evident all over his face. _**"LIKE GODDAMN HELL I'M GONNA LOSE TO THESE PANSY-ASSED SHIT-BREAKS!"**_ he exploded.

_"Then do as your namesake would do, my master," _Doom Lord replied, still as calm as could be. _"Arise, like the phoenix of legend…arise from this setback and show them who the strongest truly is."_

"Then shut the hell up so I can do that!" Drake snarled. "All right, you sons-of-bitches—MY MOVE STARTS NOW! AND WITH THIS NEXT DRAW, I SHALL BEGIN MY RAMPAGE OF VENGEANCE FOR YOUR INSOLENCE AGAINST ME!"

With renewed energy and fury, Drake drew from his deck. He stared long and hard at the card he'd just drawn; then examined the field carefully. "All right, then…this is what I'm going to do," he announced to everyone at large. "I'll set this card of mine facedown, and then Flip Summon my monster: Destiny Hero – Fear Monger (ATK 1000, DEF 1000)!"

At once his monster was revealed to indeed be Fear Monger, his arm-blaster at the ready. "What? But—that monster's only got 1000 ATK points! The Ancient Gear Golem will cream him easily!" David cried in astonishment.

"It's all he _could_ do, bro," Luke answered. "It wouldn't matter if Fear Monger was kept in Defense Mode—remember, the Ancient Gear Golem's effect allows it to pierce through the opponent's defense and deal battle damage to that monster's controller. So, whether Fear Monger was in Attack Mode or Defense Mode, it wouldn't make a difference."

"Then why the facedown card?" Honey asked. "Drake wouldn't do that sort of thing unless he was sure he had an advantage…right?"

"Or maybe Drake's really getting desperate and is trying to pull a bluff," Raven theorized.

"That's possible, yes," Malachi replied. "But I've known of cases where duelists were fooled into thinking their opponents were merely bluffing, only to find out the hard way that what they thought was a bluff, wasn't. Perchance, this could be one such moment."

"Mr. Pegasus, what do you think?" Miriam asked the billionaire.

Pegasus chuckled. "It's not for me to say. Let's just watch and see how this last stand unfolds, hmmm?"

"Okay…that is your play, then?" Felix asked. "Well, obviously you cannot attack the Ancient Gear Golem with your monster, so that is the end of your turn, yes? In which case—my move!" So saying, he drew once again to replenish his hand. "And now, the end of you is here!" he announced.

"Hold it!" cried Drake. "I activate my Trap card, D – Chain! This will become an Equip Magic card and be equipped to my Fear Monger, increasing his ATK by 500 points!"

Almost instantly a huge chain with a bladed weight on one end wrapped itself around Fear Monger, even as his ATK rose to 1500! "That won't make a difference—your monster is still finished!" Felix retorted. "Ancient Gear Golem, destroy his Fear Monger!"

Again the Ancient Gear Golem drew its arm back, then thrust its fist forward to strike down Fear Monger. The warrior promptly swung the chain around, flinging the bladed end at the attacking golem—but Ancient Gear Golem opened its charging fist and caught the chain, at that moment yanking its arm backward. Pulled off his feet and sent sailing airborne, Fear Monger could do nothing as the mechanized monster swung its other hand around, hitting him hard enough to crack his armor and bringing Drake's score down to 500 points in the process!

**DRAKE: 500; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 2550**

"…okay…" Raven blinked at this turn of events.

"I get it now…Drake knew he wouldn't be able to survive another blow from the Ancient Gear Golem if his Fear Monger wasn't properly fortified, so he activated that D – Chain and equipped it to his monster to increase its ATK," Miriam said thoughtfully. "That way, even if he lost the bulk of his life points from that battle, at least he'd have enough left for one more turn."

"Yes," said Pegasus. "And that's not all…"

Felix, meanwhile, touched the brim of his hat. "My, my, truly you are a resourceful fellow," he said to Drake. "Well, I think I'll set a monster in Defense Mode, to be on the safe side, and then end my turn." And as he spoke, he set the one card in his hand facedown in one of the monster slots on his Duel-Disk.

Suddenly Drake began to chuckle, even as his eyes were overshadowed. "Hey, what's so funny?" demanded Victor.

"Did you punks honestly think you'd be able to take me down just so?" Drake asked in a gravelly voice. "Before I'm done with you, you're gonna wish that that last attack had done me in completely."

"Whatever, man! You haven't got any cards in your hand or on the field now!" Chris argued.

"That's true…but even so, it IS my draw now!" Drake answered. "Now, watch and learn, kids, just how a real pro duels!"

He promptly drew from his deck to replenish his hand…and suddenly his Graveyard slot began to shine! "Huh? Hey, what's going on all of a sudden?" Chris asked.

"It's the effect of my Fear Monger taking place," Drake replied. "When he's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, then during my following Standby Phase I can Special Summon one Destiny Hero monster from my Graveyard, as long as the monster in question isn't Fear Monger himself. And so…the monster I choose to summon will be…Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, in Defense Mode!"

Disk Commander promptly reappeared on Drake's side of the field, crouched in a defensive stance. "But wait—there's more," Drake added. "When Disk Commander is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I get to draw two more cards!" And this he did, so now he held three in hand.

But just at that moment, a light shone on the trio's side of the field—and then, who should return but Ancient Gear Engineer! "Oh, yeah—I'd almost forgotten," Chris chuckled. "It's been two turns since you removed the Engineer from play with your Doom Lord, hasn't it?"

"Yeah…this is my second Standby Phase since I activated that effect," Drake acknowledged. "But that won't make the slightest bit of difference to me—he's still going down."

"Say what?" Chris barked.

"You're a pretty big talker for someone who's lost nearly all his life points, but all you've done so far for this turn is draw a couple more cards. So what?" Victor asked scornfully.

"So what, he asks," Drake answered with a sneer. "Don't worry, I'll show you 'so what'! Watch!" Then he held up one of the cards he'd just drawn. "I activate the magic of a second Destiny Draw card! You remember what my first one did, right? By sending a Destiny Hero monster from my hand to the Graveyard…" and here he discarded a monster card, Destiny Hero – Malicious (ATK 800, DEF 800), from his hand. "…I get to draw two more cards!" And this he did, so once again he held three.

"Hmmm…okay…" Felix looked on curiously.

Drake then examined the new cards he'd drawn…and his lips curled into an even bigger sneer. "All right, guys…now I'll set two cards facedown, and then activate a Field Magic card—one called the Clock Tower Prison!"

Just then, all around them emerged a series of buildings, with one very tall clock-tower right behind Drake. "What does this do, you wonder?" he spoke up. "Well, you'll soon find out for yourselves. For the time being, though, I'll end my turn…but before you do anything, let me give you a word of warning: When the clock above me chimes, it's tolling out the sound of your doom!"

"Yeah, right!" Victor answered as he drew his card, giving him a total of two in hand—and suddenly the clock behind Drake began to chime. "Um…what?"

At once a round blue orb emerged on the face of the clock, right where the number 1 would have been, as the clock's hands pointed to 1:00. "It's the effect of my Clock Tower Prison," Drake revealed. "During each of your Standby Phases, I place one Clock Counter on the clock above me. And what are Clock Counters, you wonder? You'll soon see."

"Whatever, man!" Victor snorted. "I had the opportunity to take you out when the rotation came round to me—and you thwarted me! So now, I'm really gonna take you out as payback!"

"Not a chance!" Drake rebutted. "Because now I'll activate both of my Trap cards, two copies of Eternal Dread!"

Right before everyone's eyes, first one, then the other of Drake's facedown cards flipped face-up. "Eternal Dread allows me to place two Clock Counters on my Clock Tower Prison," said Drake. "And since I've got two Eternal Dread cards right here, that means the clock gets four Clock Counters, for a grand total of five!"

The hands of the Clock Tower Prison's clock rapidly spun around and around, even as four more glowing orbs covered the 2, 3, 4 and 5 on the clock-face and the clock itself chimed over and over. But Victor gritted his teeth in annoyance. "It doesn't make one bit of difference—you're a dead man already!" he yelled. "Go, Ancient Gear Golem—finish him!"

In response, Ancient Gear Golem flung its fist forward and crushed Disk Commander into powder! "Hoo, boy! That's the end of the duel now!" Luke cried.

Only Pegasus smiled knowingly. _Not quite…_

The spot where the golem had attacked had much dust flying around from the aftershock…and from that dust came a chuckle. "Please. Is that all? I barely felt anything. Was that supposed to be an attack just now?"

"WHAAAAAAAT?" Victor yelled, helpless with fury. "But how? How can you still be standing?"

Felix checked the life point counter. "It's true," he reported. "His life points are still at 500—they haven't even moved."

"But that's not possible!" Chris snapped. "Even if his Disk Commander was in Defense Mode just now, Ancient Gear Golem's effect would've inflicted the difference between its ATK and his DEF as battle damage…unless…" His voice trailed away.

"Oh, so one of you is finally beginning to figure it out," Drake laughed aloud. "Yes, people, it's my Clock Tower Prison. Once it's gotten four or more Clock Counters, even if my monster is destroyed in battle, I myself don't get any battle damage. And that's how it's going to stay as long as the Clock Tower Prison card remains active."

"Don't be so sure…we still have a way to destroy this Clock Tower Prison, and then that'll be it for you!" Felix assured him.

Victor looked at him, confused. "We do?"

For answer he found himself boxed in the back of the head by Chris. "HEY, DICK-WEED! What the hell was that for?" he demanded, fangs in his mouth and his eyes taking on an evil look.

"You're such a moron…have you forgotten about my Ancient Gear Engineer already?" Chris pointed out the other mechanized monster that had just recently come back to play. "His effect says that when he attacks, he can destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field at the end of the Damage Step! So, even if that Phoenix guy doesn't take any damage now, his Clock Tower Prison will still bite the dust!"

"Oh…oh, yeah, that's right!" Victor remembered, feeling quite sheepish. "All right, then! In that case, Phoenix, you'd better start saying your prayers!"

But Drake shook his head. "Not exactly. At this point, even if you do destroy the Clock Tower Prison, it's already too late for you."

"Huh?" the three boys gave him a quizzical look.

"Don't believe me?" Drake grinned maliciously. "Then try."

"Don't screw with us!" Victor snapped at him. "Go, Ancient Gear Engineer! Attack!"

The Ancient Gear Engineer rushed forward, stabbing Drake with the point of its drill—but Drake didn't seem fazed. "Please…that didn't even break my skin," he sighed.

"Well, even if your life points aren't damaged, your Clock Tower Prison's still gonna get it!" Victor crowed triumphantly. And just then, the Ancient Gear Engineer jumped up toward the clock and drove its drill straight into its center—and ended up drilling straight down the middle of the entire clock-tower, demolishing it right before everyone's eyes!

"Now…the terror of my deck comes forth," Drake said softly.

And then—from the ruins of the Clock Tower Prison, a huge roar could be heard as a muscle-bound man with an iron mask on his face burst forth and landed on the field, glaring at Drake's opponents all the while. "Meet my Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?), jerk-wads," Drake announced. "When Clock Tower Prison was destroyed I was able to Special Summon him from my hand or deck—in this case, from my deck. But there's more…for you see, when Dreadmaster is summoned in this way, all monsters that I control that are not Destiny Heroes are destroyed—but as you can see, that little handicap doesn't affect me, seeing as I have no other monsters in play at this time."

Victor looked at the newly arrived Dreadmaster and shook his head. "Are we supposed to be scared of a freak like this?" he demanded. "It doesn't even have any ATK or DEF points!"

"Not yet, he doesn't," Drake corrected him. "Because thanks to the way he was just summoned, Dreadmaster has another ability—he can Special Summon up to two Destiny Heroes from my Graveyard. And I choose…Diamond Dude and Malicious, both in Attack Mode!"

Diamond Dude promptly came back to the field in all his glittering glory, while the malevolent-looking Malicious could be heard flapping his wings and hissing as he emerged onto the field. "Now, there's a little more you should know," Drake continued. "During the turn when my Dreadmaster is Special Summoned, none of my Destiny Heroes that I control can be destroyed, and I suffer no battle damage when they do battle. And, one other thing…Dreadmaster gains ATK and DEF equal to the combined original ATK of all other Destiny Heroes I have on the field!" And as if to underscore that statement, Dreadmaster flexed his muscles and bellowed even as he gained Malicious' 800 ATK and Diamond Dude's 1400 ATK for his own ATK and DEF of 2200 each!

"Okay…that's just enough to take out the Ancient Gear Engineer without a problem…but it still won't be able to stand before the Ancient Gear Golem!" Chris said haughtily.

"No?" Drake swiftly took his turn again, drawing to replenish his hand. "Well, I'm about to make it even worse for you punks right now! Because now I'll offer Destiny Hero – Malicious as a tribute to summon a stronger monster: Destiny Hero – Dasher (ATK 2100, DEF 1000)!"

All at once, as Malicious disappeared from the field, a revving sound could be heard as the mechanical Dasher zoomed onto the field beside his comrades—and almost instantly Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF were adjusted, so now they each stood at 3500! "Uh, _amigos,_ now that monster's strong enough to wipe out the Engineer OR the Golem!" Felix suddenly sounded nervous.

"Hey, chill out, dude," Chris reassured him. "Look at it like this. His Dreadmaster might be able to take out the Ancient Gear Golem, and the Dasher's definitely strong enough to beat the Ancient Gear Engineer—but even with that, we'll still have life points at the end of it. That'll be more than enough time for me to take up my part in our rotation next turn, and then we can beat him!"

"Dream on, punk—there will be no next turn for you bunch of saps," Drake said coldly. "Because I'm going to activate one more special effect—that of my Destiny Hero – Malicious! See, when he's in the Graveyard, I can remove him from play to Special Summon another Destiny Hero – Malicious from my deck to the field—which means my Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF will increase a whole lot more!"

"Uh-oh…!" Victor whispered.

Malicious' ghostly form vanished from Drake's Graveyard—and just as suddenly, another Malicious appeared on his side of the field, and Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF rose some more to 4300 each! "And with this, this duel is done!" Drake declared. "Now, Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster! Destroy the Ancient Gear Engineer and finish these guys off!"

Letting out a battle yell, Dreadmaster raised his shackled fists above his head—and then slammed them down with enough force to create a humongous shockwave strong enough to tear up the ground! That shockwave swiftly crossed over to the trio's side of the field, where it not only tore the Ancient Gear Engineer apart, but it was also strong enough to destroy the Ancient Gear Golem and Felix's facedown monster, as well as Victor's Call of the Mummy magic card, and it threw Victor, Felix and Chris off their feet even as their life points shot down to 0!

**DRAKE: 500; VICTOR, FELIX and CHRIS: 0**

"Wow…that wasn't very merciful," Raven remarked.

Malachi scoffed. "Those three got careless. That's why they lost."

For their part, Felix, Victor and Chris were all sprawled out on the ground, with Drake standing haughtily over them. "Now, then! Do you still think I'm a pushover after what I just made you fools experience?" he demanded.

"N-n-no, not at all!" Victor hastily replied. "You're the best! You're really the best, I swear!"

"Hmph." Drake turned his back on them. "Well…I'll say this much for you three. Your skills are…okay, I suppose. Definitely good enough to have passed my test. So…all three of you will be hired for my upcoming event this weekend."

"Hey, about this 'event' you're planning…" Honey began.

"Don't worry about it," Drake cut her off. "You'll hear about it by tomorrow morning, the earliest." He turned and appraised the others. "Those of you here who're really interested in learning what it is, keep your eyes and ears open for further information. And you three…" glancing at the three former Zodiacs. "Pack your bags for the weekend—I'll be coming back here tomorrow for you three. And make sure your decks are _properly _primed for what I've got planned. You hear me?"

_"Sí, sí,"_ Felix nodded.

"Uh-huh," Chris replied.

Drake looked up at Pegasus. "Make sure these three are ready for me, would you, Mr. Pegasus?"

"But of course, Drakey-boy," Pegasus nodded. "They'll be ready for you by tomorrow morning, sharp."

"Fine. Well, see you folks around." And with that, Drake turned on his heel and headed back for the helicopter—then glanced to one side. "Huh…?"

_"Well done, Master Drake,"_ Doom Lord's semi-transparent form spoke to him. _"Just like I told you, the Destiny Heroes are at your beck and call, no matter the occasion. And just as I told you, we all fought bravely to protect you in your fight just now…as we always shall."_

"Whatever, Mr. Ghost-in-my-head," Drake grunted as he entered the chopper.

Seeing the exchange between the two, Pegasus smiled. _So, Drakey-boy…how will your association with your spirit partner work out…?_

And Malachi had his own thoughts, too, as he watched Drake leave. _That…ghost or whatever…it looked just like the Doom Lord monster that he summoned during the duel! But why couldn't anyone else see it? What does this all mean…?_

----------

_**neomage:**_ And so the three-on-one duel has ended—with Drake and the Destiny Heroes as the winners! And by the way, with this whole duel I wanted to try establishing Drake as the resident skeptic, a la Kaiba during the original series. Have I succeeded? Let me know what you all think, and what you thought of the duel on a whole! Review soon!


	20. Guardian of the Kaiba Family

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Guess who's back, people? The one who doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 20 – Guardian of the Kaiba Family**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_JILLIAN_

_NAME: Jillian Uriah_

_AGE: 17_

_HAIR: Black (has one bang over eyes that is dyed red)_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: White pullover jacket, gray jeans skirt, black high-heeled boots_

KAIBACORP, DOMINO CITY

While Drake was finishing up his battle on Duelist Kingdom Island, Jan and Jasmine had made their way to the Kaiba Corporation building downtown. Now the two stood outside the front steps, looking up at the building's height. "So here we are…Kaiba Corporation, the entity responsible for the creation of equipment used to play Duel Monsters," Jasmine marveled.

Jan glanced sideways at her. "Are we going to get this over with, or are you going to stand there all day admiring the building?" he asked coolly.

"You know, you could learn to be more courteous to others…" Jasmine scowled as they began to ascend the steps.

A moment later, the pair entered the front entrance and headed toward the receptionist's desk. "Good morning," Jasmine greeted the woman.

"Ah, good morning," the receptionist answered, her brow raised in polite inquiry. "How may I help you?"

"Is it possible that we could speak to Mr. Kaiba, please?" said Jasmine. "We're here on behalf of Mr. Drake Phoenix."

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked her.

"Well, uh, that's the thing…" Jasmine began.

Jan stepped in front of her. "Actually, no, we don't have an appointment scheduled," he admitted. "This errand that Drake Phoenix sent us on was kind of last-minute, you could say."

The receptionist frowned at that. "Well, I'm sorry, but unless you have an appointment I can't let you see Mr. Kaiba," she told them. "He IS a busy man, you know, and doesn't like when just anybody wastes his time."

"Well, in that case, could we make an appointment to see him sometime today?" Jasmine asked. "We have a message for him from Master Drake, and it's rather important."

"No need to make an appointment—you can just give that message to me."

The three of them looked up as one at the sound of the voice. "Oh, Miss Jillian!" the receptionist exclaimed, immediately standing up and bowing respectfully.

Coming through the front entrance was a young woman with dark hair, with one single strand dyed red and hanging down over her face. "Now, then, might I ask who you two are?" she inquired of Jasmine and Jan.

"Ah—yes, of course," and Jasmine bowed politely in greeting. "I'm Jasmine, servant and representative for Mr. Drake Phoenix. He asked that I come to Domino City to meet with Mr. Kaiba on his behalf."

"Name's Jan Shimizu," Jan said gruffly, waving a hand casually.

"So you wanted to meet with Sir Kaiba, eh?" Jillian asked. "Well, you wouldn't have gotten through anyway—he's booked for a series of important meetings today. But if this message you claim to be delivering is really that critical, I'll pass it on to him for you."

"I appreciate it very much," Jasmine said with gratitude in her voice.

"Hold it—why should we give this message to _you?"_ Jan cocked an eyebrow.

"How rude!" the receptionist exclaimed. "Do you have any idea who you're addressing? This is Jillian Uriah, the appointed bodyguard to the heir of Kaibacorp, Seta Kaiba!"

"Seta Kaiba's bodyguard?" Jan scoffed. "Sure seems a bit young for the task, if you ask me."

"You…!" the receptionist flared up.

"Now, now, it's all right," Jillian waved away the receptionist's indignation. "It's not the first time I've heard that kind of comment, anyhow." Then she turned to Jasmine. "So, then…the message from Drake Phoenix…?"

"Ah—yes, of course!" Jasmine replied. "Master Drake is requesting a rental of the Kaiba Land amusement park over on the east end of Japan for this weekend. All the financial details will be worked out tomorrow, or even this evening if Mr. Kaiba would prefer."

"Rental of the East Japan branch of Kaiba Land?" Jillian asked. "Well, the Phoenixes are known for being a moneyed family…but even if it's them, Sir Kaiba won't rent out an entire amusement park just so. For what reason does your Master Drake want to rent the place?"

"Well…about that…he only said to assure Mr. Kaiba that the venture would give him a favorable appearance in the eyes of Kaibacorp's stockholders," Jasmine admitted. "He didn't say much more than that."

"Oh?" Jillian shook her head. "Well, if that's all, then I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver your message, after all. Sir Kaiba doesn't like details being obscured, you know. Besides, if Drake Phoenix didn't have the courtesy to schedule a meeting with Sir Kaiba so he could deliver the message himself, but had to rely on servants to do it for him, then that doesn't say much about him, now does it?"

At that Jan's eyes narrowed. "So, what're you saying—that our trip here will have been for nothing?"

"If you want to interpret it that way, it's up to you." Jillian then jabbed her thumb in the direction of the entrance. "Now, how about you interpret this: Your stay here has expired."

Jan smirked. "I don't think so. See, I don't like effort being wasted. And if the message we were sent to deliver doesn't get to Kaiba, then I, personally, will not be very happy."

Jillian glanced toward the receptionist. "Michiko, call security."

Nodding, the receptionist reached for the telephone receiver on her desk—but as she was picking it up, a heavy hand grabbed her wrist and slammed the receiver back down! "Lady, don't try it," Jan warned her, his eyes glaring.

Jillian's eyes widened at this sudden movement. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Please, stop it!" Jasmine cried. "There's no need for such actions!"

"I beg to differ," Jan said sternly. Then he fixed his gaze on Jillian. "I just thought of an interesting way to settle this little conflict of interest. Tell me, girl, are you a duelist?"

"What?" Jillian's eyebrows shot up.

Jan then flashed the corner of his coat to one side, revealing his Duel-Disk hanging from his belt. "Can you duel?" he asked.

Jillian frowned. "Maybe. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's very simple," Jan replied. "Let's have us a little bet. You and I duel, and if you win, you can eat Phoenix's message for all I care. But if I win, you _must_ give the message to Kaiba."

"And why would I duel you?" Jillian pressed. "It would be so much simpler just to have security come down here and toss you right out on the sidewalk."

"And yet, if the message doesn't get to Kaiba, then that would be a huge business prospect lost right there, irretrievable." Jan smirked. "And this company would lose quite a bit of extra revenue that the venture would've provided. And doubtless the investors that Phoenix is gathering to support his plan will lose a lot of confidence in Kaibacorp because you guys didn't play your part in the whole setup. And if Kaiba discovers that all of that happened because he never got this message from the start…who do you think he's going to blame for it?"

"You're bluffing," Jillian snorted. "I know you're bluffing."

"Then prove it." Jan's smirk hadn't diminished.

Silence filled the atmosphere as both Jasmine and the receptionist looked from Jan to Jillian and back again. Jan was still smirking. Jillian's red bang overshadowed one eye even as she glared at him.

Then Jillian sighed. "You win. I accept the challenge."

"Miss Jillian! Are you serious?" the receptionist exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's all right," said Jillian. "There's no way I'll lose to this guy—I've been sparring with Sir Seta too often to let such a thing happen. Now, as for you…" She directed this at Jan. "Go outside and wait right there. I'll be back with my Duel-Disk in a few minutes."

Jan nodded. "Perfect."

----------

A short while later, Jan and Jasmine were back outside, with Jan wielding his Duel-Disk on his arm. "Is this really such a good idea?" Jasmine asked. "I mean, you dueled against that Jewel Duelist not too long ago. Besides, even if you win this one, what guarantee do you have that she'll keep her end of the bargain?"

"Either way, it won't matter," Jan told her. "Regardless of which of us wins this bout, that girl can't afford _not_ to give Kaiba the message from Phoenix. Every employee of Kaibacorp has to do whatever they can to make sure the company functions and fulfills its contracts and obligations…even if all it takes is delivery of a simple message to the boss. And if one employee fails, even in a seemingly unimportant point, then the company's rep will be put at stake. If that girl is as loyal to Kaiba as I think she is, she can't risk ignoring this."

"So…a win-win situation for us, then?" Jasmine surmised.

"Yeah," Jan answered. "Of course, I'm not planning to lose two duels in one day. One loss against the Jewel Duelist was enough for me, thanks."

"All right—here I am now!"

Looking up, the duo saw Jillian emerge at the top of the steps, Duel-Disk on her arm and a determined expression on her face. "Are you ready for this?" she asked Jan.

"I'm always ready," Jan replied. "The question is, are YOU?"

"Naturally," Jillian replied, coming down the steps to the sidewalk. "A bodyguard must always be prepared for anything. And right now, I'm about to stake my pride as the bodyguard of Seta Kaiba on this duel."

"Then you had better pray you don't lose this duel," Jan cautioned. "As for me, I won't hold anything back—especially since you've been in constant training with Seta Kaiba."

"That's only natural," Jillian replied. "Now, shall we begin?"

----------

"…and so, Mr. Kaiba, by making a solid investment in this project, the company will be able to save millions of dollars every year. All our department needs now is your stamp of approval, and we can begin the project right away."

The company executives were all seated at a large rectangular table, all of them bearing file-jackets and briefcases with important documents for this meeting. The executive who'd just spoken was not at the table, but rather he was standing to one side of the room; he'd been explaining the figures on a chart that was strategically placed where all could see it. And…at the head of the table was Seto Kaiba, the CEO and majority shareholder of Kaibacorp, looking on with interest etched on his features. "Your proposal sounds very promising," he remarked. "Get your department started on this as soon as this meeting is adjourned. Also, I'll want a full report on all the steps you're going to take, as well as a copy of the figures you've presented here, submitted to me by tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir!" the executive beamed, and he stepped toward the desk and took his seat.

Kaiba then turned his attention to another executive, this one seated near the other end of the table from him. "Carvaloe, you're up next," he declared. "What has your department been doing with the 12 million dollars that I budgeted to you last month?"

The executive named Carvaloe, a bespectacled man with a worried frown on his face, adjusted his glasses with one finger. In front of him on the table was a ledger, which he now picked up. "Well, Mr. Kaiba, first of all let me say that 12 million dollars, by our company standards these days, doesn't go very far," he answered. "One has to _have_ a great deal of money to _make_ a great deal of money."

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow at this, even as Carvaloe stood up and walked up to his seat with the ledger in hand.

"As you'll see from these figures, sir," Carvaloe continued, opening the ledger and handing it to Kaiba, "I just placed the money you gave to my department on our accounting books and left it there, and we carried it over every month. I knew you'd get upset if I invested the money in some scatty project and lost it all, so…"

Kaiba flipped through the ledger's pages, his eyes narrowing all the while. Finally he slammed it shut. "Carvaloe…" His voice sounded strained all of a sudden. "I'm going to ask you a question, right here in front of everyone, and I want you to think very carefully about the question before you answer me."

"Yes, sir?" Carvaloe looked at him expectantly.

Kaiba then swiveled his head up so he was looking straight into Carvaloe's face—and now his eyes were blazing. "If you knew that I was such a harsh boss, then why the hell didn't you do better than THIS?" and he waved the ledger accusingly at the executive.

Carvaloe, taken aback at Kaiba's sudden burst of rage, involuntarily stepped back. "W-what? But, Mr. Kaiba—"

"Everyone!" Kaiba addressed the other executives in a loud voice. "Can any of you think of ways that that 12 million dollars could've been spent to help Kaibacorp? Anyone? Speak up!"

"Well…the restrooms on the second floor could use new tiling," one executive replied.

"The fifth-floor lobby has needed re-carpeting for a number of weeks, now," another informed Kaiba.

"Our department has been thinking of hosting a luncheon for all members of staff for next week, and just two days ago we'd asked for support from all the other departments—whether financial or otherwise," a third remarked.

"And did any of you approach Carvaloe for help with any of those suggestions?" Kaiba's voice was full of warning.

"All of those had been put on the main lobby's notice board—they were still there as of this morning," a fourth executive replied. "There was also a general announcement made to the different departments about that luncheon plan, through flyers and type-written invitations to attend."

Kaiba turned his angry look back on Carvaloe. "And you want to tell me that you didn't know about any of this?"

"Well…I…uh…" Carvaloe was red in the face by this point.

"Here's what I think," Kaiba continued. "I've seen children running lemonade stands and starting cookie-selling drives, who'd make much better use of finances than you have. Compared to you, they have more business common sense and more drive to work!"

"But, sir! I was just erring on the side of caution!" Carvaloe protested.

"Oh, is that right?" asked Kaiba. "Then here's my advice to you. Go and 'err on the side of caution' at another job!"

"W-w-w-what? But you _can't_ fire me!" Carvaloe exclaimed.

"I just did," Kaiba said coldly. "I want your desk cleared out by the end of this meeting, no later than that! Now GET OUT!" and he flung the ledger at Carvaloe, who just barely managed to catch it in his hands.

His face getting redder, Carvaloe turned and rushed out of the meeting-room, Kaiba scornfully watching him go. "Let that be a lesson to the rest of you," Kaiba announced to the other executives. "Kaibacorp can't use anybody who's got a lack of drive, or who dresses up laziness as caution or fear. Remember that!"

"Uh, Mr. Kaiba, what's going to happen to that 12 million dollars you gave to Mr. Carvaloe's department?" one executive asked uncertainly.

"What else? I'm gonna take it back from his department!" Kaiba replied. "Then, those of you who raised those concerns just now, I'll divide the money equally amongst you, and from there you will use that money as you see fit to do what needs to get done. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the executives answered.

Sighing, Kaiba got up and walked over to the huge glass window behind his seat. He looked out at the city beyond the window…and then, looking down, he saw something. "Hmmm…interesting…"

"Sir?" The executives all looked at him.

Kaiba turned back to them. "Everyone, you all have your projects to complete. File your reports and send them to me by tomorrow morning. And please, for goodness sake, don't make the same mistake that that idiot Carvaloe made!"

"Yes, sir!" the executives replied.

"Very well. You're dismissed!"

With that, the executives all gathered up their work and got up from the table. Kaiba did not turn around to watch their departure, but rather he continued to focus on what was happening several stories below. "Now, this could be what I need…a nice distraction…" And he chuckled to himself.

----------

Several stories far below, the familiar holographic coin had been tossed even as Jan and Jillian readied themselves to duel, with Jasmine standing a good distance away from both of them. "This is basically your territory, so I'll allow you to call it…not that it matters, anyway," Jan said smugly.

"Then I'll call tails!" Jillian announced.

The coin then landed on the ground—and indeed it was tails. "Good! So I'll go first, then!" Jillian declared. "Now, ready yourself to lose!"

"That's my line, but whatever," Jan shrugged as he drew his first five cards.

**JAN: 8000; JILLIAN: 8000**

Noting her Duel-Disk's life point counter rise to 8000 with some satisfaction, Jillian drew her five cards as well, then drew a sixth to start her turn. "Now, how to begin…" She studied her hand carefully. "First, I'll activate the magic of Graceful Charity! Now I can draw three cards, but then I have to discard two from my hand!"

Graceful Charity's green-robed angel emerged and handed three cards to Jillian; adding them to her hand, Jillian then selected two and discarded them to the Graveyard. "Now, what next? Oh, well…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's about all for now. Your turn."

"Hmph." Jan drew his card. "I don't know what you're planning, but I won't fall for your trick. I'll also set a monster in Defense Mode…" Which he did. "…but then I'll also set two cards facedown. That's the end of my turn."

"A cautious player, like myself…this may be a little more difficult than I thought," Jillian acknowledged. "My turn! I draw!"

She drew from her deck again. "Well, now…I'll set another monster in Defense Mode, and one card facedown. That's all for now."

"You know you can't keep setting monsters forever—you'll have to attack me sooner or later," Jan quipped.

"As will you," Jillian answered coolly.

"Oh, trust me, attacking is on my agenda for this duel!" Jan told her. "It's just a matter of picking the right opportunity, that's all. One careless mistake, and that's the end."

"For you to say such a thing this early in the duel—you must really not be that great, are you?" Jillian challenged.

"Wouldn't you like to find out," Jan answered sarcastically. "Now, then—my draw!"

Again he drew from his deck, so he now held four cards in his hand. "Well, now…it seems I'll be able to show you just what kind of strength you're going up against, after all!" he announced. "First things, first, though…I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster, and reveal—Desrook Archfiend (ATK 1100, DEF 1800)!"

At once Jan's facedown monster got flipped face-up into Attack Mode…revealing the huge skeletal fiend-tower. "And next," Jan continued, "I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth another monster…Terrorking Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!"

The next thing Jillian knew, there appeared next to the Desrook Archfiend a huge skeletal fiend with dark bat's wings, a massive sword in hand, and what appeared to be a crown on its head. "Holy hell…a monster with 2000 ATK, summoned so easily…" Jillian breathed.

"But I'm not finished yet!" Jan spoke up. "Next, I'll equip Terrorking Archfiend with a Magic card, the Axe of Despair, increasing his ATK by 1000 points!" And then—Terrorking Archfiend held up his free hand, and in it materialized a wicked-looking axe with a red-glowing blade even as the monster's ATK rose to 3000!

Jasmine, on the sidelines, stared in astonishment. "Goodness gracious…his monster's so powerful all of a sudden…!"

"And it gets even worse, now," and Jan held up one of the two cards left in his hand. "I activate another Magic card, Checkmate! Now, I must offer one Archfiend monster on my side of the field as a tribute…" And as he said this, the Desrook Archfiend mysteriously vanished into thin air. "…and then, during the Battle Phase of the turn I activate this card, Terrorking Archfiend can attack your life points directly!"

"What?" Jillian's eyes widened in shock at this information.

"Go, Terrorking Archfiend! Attack her directly!" Jan commanded. And in response, Terrorking Archfiend raised both its own sword and the Axe of Despair, flapped its monstrous wings, and then went airborne at terrific speed! Before Jillian could react, the creature dive-bombed upon her, slashing her with both blades and knocking her flat!

**JAN: 8000; JILLIAN: 5000**

"Argh…" Jillian grimaced as she slowly got back up. "That…wasn't pleasant…"

"It's about to get worse!" Jan informed her. "Because now I'll activate a Trap card—one that's known as Battle-Scarred!"

"Huh? Battle-Scarred?" Jasmine blinked in surprise as one of Jan's two facedown cards finally flipped face-up.

"What the hell does that do?" Jillian demanded.

"Allow me to explain," said Jan. "Most of my Archfiend monsters require me to pay a life point cost during each of my Standby Phases. When I activate Battle-Scarred, I select one Archfiend monster on my side of the field whose effect requires me to pay such a cost…then as long as that monster and the Battle-Scarred card remain on the field, each time I pay that cost, _you_ will be required to pay that cost as well!"

At that information, Jillian scowled. "In other words, you'll be burning my life points along with your own…but all I have to do is get rid of at least one of those two cards, right?"

"Except, how will you do that?" Jan countered. "Even if you somehow destroy my Battle-Scarred trap, my Terrorking Archfiend is packing a destructive 3000 ATK points right now. Anything you send against him will get trampled."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself, considering that this duel's barely even started," said Jillian.

"It's already over—your life points are the only thing in my way!" Jan rebutted. "Anyway, struggle against my deck a little more if you wish—it won't change the eventual outcome. I end my turn now, by the way."

"About time you said that," Jillian sighed, drawing her next card. "Now, how best to deal with your troublesome little Archfiend friend over there?"

She studied her hand for a moment…then chuckled. "Heh…sorry to say, buddy-boy, but now it's time for me to bring this to an end! Just to let you know, it really wouldn't have mattered much whether you attacked either of my facedown monsters or not—the end result would've still been the same!"

"And just how did you arrive at that conclusion, pray tell?" Jan asked her.

"Just observe and you'll see!" said Jillian. "Now, I'll Flip Summon both of my monsters right away—Spear Cretin (ATK 500, DEF 500) and Arsenal Summoner (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)!" 

At once both of her monsters got flipped and were revealed—Spear Cretin was a little brown-skinned fiend with a small spear in its hands, while Arsenal Summoner was a man clad in a blue robe with mystic energy cascading all around his body. "And now, both of their effects activate!" Jillian continued. "First, I'll explain Spear Cretin's effect: after he's flipped face-up, when he's sent to the Graveyard we can each Special Summon one monster from our respective Graveyards in face-up Attack Mode or facedown Defense Mode. And as for Arsenal Summoner, when _he's_ flipped face-up I can search my deck for any one card that includes 'Guardian' in its name, except for a specific few, and add it to my hand. And to resolve that effect…"

Jillian then pulled her deck out of its slot, thumbed through it, and then chose one card. "The cards that I am not allowed to pick for Arsenal Summoner's effect," she explained, "are as follows: Celtic Guardian (ATK 1400, DEF 1200); Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 (ATK 1400, DEF 1200); Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2 (ATK 1200, DEF 1000); Guardian of the Labyrinth (ATK 1000, DEF 1200); or the Magic card known as The Reliable Guardian. But, as you're about to witness, the card I've picked is none of the above! Behold!"

She held up the card she'd picked so Jan could see it—and when he saw what it was, his face turned ashen. "No way…impossible…" His voice choked up. "YOU…actually have THAT card…?"

"Hmmm?" Jasmine looked from one to the other of the two duelists, clueless. "What's so special about the card she just pulled out of her deck, if I may ask?"

"What's so special?" Jan answered indignantly. "That card is rare…it's legendary…it's one of the most powerful cards in existence! But…" He redirected his attention to Jillian. "If you have that card…then that means you must have the three that go with it, don't you?"

"Indeed I do!" Jillian nodded affirmation. "And all of them are about to appear on the field now! First…I'll offer both Spear Cretin and Arsenal Summoner to call forth…Sanga of the Thunder (ATK 2600, DEF 2200)!"

All at once, from high above, a blast of lightning shot down and completely consumed both of Jillian's monsters! And then…right there where they'd been standing moments ago, in their place was a massive bronze-colored being, with electricity crackling all over its body. "Incredible…the first of the legendary three…" Jan stared at the new arrival with awe evident on his face.

"Don't be too impressed just yet—the second one's about to make his debut!" Jillian answered. "Now that Spear Cretin's gone to the Graveyard, his effect activates! So now we can each Special Summon one monster from our Graveyards according to the specifications I outlined…and the one I choose is the mighty Kazejin (ATK 2400, DEF 2200) in Attack Mode!"

In that instant, a humongous blast of wind blew all about the field, one so powerful that Jan had to shield himself with his arms and brace himself lest he be blown away. "Eeeek!" Jasmine screamed, getting knocked onto her behind by the awesome force of the wind.

"Two out of three…" Jillian chuckled.

And then…right next to Sanga of the Thunder, within the massive typhoon that had so suddenly appeared, there came an emerald-colored creature, hovering in place on the field. "I get it now…so Kazejin was one of the cards you discarded thanks to your Graceful Charity card earlier," Jan noted.

"Quite so," said Jillian.

Jan smirked. "Well, all right, fine. Now it's my turn to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard due to your Spear Cretin's effect…and there's only one monster that's in there right now, and that's my Desrook Archfiend—and I summon him in facedown Defense Mode!" And the identifying holographic card appeared on his side of the field next to Terrorking Archfiend, facedown.

"Okay, then. And now that that's done…I'll end my turn." Jillian smirked. "So? If you really want to stop me, you could try attacking one of my monsters with your Terrorking Archfiend. After all, isn't he stronger than either of them? He could wipe them out just like that."

But Jan shook his head. "What do you take me for, a fool?" he asked. "I know very well about the effect that those monsters share. When they're attacked, you can use their effect to reduce the ATK of the attacking monster to zero. Sure, it's a one-time-only usage for any of those monsters, but I'll still take severe damage nonetheless. So I'll pass on that, thank you very much."

Now he drew his card so that he held two in his hand—and all of a sudden, he flinched as a strange red energy field surrounded his body, his life points lowering to 7200. "Ugh…Terrorking Archfiend's effect requires me to pay a cost of 800 life points during my Standby Phase," he announced. "And since my Battle-Scarred trap card is still active, that means you lose 800 life points also."

At once Jillian hissed and grimaced as her own life points lowered to 4200. "Whatever…just hurry up with your turn, that's all you do," she replied.

**JAN: 7200; JILLIAN: 4200**

Jan then examined the card he'd drawn…and slowly a smirk crossed his face. _So…I drew this card, eh? Well, this should certainly throw a wrench into her plans… _"Okay—I activate the Magic card, Card Destruction! Now we'll both discard our entire hands and draw from our decks a number of cards equal to the number we discarded!"

Jillian's eyes widened in shock at this declaration. "Wh-wh-what? But—my cards—!" And she cast a panicked look at her hand.

"Tough luck," Jan said frostily. "Toss 'em, now." And he discarded the one card left in his hand and drew a new one from his deck.

Livid, Jillian discarded all five of the cards in her hand, then drew five more. "You'll pay for that, you…!" she shrieked, helpless with fury.

"My, such a tone of voice from a girl!" Jan said mockingly. Then, more seriously, he added, "Of course, if you can't deal with your strategies being disrupted or you're not prepared with contingency plans in case your strategies fail, then what good are you as a duelist?"

Jillian closed her eyes and inhaled deeply and sharply. She then exhaled in a long, slow breath. "Funny you should say that," she replied. "This new hand that you were so kind to let me draw with your Card Destruction's effect will show you just how prepared I am to deal with crap like what you forced me to do just now."

"Show me, then," Jan invited. "Go ahead and take your turn now."

Nodding, Jillian drew her next card so she held six in hand. "Okay! Here I come!" she announced. "I'll activate the Magic card, Monster Reincarnation! By discarding one card from my hand, I can take one Monster card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. And so…"

Jillian then thumbed through her Graveyard, found the card she was looking for, and held it up so Jan could see it. "The card I select is, naturally, this one, the same one you made me discard a while ago with the rest of my hand…"

Jasmine frowned, one of her eyebrows lifting. "Will one of you at least explain what that card is? What's so significant about it?"

"I'll explain for you, if you like."

Startled at the sound of the voice behind her, Jasmine turned. "You're…!"

Jan frowned. "Well, well, well, look who decided to show up…"

Jillian's eyes widened in recognition. "Sir Kaiba! But I thought you were in a meeting…?"

Indeed, right there next to Jasmine now stood Kaiba, smirking a little. "I was, at least a few minutes ago," he admitted. "But I needed to get out of there for a while, so here I am. And…" Here he turned his gaze on Jan. "My, my, you're certainly the splitting image of your old man, aren't you, boy?"

"Hmm? Sir Kaiba, you know him?" Jillian asked, perplexed.

Kaiba nodded. "You know Kyo Bakura, don't you, Jillian? Well, this here…is his older brother, Jan."

"Eh?" Jasmine stared at Jan in surprise. "You have relatives?"

"This guy…is Kyo's brother?" Jillian asked, blinking in disbelief.

Jan ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "Yes, I do have relatives living here in Domino City, and yes, Kyo and I are brothers. Satisfied?"

"But…the surnames are different…" Jasmine looked a little uncertain. "Step-relatives, maybe?"

"No," and Kaiba chuckled. "They're full-blooded relatives; Jan here just decided to change his last name for…personal reasons, shall we say? But enough about that for now…Jan, why are you here? I thought Kyo said you'd turned yourself in to the authorities in Egypt after what went down back then."

"Turned himself in…?" A look of utter horror came over Jasmine's face. "Merciful goodness! Master Drake hired a convicted felon?"

"I got a pardon, okay? Stop being such a drama princess," Jan growled at her.

Jillian face-faulted even as she shook her head at Jasmine. "Apparently you need to know more about the people you interact so closely with," she sighed.

"Hmph." Then Kaiba was all-business again. "Well, I suppose the explanations can wait until after this duel is done—there's still enough time before my next scheduled meeting, anyways." He looked at Jasmine. "You wanted to know the significance of that card Jillian's holding, right?"

"Um…yes," Jasmine replied, obviously still not over the shock of her recently-made discovery.

Kaiba nodded. "You see, that card is the renowned Gate Guardian (ATK 3750, DEF 3400)…a monster of incredible status within the Duel Monsters world. Many years ago, it was the signature monster of the world's greatest tag-team duelists, the Paradox Brothers…but at the same time, even now, it's such a complicated card that only a duelist with real skill can successfully summon it."

"It's just as Sir Kaiba says," Jillian acknowledged. "But now I'll show you just how the Gate Guardian is summoned! And it IS still my turn, so…here I go!"

She then held up one of her cards. "Now, I activate the magic of Premature Burial! At a cost of 800 life points, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard and equip it with this card…and the monster I choose is the one known as Suijin (ATK 2500, DEF 2400)!"

**JAN: 7200; JILLIAN: 3400**

As Jillian's life points dipped further, all at once an intense surge of water exploded out of the ground next to Sanga and Kazejin! And then…from that water-surge appeared a sapphire-colored being, aquatic-looking energy flowing all around it. Seeing this, Jan scowled. "I get it now…this was the card you discarded for the effect of your Monster Reincarnation a while ago, wasn't it?" he demanded.

"You catch on pretty quickly," Jillian nodded. "In that case, catch on to this! I now offer Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin in order to Special Summon my deck's strongest beast…the Gate Guardian!"

Sanga, Kazejin, and Suijin all suddenly vanished from the field, together with the Premature Burial that had been equipped to Suijin. And then…in a massive burst of light, there appeared on Jillian's side of the field a hulking monster, with a head and shoulders of bronze, a green torso and waist, and sapphire-blue legs! "Oh…my…God…what IS that thing?" Jasmine whimpered in fright at the sight of the giant creature.

"This, dear girl, is the Gate Guardian, in all his might and power," Jillian said simply.

Jan's eyes narrowed. "Shit…this thing's got enough strength to destroy my Terrorking Archfiend…"

"I wouldn't worry about that Archfiend just yet if I were you," Jillian told him. "Because I have a very different type of fate in store for both of your monsters. Neither of them is worthy of facing the Gate Guardian in combat."

"Well, that's a pretty arrogant statement, isn't it now?" Jan asked warily.

"You can think so if it makes you feel better," said Jillian. "But I'll soon show you why my statement just now is justified…and you, in turn, will fall before the unrelenting power of the Gate Guardian!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ And so, folks, Jillian has brought out the Gate Guardian! And Kaiba's come down to watch the duel! And Jasmine's nearly had a heart attack, LOL! But now what? What happens next, as Jan is made to face the key monster of Jillian's deck? REVIEW SOON, PLEASE!


	21. Fight for Editorship

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: We all know how it goes…I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.)

**CHAPTER 21 – Fight for Editorship**

KAIBACORP, DOMINO CITY

**JAN: 7200; JILLIAN: 3400**

As the duel between Jan and Jillian continued, the score was noted: In terms of life points, Jan was in the lead with 7200, while Jillian had only 3400. Jan held one card in his hand; Jillian had three. On the field, however, it appeared that it was Jillian who was in control, as she had her newly-summoned Gate Guardian in Attack Mode, plus one facedown card; while Jan had his Desrook Archfiend facedown in Defense Mode, Terrorking Archfiend in Attack Mode and equipped with the Axe of Despair, plus he also had his Battle-Scarred trap card still active, and one more card facedown. And at this point, it was still Jillian's turn.

"Now…" Jillian picked one of the three cards she was holding. "I'll equip my Gate Guardian with a Magic card, the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal!" And then, in the next moment a huge bow and arrow appeared in Gate Guardian's hands—but oddly enough, its ATK dropped to 2750.

"Hmm?" Jan's eyebrows rose at this. "Wait—that Equip Magic card you just played—it decreased your monster's ATK by 1000. That makes him weaker than my Terrorking Archfiend right now."

"That is true…however…" Jillian nodded knowingly. "It's necessary for me to have the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal on my side of the field, so that I can summon this monster: Guardian Ceal (ATK 1700, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" And with that, she summoned a fiery creature clad in red armor and, curiously enough, wielding a bow not dissimilar to the Shooting Star Bow.

"Hmm…I see…" Jan looked thoughtful. "That monster you just summoned, Guardian Ceal…it's one of the fabled Guardian cards, isn't it? I seem to remember hearing about a former pro duelist who made a name for himself with those cards…Raphael, if I remember right…"

"Seems you know your dueling circuit history, I'll grant you that," said Jillian, somewhat impressed. "Yes, Mr. Raphael was famous for his use of the Guardian cards years ago, when he was a member of the pro circuit. Before I became a bodyguard, it was he who trained me in Duel Monsters…and I also got some schooling from the Paradox Brothers as well, which is why I have this guy and his support cards in my deck," and she indicated the Gate Guardian.

"Training with pros…and now you're in the employ of a former champion whose son happens to be a renowned duelist himself…you certainly know how to keep yourself on top of your game," Jan remarked.

"It's only natural that I should do so—I can't afford to get rusty," said Jillian. "Now, then, since I've used up my Normal Summon by bringing Guardian Ceal to the field, it's time for me to strike! And I'll use the Gate Guardian first!"

"What? But—she'll destroy her monster if she attacks! Jan's monster is way stronger!" Jasmine exclaimed from the sidelines.

"Not necessarily," Jillian addressed her. "True, the Shooting Star Bow decreases the ATK of the monster it's equipped to by 1000, but it allows a very useful effect in exchange—that equipped monster can attack my opponent's life points directly!"

"Say what?" Jan exclaimed. _Damn it—no wonder she wasn't intending to attack either of my monsters!_

"Now, Gate Guardian, attack!" Jillian ordered. In response, the Gate Guardian lifted its arms, positioning the Shooting Star Bow to a firing position, then shot off the arrow—and it sailed right past the bewildered Terrorking Archfiend and struck Jan in the shoulder, causing him to flinch in pain as his life points went down.

**JAN: 4450; JILLIAN: 3400**

"And it gets even better," Jillian continued. "Remember my facedown card? Well, now I'm going to activate it—the Trap card known as Collected Power!"

"What the hell?" Jan asked in astonishment, even as Jillian's facedown card finally flipped face-up.

"Let me explain what this card does," said Jillian. "It allows me to select one face-up monster on the field, and then I get to equip it with all Equip Magic cards that are on the field—although, if the target for any one Equip card is incorrect, then that Equip card will be destroyed. But right now there are only two Equip cards that I see on the field—the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal and your Axe of Despair—and both of them are perfect for my Guardian Ceal!"

Flames instantly sprouted all over Guardian Ceal's bow as his ATK swiftly shot down to 700, even as Gate Guardian's ATK rose back to its original 3750. Then, in one hand Guardian Ceal found himself wielding the Axe of Despair, his ATK going back up to 1700, while a baffled Terrorking Archfiend found his own hands completely empty as his ATK returned to its original 2000. "Why, you…you'll pay for that!" Jan shouted.

"I doubt it," Jillian returned, "especially since now it's Guardian Ceal's time to attack—and as I hope you recall, by the effect of the Shooting Star Bow he can attack you directly!" And then, slinging the bow over his shoulder, Guardian Ceal hefted the Axe of Despair over his head and flung it at Jan. Seeing it coming, Jan ducked down in time, and the axe flew over his head, barely missing him as it swooshed around in the air and returned to Guardian Ceal's hand.

**JAN: 2750; JILLIAN: 3400**

Kaiba, on the sidelines, smirked as he observed all of this. "Seems Jan's in trouble now."

Jan gingerly stood back up, shaking his head as he did. "Well…as much as I may not have liked that…I guess I couldn't expect any less from a duelist who trained with legends like Raphael and the Paradox Brothers," he commented. "But even if you've managed to attack me directly, weren't you ever taught that if you leave your opponent's monsters alone, you'll come to regret it later?"

"Actually, I've already taken your monsters into account," Jillian informed him. "Which is why I'll now use Guardian Ceal's effect! By sending one Equip Magic card that's equipped to him to the Graveyard, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field! And I'll send the Axe of Despair to the Graveyard to destroy your Terrorking Archfiend!"

Again Guardian Ceal hefted the Axe of Despair over his head, readying himself to throw it. "Stop right there!" Jan shouted suddenly. "You've activated Terrorking Archfiend's effect! When he's specifically chosen as a target of a card effect controlled by my opponent, I can roll a die…and if the result is 2 or 5, that targeting effect is negated and the card for which it was activated will be destroyed! So, if I get the right roll, tough luck for your Guardian Ceal!"

Immediately a six-sided die emerged on the field and began to roll here, there and everywhere…and Jillian looked at it with a critical eye, while Jan looked on smugly. Then, little by little, the die finally stopped rolling, and the number that appeared on its revealed face was…6.

"Crap…!" Jan flinched at this news—but there was little he could do as Guardian Ceal flung the Axe of Despair at Terrorking Archfiend, splitting the other monster in two even as his own ATK went down to 700. As Terrorking Archfiend was vanquished, the Battle-Scarred card inexplicably vanished from the field as well.

"I see…since your Terrorking Archfiend's been removed from the field, the Battle-Scarred trap card was destroyed as well," Jillian observed. "In other words, now that both of those cards are gone, you can no longer burn my life points along with yours. And now, to take care of your facedown monster—and Guardian Ceal still has one other Equip Magic card on his person, so…!"

As the card for the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal got sent to the Graveyard, Guardian Ceal raised his own bow and fired an arrow at the facedown Desrook Archfiend. That arrow instantly burst into flame upon hitting its target—and the facedown monster exploded immediately, the force of the blast nearly knocking Jan backwards! In the same moment, Guardian Ceal's ATK rose back to its natural 1700. "And with that…I end my turn," Jillian announced. "Next turn, without fail, you're through!"

"In case you haven't noticed, let me point it out for you," said Jan. "Right now, it's my turn! And that means that I still have a chance to defeat you in this turn!"

"But it's just as likely that you'll get a dead draw this turn, which in turn will solidify my victory," Jillian countered.

"Then I guess we'll have to see, won't we?" said Jan. "Now…my draw!"

With a grand flourish he drew from his deck, so now he held two cards in hand. He studied both cards for a long moment…and then he smiled broadly. "Well, now…looks as if I'm not going to kick the bucket just yet, after all," he said to Jillian. "I'll prove it with these cards that I'm holding now!"

"Oh, really, now?" asked Jillian.

"That's right! Now, for starters…do you remember that I still have a facedown card on my field?" Jan asked, and he then pointed out the image of the card that was still facedown in his Magic/Trap slot.

Jillian scowled as she looked at the card. _That's right…I'd almost forgotten he had that there…_

"Behold, as I activate it now!" Jan continued. "Activate, Trap card—Archfiend's Roar!"

"Archfiend's Roar?" Jillian queried.

"At a cost of 500 life points," Jan explained, "this card allows me to Special Summon one Archfiend monster from my Graveyard. The only downside is, that monster cannot be offered as a Tribute for any reason, and it'll be destroyed at the end of my turn. But considering the monster I'm going to summon with this card's effect, I don't think that that matters right now! So…I choose my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200)!"

**JAN: 2250; JILLIAN: 3400**

Jan's life points immediately went down to 2250 for the effect of Archfiend's Roar—and then, seemingly from out of nowhere, a loud howl could be heard as a blast of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky and onto Jan's side of the field! "YIKES!" Jasmine yelped, instinctively shielding herself with her arms.

Kaiba remained unfazed, however. "Hmph."

Then…from the glare of the lightning, out stepped a skeletal fiend with massive horns on its head and big black claws for fingers, and like Terrorking Archfiend it sported immense bat's wings. "But—that wasn't in your Graveyard…unless…" Jillian stopped short. "That's the card you discarded when you activated your Card Destruction magic card earlier, isn't it?"

"Right on the mark," Jan affirmed. "But that isn't all I plan to use against you now…for I'm holding in my hand a card that will seal the outcome of this duel for good! And I activate it now!" He held up the card he'd just drawn. "The Magic card…Falling Down!"

Lowering her arms from her defensive position at this point, Jasmine was surprised to hear the name of the card. _That…isn't that the same card he used in his encounter with the Jewel Duelist?_

"If I don't have any face-up Archfiend monsters on my field, this card gets destroyed—which is why I needed an Archfiend monster on the field to activate it," Jan explained. "But now that I have, my Falling Down card gets equipped to one of your monsters, and as long as it stays equipped, control of that equipped monster shifts to me!"

Hearing this, Jillian turned white. "You son-of-a-bitch—you're going to turn my own Gate Guardian against me?"

"Unless you have a better idea that doesn't involve me just ending my turn right now, then why not?" Jan taunted her. "Now, Gate Guardian! I am your master now—come to me!"

As Jillian watched in consternation, a sinister-looking aura surrounded Gate Guardian's body, and then the hulking behemoth swiftly shifted to Jan's side of the field. "Now, as they say in chess, girly…checkmate!" Jan grinned. "Okay, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, fry her Guardian Ceal to a crisp! Lightning Strike!"

Skull Archfiend of Lightning bellowed as an intense electrical aura surrounded its body—then that electricity blasted skyward, arcing over the field and hitting Guardian Ceal dead-on! Screaming in tortured agony, Guardian Ceal got blasted to pieces even as Jillian's life points went down to 2600! "No! Guardian Ceal!" Jillian screamed.

**JAN: 2250; JILLIAN: 2600**

"And with this, the duel is over!" Jan declared crisply. "All right, Gate Guardian! End this duel now!" And in response, the blue region of Gate Guardian's body blasted a massive wave of water at Jillian; she screamed out as the water hit her with full force and knocked her back, swiftly bringing her life points to 0 in the process.

**JAN: 2250; JILLIAN: 0**

Kaiba chuckled as he watched this. "Guess I should've sought _you_ out as my son's bodyguard, huh, Jan?"

"Forget about it—that's not my style," Jan grunted, switching off his Duel-Disk.

Lying prostrate on the ground where Gate Guardian's attack had flung her, Jillian shakily began to get up. "I…I'm sorry, Sir Kaiba," she said quietly. "I…lost…"

Jan regarded her. "All duelists win or lose sometime," he spoke up. "You just happened to be the one who lost this duel, that's all there is to it. But if it's a rematch you want, just come and seek me out. I never turn down a decent challenge."

"Well said," Kaiba nodded. "And, Jillian, if you're going to feel bad just because you lost, don't bother—I will not have it from my son's bodyguard. Train more—that's what you should do."

"Yes, sir," said Jillian.

"Good." Kaiba nodded again. "Well, now that that's out of the way…" He turned his attention to Jasmine. "I suppose you'd like to explain what brings you guys here to Domino City?"

"Ah—of course, Mr. Kaiba," Jasmine answered, immediately attentive. "We're here on behalf of my master, Drake Phoenix…"

At that Kaiba wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "Drake Phoenix? That little puke?"

"Please, sir, hear me out," Jasmine pleaded. "Master Drake merely wishes to rent your Kaiba Land in East Japan for this weekend."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "And he couldn't come here and tell me that himself, because…?"

"He had…other engagements today, sir," Jasmine replied, a tad nervously.

"Acquiring the services of duelists," Jan spoke up. "Phoenix has plans to get some very strong duelists into his employ—that's why I'm here. He didn't share all the details with me, but I'm guessing he wants to host a tournament at Kaiba Land, and he just needs your approval to use the property."

Now Kaiba fully scowled. "And do tell me, why in the hell should I rent MY Kaiba Land to that little punk? I've been hearing a lot of stories lately, concerning him, from the various Duel Monster tournament circuits—none of them flattering. And aside from that, his attitude and manners are practically nonexistent…not to mention, now that I think about it, that he currently has a man with a criminal record doing his laundry for him…" and here he shot a look at Jan.

"Excuse me, but I do believe I already said I was pardoned for all of that," Jan said sourly.

"Duly noted—doesn't change the fact that you went to jail," Kaiba replied. "Listen here, whatever it is that that little brat's got planned, I'm not going to let him use my theme park to do it. You can go back and let him know that!"

"Actually, Sir Kaiba…we may not have a choice…" Jillian said sheepishly.

"Say again?" Kaiba whipped his gaze around to her.

"There was a set of stipulations attached to this duel, sir," Jillian explained. "If I won, I'd have the right not to pass on this information to you, about what Drake Phoenix wanted to do…but if I lost, I'd have to inform you."

Kaiba scoffed. "Either way, the final decision would've been mine, wouldn't it? And who's to say that I would've gone along with it?"

"Take this into consideration, then," said Jan. "Just the fact that Phoenix wants to borrow your theme park, which in itself is a renowned cash-cow for your corporation, means one thing: that he's likely planning to bring a bunch of investors into the picture as sponsors for his little plan, in addition to the weight that the use of his family name will carry. Basically, if you don't agree to loan Kaiba Land to him, you'll run the risk of your reputation among your stock-holders and other supporters being called into question. And with the connections that Phoenix has, who's to say he wouldn't create a media circus of his own if you were to refuse?"

"Grr…so that's it, huh?" Kaiba growled. "But why are you, a lackey of his, telling me all of this?"

"Why not? Whatever his reason for planning all of this, it's got nothing to do with me, so he can't complain if I tell you anything of major significance," Jan shrugged. "I'm just here because he's hired me to take part in this. He never said I shouldn't give you a heads-up."

Jillian frowned as she listened to this. "Even if you say so, Sir Kaiba already doesn't trust Drake Phoenix," she pointed out. "Why should we trust _you?"_

"Whether you do or not isn't my business," Jan replied.

"Well, uh…Master Drake did say he'd be willing to iron out all the details with you as soon as possible," Jasmine informed Kaiba. "He said that either this evening or tomorrow would be fine with him."

"Is that so?" asked Kaiba. "All right, then. I suppose I can make time to have a little…chat…with him. Go back and let him know that I'm willing to meet and discuss this, tonight, here, at 8:00 sharp—just as long as he comes in person this time around."

"Ah…thank you very much, Mr. Kaiba! I really appreciate it!" Jasmine bowed respectfully.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kaiba growled. "Now get going before I change my mind. Both of you."

"Oh—right! Certainly!" Jasmine gave another, more hurried bow, then turned and headed off.

However, Jan didn't leave at once. "Hey, why are you still here?" Jillian asked him suspiciously.

"Just thought I'd share one more thing with your boss, is all." Jan then turned his attention to Kaiba again, speaking in a low tone. "You might want to keep this in mind. Phoenix asked me to go to Duel Academy after we were done here, and get a hold of the three students there who were members of the Zodiacs that were in the Dueltropolis tournament. Why he wants them, I'm not sure."

Kaiba leveled a glare at him. "You're certain about this?"

"Hey, I have no reason to lie," said Jan. "As I said, whatever his reason for all this, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may. You can decide for yourself what you're going to do with the information I've just given you. Oh, and by the way…" He directed his voice toward Jillian. "I'm going to assume that since Seta Kaiba is friends with my brother and his little group, they come here from time to time. If that's the case, then next time you see Kyo, tell him his big brother said howdy."

"Hey!" Jasmine called to him from further up the street. "What are you all of a sudden, cemented to the spot or something? Let's go! We have to finish Master Drake's errands, don't we?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…don't rush me, girl," Jan growled, heading in her direction.

Kaiba and Jillian watched the duo leave. "Sir Kaiba…is this really such a good idea?" Jillian asked.

"With the situation as it is, it can't be helped," Kaiba answered. "In any case, for the time being I've got something I want you to do, and I want it done as soon as Seta comes back here from school. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Jillian nodded resolutely.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 10:50 a.m.

Back on Duel Academy Island…

The bell rang to signal the end of the day's second class period, and almost an instant later the students were pouring out of the various classrooms, some more quickly than others. Cassara was one of those who left as fast as possible—she was just coming out of the Biology lab. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew…" she muttered to herself over and over, clutching her books tightly to her chest.

Hurrying down the corridor, she rounded a corner and only then paused to lean against the wall, taking in deep breaths. "I hate Biology!" she moaned, looking quite sick.

"Ms. Blackstone, is that you? Are you feeling all right?"

"Hmm?" Looking up at the sound of the voice, Cassara brightened up a little. "Oh…Professor Takamura!"

The professor in question was a woman who appeared to be in her early to mid-30's, with short, dark brown hair filled with lighter-brown highlight streaks. "You don't look so well, dear…do you need to see the nurse?" she asked Cassara, concern evident both in her face and voice.

"N-no, ma'am, it's okay…I just got out of Biology class, that's all," Cassara explained.

"Ah…cutting up of frogs and rats early in the semester, I take it?" Professor Takamura asked, immediately understanding.

"Ew-ew-eeeewwww!" Cassara shrieked, holding one hand in front of her face as if to ward off something disgusting.

"Sorry, sorry. My bad." Professor Takamura chuckled. "Anyway, Ms. Blackstone, I think I may have something that'll put your mind at ease for a little bit."

"Really?" Cassara looked at her. "What's that, Professor?"

Professor Takamura smiled. "Well, based on what I've observed of your work in my Feature Writing class so far, I believe you'd be a good candidate for membership of the writing staff of the upcoming school newspaper, the _Duel Academy Revealer…"_

Cassara blinked. "School newspaper…oh yeah, that's right! That was announced at assembly this morning, wasn't it?"

"So you remember," said Professor Takamura. "Then you'll also remember that in this morning's assembly, instructions were given that all those who're interested in signing up to work for the paper should submit their names to the school's English department. Right after assembly, quite a few students left their names with the department receptionist…but I couldn't help but notice that yours wasn't among them."

"Uh…well, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, Professor, but…I don't know, journalism just doesn't seem to be my thing," Cassara sighed.

"Come now, Ms. Blackstone, no need to be so modest," Professor Takamura told her. "Newspaper writing isn't all about news stories, you know. Newspapers also have feature writers, columnists, that sort of thing. Even if you weren't a news reporter for the _Revealer,_ you could still write a few commentary features, or submit short stories on a regular basis, or anything of that nature. And even if you're only a second-year student, what I've seen of your work is quite impressive, to say the least."

"Even so…it seems to be a lot of responsibility, ma'am," Cassara answered.

"Or could it be that you're afraid, hmm?"

The new voice caused both of them to look up. Cassara's eyes widened when she saw who it was. "You…!"

Standing there was none other than Vasha Morrison. "Hello, Professor Takamura," she greeted the teacher respectfully. "I hope I wasn't interrupting you?"

"Oh, no, not at all, Ms. Morrison," Professor Takamura assured her. "And since you're here now, I must say I'm very pleased that you volunteered your name as a potential member of staff for the _Revealer."_

"Whoa, wait a minute—Vasha submitted her name for that?" Cassara asked in disbelief.

"Sure I did," Vasha answered. "Being an important figure among the Obelisk Blue girls, as well as one of the brightest students of English in the whole Obelisk Blue dorm, it was only natural that I should sign up to do my duty for the school paper. And getting the post as its editor-in-chief will certainly look good on my job résumé later on in my life, if I do say so myself."

"That is most certainly true," Professor Takamura agreed.

"But—Professor Takamura! Somebody like _her_ can't be made editor-in-chief of the school paper!" Cassara exclaimed.

"Why not?" Vasha challenged. "After all, I've got the proper qualifications for the job, don't I? I excel in the various English and Writing classes, I got high marks in my Political Science class last semester, and there's not a soul among the students that can ace me in knowledge of current affairs! If anybody's more qualified for this job than I am, then I haven't seen them yet. And, besides…" She chuckled. "If you object so much, why didn't you submit your name like everybody else? Maybe it's because you KNEW you'd be no match for me, just like the others who signed up. Although, even if you had submitted your name, I doubt you'd have gotten any position higher than a stock-girl or something."

"Well, for your information, journalistic writing is about more than just putting pen to paper!" Cassara flared up. "It's about staying impartial in your writing and being true to your readers—something I doubt you know how to do, the way you're always trying to wrap people around your little finger!"

"Now, now, ladies, no need to get so abrasive with each other," Professor Takamura interrupted, stepping in between the two. "Ms. Blackstone, it's true that Ms. Morrison has those qualifications…however, Ms. Morrison, just having those qualifications doesn't automatically guarantee that you'll be made the paper's editor-in-chief. For all you know, you could be made simply a staff reporter. In the end, it's the head of the English department who decides who'll get which positions, after all."

Vasha sighed. "Well, okay, I'll concede that much," she admitted. Then she smirked. "But what I say still stands—if Little Miss Opposition Leader here really feels the way she does about journalism, then why didn't she offer up her name along with the others who did?"

"I can't help but agree with that, Ms. Blackstone," said Professor Takamura. "Your writing skills _are_ very impressive, after all; you'd make a wonderful addition to the _Revealer's _writing staff. Yes, as you said a while ago, it would entail a great deal of responsibility on your part—but that's exactly what you'll find others expecting you to have no matter what field you undertake in life: a sense of responsibility. At the very least, you could think of this little extra-curricular activity as practice for your writing and for management of deadlines. Everyone in this world, no matter what their profession, has to know how to meet deadlines—and, of course, every person needs to know how to read and write legibly and correctly, and the school paper will provide a good outlet to practice all of that. So what do you say?"

Cassara glanced a moment at the smirking Vasha. Then she looked back at the teacher. "It's not too late to go hand in my name, is it?"

"Of course not!" Professor Takamura assured her. "Go ahead and get your name submitted to the English department. Then, during the course of the day, the department chair will review all the applicants, and make his decision about the various positions to be filled. All right?"

"Yes, ma'am! Thanks a lot, ma'am!" Cassara bowed to Professor Takamura respectfully, then turned and ran off down the corridor.

Vasha scoffed. "Professor Takamura, really, you don't think that that girl actually stands a chance of getting a staff position for the school paper? She's only a second-year student, and an Osiris Red, no less…"

"So what?" Professor Takamura replied. "What matters is her writing skill and her willingness to take part in the _Revealer's_ ambition. All she needed was a little push and a word of encouragement; now that she's gotten that, her chances of improving herself as a writer have gone up. Why—would it have made any difference if she was a senior, or a member of a different dorm?" And she gave Vasha a searching glance.

"Hm…I guess not. Well, excuse me now, Professor. I have to go to a class." Vasha bowed slightly, then turned and walked off. Professor Takamura cocked an eyebrow as she watched the Obelisk Blue girl leave, but simply shrugged and departed herself.

----------

LATER THAT DAY, 12:30 p.m.

"No way! Really, Cassara—you signed up for a position with the school paper?"

The question was posed by Janus, even as he and the others were seated together in the cafeteria. "Yes, Janus, I did," Cassara replied calmly, stirring her soda with her straw. "I couldn't just stand there and let a tramp like Vasha sully the name of good journalism. Who knows how she'd twist the truth for herself, if she were to ever get even a position as a staff reporter…"

"You really believe she'd go that far?" Ricardo asked, pausing to bite into a slice of corn pudding.

Cassara leveled a glare at him. "She and her pals kidnapped me and used me as bait so Calhoun could get to duel Janus, and you don't think she's capable of bending or breaking the rules of journalism for her own ends?" she asked.

"Well, it would certainly suck if she became editor-in-chief," Natasha remarked. "She'd have a lot more power to boss us around if she ever felt like it."

Jiro was sitting with the group, quietly nibbling on an egg sandwich. Now he said, "Even if she did do that to you, Cassara, it's a little early to assume what she can or cannot do with any power she gets via the school paper, don't you think? From what I understand, the concept for the _Duel Academy Revealer_ as a school newspaper is fairly new. It'll take some time for it to catch on. And anyway, who's to say whether or not she'll even get any position for the paper at all?"

"That's probable, but I don't want to be caught off-guard," Cassara answered. "After what I've experienced with Vasha, Calhoun, and their little gang, I'm not about to leave anything to chance where they're concerned."

Suddenly, from the intercom system, a slight whine of microphone feedback could be heard. Then a strong, clear voice came over the system for all to hear: "This is an announcement from the English department. Will Cassara Blackstone of Osiris Red and Vasha Morrison of Obelisk Blue please report to the English department? The department chairman wishes to see you. I repeat, will Cassara Blackstone of Osiris Red and Vasha Morrison of Obelisk Blue please report to the English department? The department chairman wishes to see you. Thank you."

At once the others all turned to look at Cassara. "How about that?" Janus said, a grin on his face.

"I wonder why the English department chairman would want to see _both_ you and Vasha," Ricardo said thoughtfully.

"Guess there's only one way to know," and Cassara stood up. "Wish me luck, guys."

----------

Several minutes later, Cassara found herself outside the door to the English department. Clearing her throat and bracing herself, she pushed the door open. "Excuse me," she addressed the receptionist. "The department chairman wanted to see me…"

"Ah, you're Cassara Blackstone, yes?" the receptionist asked. "Vasha Morrison's already arrived and is inside his office. Please, go right ahead."

"Thank you," said Cassara, and she entered the room and walked over to a large closed door. On the door was a brightly-shining bronze nameplate, on which was written in big black letters: _V. Weathers, Dept. Chair._ Bracing herself, she knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in!" a booming voice beckoned from inside.

Turning the doorknob, Cassara entered the office. True to the receptionist's word, Vasha was already there, sitting in front of the department chairman's desk, looking as subdued as could be. The chairman himself, Mr. Weathers, a middle-aged, bald-headed man with square-rimmed spectacles and a graying goatee, nodded at Cassara's entrance. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Ms. Blackstone," he spoke to her. "Do sit down."

"Took you long enough—I got here just two minutes ago," Vasha sneered.

Cassara steadfastly ignored Vasha, concentrating instead on the man of authority seated before her. "Mr. Weathers, sir, might I ask why we were called here just now?" she asked.

Mr. Weathers adjusted his glasses with his index and middle fingers. "Yes, about that," he replied. "Well, my dear ladies, it concerns the assignment of positions for the school's newspaper, the _Duel Academy Revealer._ As I'm sure you both know, along with yourselves, a number of students submitted their names today for application to work with the paper. To find out what roles should be assigned, and who would be best qualified for said roles, it fell upon me to closely examine the school records of all applicants, including grade sheets, any overdue assignments, that sort of thing."

"Yes, sir…?" Vasha leaned forward expectantly.

Mr. Weathers nodded and continued. "Now, after my working on this for over the last hour—and thankfully there weren't too many applicants, so I was able to do this quickly—the only role left to be given is that of editor-in-chief for the paper. But I've run into a little problem where that is concerned. You see, girls, in examining both of your records, I have found…that you are both equally qualified for this post."

Cassara stared in surprise. "We're…equally qualified?"

"Are you serious, Mr. Weathers?" Vasha almost shouted.

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Weathers nodded. "You've both handed in all assignments for your various courses on time; neither of you has ever missed a class; and where the dueling curriculum is concerned, you've both ranked in the top five in the English department and in the top twenty for the entire Academy overall. That being said, it would be unfair of me to simply make the decision, having to choose between two candidates who are so closely tied for the position."

"I see…" Cassara sighed. "Then what can we do, Mr. Weathers?"

"Well, my dear…" Mr. Weathers adjusted his glasses again. "I believe I have a good solution. Why don't we have a little contest to settle this…a Duel Monsters contest?"

"A…Duel Monsters contest…?" Cassara repeated.

"I see…so, basically, she and I will have a duel with each other, and the winner gets to be editor-in-chief of the _Revealer,"_ Vasha said thoughtfully.

"Exactly right," said Mr. Weathers. "What say you, ladies? Does this plan agree with you?"

Vasha leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, a smug look coming over her face. "Well, I have no objections here," she said.

"None here, either, sir!" Cassara added.

Mr. Weathers clapped his hands together once, a broad smile coming over his face. "Then it's decided! The two of you will duel each other, and the winner gets to be the _Revealer's_ editor-in-chief! Now, the only thing left to decide is _when_ to schedule this match-up…suggestions, ladies?"

"Well…perhaps we could hold it at a time that would be most convenient for those students who'd like to see the outcome," Cassara said.

"How about later this afternoon, at 2:00?" Vasha suggested. "According to the schedule, there are only three major classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00—the Fusion class taught by Principal Yuki, the Freshman P.E. class taught by Coach Hassleberry, and the Deck Archetype class taught by Dr. Crowler. Most other students use that period either to study or to practice their dueling."

"Hmmm…yes, that does sound like a good plan," Mr. Weathers mused. "Well, I'm sure those instructors won't mind a slight change in the schedule for today—but of course, I'll have to talk to Principal Yuki first. If he and the other instructors agree, then an announcement will be dispatched over the P.A. system to the rest of the school. Meanwhile, I want both of you to work on your decks until the appointed time, or unless a different schedule is given for this duel. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Vasha and Cassara replied simultaneously.

"Good, very good." Mr. Weathers then nodded to Cassara. "Ms. Blackstone, I'm sorry, but could you excuse us now? There is another matter I wish to discuss with Ms. Morrison, since she's here presently."

"Of course, sir. Excuse me." Cassara nodded to Mr. Weathers, shot a brief glare at Vasha, and then got up and headed for the door.

Vasha turned her head slightly and watched as Cassara took her leave. Then, as the door clicked shut, she turned to Mr. Weathers…and her smile grew cold. "That was even easier than I'd hoped."

Again Mr. Weathers adjusted his glasses—and now his smile became cold, as well. "You did the right thing, coming to me with this problem, Ms. Morrison. No confounded Osiris Red student should have the opportunity to be in such an important position as editor-in-chief of our Academy's newspaper. That privilege belongs only to our esteemed Obelisk Blue."

"Still…considering her deck strategy, defeating her in a duel may not be so simple," said Vasha. "As I told you, hers is a Life Point deck…"

"…for which I have the perfect card to counter it," Mr. Weathers assured her. He then reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a huge stash of cards. Thumbing through it for a moment, he eventually selected one card and handed it to Vasha. "This card is designed particularly with a strategy like hers in mind," he continued. "Use this, and she won't know up from down for the rest of the duel."

Vasha reached forward and accepted the card. "I'll make sure you're fully recompensed for your trouble, sir, that I promise you," she told him.

"Well, there IS one way you could repay me, my dear," Mr. Weathers told her. "After you take control of the _Revealer,_ perhaps you could…reveal…a story that will be so shameful to that fool Jaden Yuki, he'll have no choice but to step down as principal."

Vasha grinned. "Believe me, sir, after the way his little brat Janus humiliated my boyfriend the other night, I do believe I can come up with a juicy little story that'll rock this Academy's foundation. Shall I share some of the possible headlines I'm thinking of?"

"Obelisk Blues _are_ known for their creativity," said Mr. Weathers. "Do share."

----------

_**neomage:**_ So, folks, the match-up you've all been waiting to see—Cassara vs. Vasha—is in progress, and in the midst of it all…CONSPIRACY! CONSPIRACY! CONSPIRACY! CONSPIRACY!

So…have patience, please, while I set up the upcoming chapters! And meantime, read and review, everyone!


	22. Cassara vs Vasha, Part 1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: MEDIC! GET OUT HERE NOW! Oh yeah, and I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 22 – Cassara vs. Vasha, Part 1**

DUEL ACADEMY, 1:15 p.m.

"Students, faculty and staff of Duel Academy, your attention, please!" Principal Yuki's voice, coming strongly over the P.A. system, caused everyone to pause where they were to listen. Whether they had been walking along the corridors, seated in classrooms, or at work in the various school departments, everyone's attention was now caught by the voice of the Academy's principal.

"This is Principal Yuki speaking, and I have an announcement to make," Principal Yuki continued. "As you all know, at this morning's assembly instructions were given for students interested in staff positions for the school newspaper, the _Duel Academy Revealer,_ to leave their names at the English department. Well, that department has just sent word that most of the students who volunteered their names have been granted positions to work with the paper…however, only one position remains to be filled, that of editor-in-chief, and as it turns out, two students are qualified for that role: Vasha Morrison of Obelisk Blue, and Cassara Blackstone of Osiris Red!"

Almost like a tidal wave, excited and speculative whispers flew across the school, even as Principal Yuki continued to talk. "It has thus been decided that at 2:00 today, these two young women will have a duel in the auditorium, to determine which of them will be granted control over the _Duel Academy Revealer._ To that end, for today only, the classes that would normally be scheduled at that time will be suspended, so everyone will have an opportunity to witness this duel."

Cheers broke out amongst many of the students as this part of the announcement was heard. "And, to Cassara Blackstone and Vasha Morrison," Principal Yuki finished, the smile evident in his tone, "when the time comes for the two of you to duel, I say good luck to both of you!"

And…Mr. Weathers sat in his office, leaning back in his chair and smiling even as he listened to Principal Yuki's announcement over the intercom. "Jaden Yuki, you ignorant little sack of excrement," he whispered. "By making this announcement, you've just sealed your own departure from this Academy forever! And with you gone, the true hierarchy of Duel Academy will be permanently reinstated!"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY TEACHERS' LOUNGE, 1:30 p.m.

"So, all the 2:00 classes will be suspended to make way for this duel, eh?" Professor Crosskill remarked.

"Well, no complaints from this drill sergeant," Coach Hassleberry chuckled, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table. "Having to teach phys-ed every day for the whole school week does tend to take the wind out of you, no matter how much you're trained for it. It'll be nice to catch a little R&R."

"Come now, Hassleberry, you're just being lazy," Dr. Crowler replied. "Not that I object to this duel taking the place of class-time for one day, but it can't happen every single day, you understand."

"Of course, this particular match-up _will_ decide the fate of the _Duel Academy Revealer's_ editorship," Professor Flannigan pointed out. "I must say, if Cassara Blackstone does win, it'll be revolutionary: a second-year Osiris Red student in charge of the school paper…"

Nearby, Professor Takamura was quietly fiddling with a juice-box. "Hmm? Hey, Takamura, you've been awfully quiet over there so far…wanna share what's on your mind?" Professor Crosskill asked.

"Huh? Oh…well…" Professor Takamura sighed. "I'm just starting to wonder if it was really okay to convince Ms. Blackstone to sign up for the school paper, that's all."

"How come?" Professor Flannigan asked, in surprise.

"If I'd known it would come down to a duel of this nature, I probably would never have persuaded that girl," Professor Takamura sighed. "Everyone knows that Vasha Morrison is very harsh towards Osiris Red students, after all."

"I see what you're talking about," said Dr. Crowler. "And it's such a shame, really—all three of the dorms have been given equal status now, yet so many students of Obelisk Blue still carry on the hierarchal prejudices of old. Very sad, let me tell you."

"Yeah, it is a problem," Coach Hassleberry agreed. "If Osiris Red students, especially the freshmen, are subjected to such cruel and unusual treatment from the Obelisk Blues, then by the time they're supposed to move up to the blue dorm themselves, they'll probably turn that hate on the next generation of Osiris Reds. And it's not fair to anybody."

"Well, Dr. Crowler, you're the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm—what are you doing about it?" Professor Crosskill asked the older man.

"I'm doing what I can, but my progress in that regard is so tediously limited," Dr. Crowler admitted. "For one thing, as you should all be aware, not only are there students here within the Obelisk Blue dorm who resent the equality between the dorms, but there are teachers here who feel that way as well. And while it may be one thing to instruct the students on the straight and narrow, it's a very different story with those teachers."

"Yeah." Professor Flannigan's expression was grave. "Do you all remember what happened five years ago, when Principal Yuki first instituted the rule of dorm equality? Sure, there were plenty of us who supported the move, but there were others who threatened to resign if the new rule was not repealed…and sad to say, a few of them actually did. Those who didn't and are still here with us must still be burning up about it."

"Come to think of it…weren't you one of those teachers who spoke out against dorm equality back then?" Coach Hassleberry shot Professor Crosskill a suspicious look.

"Oh, please—so what if I did?" Professor Crosskill retorted nastily. "Life was so much simpler back when we had the hierarchy separating the dorms—at least we knew then which of the students were excelling and which ones weren't."

"Then why are you still here at Duel Academy, if you don't like the way things are now?" Professor Flannigan challenged him.

"I'm a teacher. I have an obligation to the students I've been charged to instruct." Professor Crosskill wrinkled his nose disdainfully.

"We all do, Crosskill," Professor Flannigan retorted. "You're only still here because of the nice, fat monthly paycheck you get, as well as all the fringe benefits that come with being a teacher at this school."

"Yeah, well, those are nice, too," Professor Crosskill shrugged carelessly.

"If we can get back to the topic at hand…?" Professor Takamura caught the group's attention again. "I've had Vasha Morrison in a number of my classes up to this point, and I'll tell you what I've observed. She's a very bright girl, very intelligent, and she's got the qualities of a great leader…however, she's just like those students you mentioned, being resentful of the dorm equality rule. From the first time I had her in my class back when she was still in Osiris Red, I could tell that she hated having to wear the dorm's colors…then, when she was in Ra Yellow, she picked up this very unfortunate habit of challenging Osiris Red duelists and defeating them. And that practice has gotten worse since she's gotten into Obelisk Blue—against students of Obelisk Blue or Ra Yellow she's fairly decent and professional, but against Osiris Red students she's utterly ruthless."

"So how will Cassara Blackstone fare against such a ruthless player, I wonder?" Dr. Crowler asked.

"Guess we'll have to wait until time for the actual duel, won't we, folks?" Coach Hassleberry replied.

"Indeed…that we shall…" Professor Takamura sighed.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 1:40 p.m.

Cassara was in her room, on her bed, with several cards spread out before her. "Hmm…maybe I should add this…and this…oh, that looks decent, too," she mused, picking up one card after another.

There was a knock at her door. "Who is it?" she called.

"It's Natasha!" The door then swung open, and in came Natasha. "I was hoping I'd find you before time for your big duel."

"Oh? Why's that?" Cassara queried.

"Well…um…I just wanted to wish you good luck, that's all," Natasha explained, blushing a little. "I mean, this is Vasha you're going up against, and she's an Obelisk Blue."

Cassara smiled and shook her head. "Thanks, Natasha, but I think I can beat that stuck-up show-off," she told Natasha. "I do still owe her for what she and her little group of friends did to me the other night. This will be perfect payback."

"But she's thinking the same thing about you, isn't she?" Natasha wondered.

"Hey, I'm not the one who kicked her jock boyfriend's weak butt in a duel," said Cassara. "If she's going to blame anybody for that, it should be Janus."

"Well…I guess so…" Natasha sighed and sat down next to Cassara. "In any case, will it really be all right? I've been asking around, and some people are telling me that Vasha's almost as good a duelist as Calhoun!"

At that Cassara chuckled. "Well, that must mean a lot, huh? Especially considering how scared Vasha got of Janus when he threatened her at that one point during the duel with Calhoun…even if she'll never admit it herself…and don't forget, Janus _did_ defeat Calhoun."

She reached forward and playfully pinched Natasha's cheek. "Don't worry about a thing, Natasha—it'll be just fine," she assured her friend. "There's absolutely no way I'm gonna let Vasha beat me in this duel. Just watch—I'll wipe the floor with her!"

"Okay, if you say so…" Natasha sweat-dropped a little and laughed a tad nervously at Cassara's determination.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OBELISK BLUE DORM, AT THAT MOMENT

"Okay…so that's the card that old man Weathers gave you, huh?" Calhoun Vincente asked. He and Vasha were together in a corner in the main hall of the Obelisk Blue dorm's chief building, where Vasha was just showing him the card she'd gotten from Mr. Weathers.

"Got that right, baby," Vasha nodded. "With this little edge that he gave me, I'll definitely whip that bitch's ass when it comes time for the duel."

"Which shouldn't be too long from now," Calhoun observed, glancing up at the large clock on the wall above the building's entrance. "Another fifteen or so minutes."

"Plenty of time for me to have a little…warm-up session, what do you say?" Vasha purred, bringing one hand to the back of Calhoun's head and rubbing it fondly.

Calhoun grinned. "Well, you know me—never one to turn down an invitation like that." Then suddenly, his grin faded a little. "But before we get to, ahem, last-minute practice, let me see your deck."

"Why, what is it?" Vasha queried, puzzled, even as she reached into a pocket and pulled out her deck.

Taking Vasha's cards from her, Calhoun swiftly thumbed through them. "Hmm…still using this deck strategy, it looks like," he remarked.

"Well, it's never failed me before—and it's not going to fail me now," Vasha told him.

"Sure thing, babe," Calhoun nodded. "But how about we make extra sure that she gets herself at a disadvantage, before the duel even starts, hmm?"

"How do you mean?" Vasha wondered.

Calhoun smirked. "It just so happens that I've got a bunch of cards in my spare pile, from all those I've collected over the years…and a whole bunch of them, I don't need. That girl, on the other hand…I think her deck could a little _upgrade,_ if you get my drift."

Vasha stared hard at him. "Calhoun Vincente…are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I think so." Calhoun winked at her.

Vasha continued to stare…then a devilish grin came onto her lips. "Show me these cards you're referring to."

"I keep them in one of the drawers in my room," said Calhoun. "Come on, let's go fetch them."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, 1:55 p.m.

It was now five minutes before the scheduled time for the duel between Cassara and Vasha. The students were hurrying to the auditorium, all chattering and laughing excitedly. Inside the auditorium, all the seats were rapidly being filled, students jostling each other for comfortable spaces. Those who couldn't find seats had to settle for standing on the balcony overlooking the dueling arena in the middle of the floor.

"Excuse me…sorry…" Natasha eased her way through the swelling crowd, glancing around for any sign of her friends. "Oh, man, where could those guys be…?"

"Natasha! Up here! Come join us up here!"

Glancing up toward the balcony, Natasha's face lit up as she saw three familiar figures. "Hi, guys!" she waved to them. "Coming, coming!"

Again she eased her way through the crowd, making her way up to the balcony—and there she found Janus, Ricardo and Jiro, all standing together. "Man, what a relief that I found you three!" she exclaimed. "I was about to wonder if I was going to have to watch the duel all by myself in the crowd."

"Hey, Natasha, are you as pumped up about this duel as we are?" Janus asked her.

"You mean, as _you_ are," Ricardo needled him. "He's been like a kid on a sugar high ever since he got here—he can't wait for the duel to start."

"Are you kidding? Who in their right mind could possibly wait to watch a duel like this?" Janus argued. "I could barely sit still in class after Dad made that announcement on the intercom! And now, finally, it's time for us to watch Cassara in action!"

"I must admit, I _am_ curious to see what Cassara's deck strategy will entail," Jiro remarked.

"I can tell you what her strategy is," Natasha told him. "She uses a deck that focuses on keeping her life points really high! I had a practice duel with her this morning, and boy, she's really tough to beat with a strategy like that!"

"Hmm…life point restoration, eh…" Jiro seemed interested. "And what about the other girl, Vasha? What kind of heat is she packing?"

"I'm not really sure, actually," Janus admitted. "You know anything about it, Ricardo?"

"I have an idea, but…we'll have to wait and see if she'll use the deck strategy I think she'll use," Ricardo answered. "It has been a while since I last witnessed her dueling—she might've changed her deck by now for all I know."

Elsewhere in the auditorium, all the teachers were seated together in their own place close to the arena, along with Principal Yuki and Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "Hey, Jaden, settle down, would you? Stop fidgeting already—it'll soon start!" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki chided her husband.

"Sorry, Alexis, but I can't help it," Principal Yuki whined. "I mean, it's not every day I get to see a duel as awesome as this!"

"Actually, yes, you do see good duels every day—this is _Duel_ Academy, after all," Professor Flannigan, sitting next to Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, reminded the principal.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Principal Yuki said indignantly.

"Now, this is gonna be one battle that I'm proud to witness," Coach Hassleberry sobbed dramatically, as waterfalls spewed from his eyes.

"Oh, get over yourself, Hassleberry," Professor Crosskill said snidely.

"You lookin' to start a fight with me, man?" Coach Hassleberry jumped up, fangs in his mouth and fire in his eyes.

"Now, now, boys, settle down," Dr. Crowler admonished the two of them. "Let's just enjoy what happens in this duel, what do you say?"

Professor Takamura nodded. "Yes…a duel to decide which of those two girls will be made editor-in-chief of the school paper…"

Mr. Weathers, sitting next to Professor Takamura, presently stood up and headed for the steps leading up to the arena platform. Walking to the middle of the platform, he reached for the microphone stand that stood there, removed the mic from its place and held it to his mouth. "Ladies and gentlemen of Duel Academy, thank you all for being here today, for this great moment in Duel Academy history!" he announced.

At once a burst of applause poured across the width of the auditorium; Mr. Weathers allowed it to subside a bit before he continued. "Today, we at the English department received a number of applications for the school newspaper's staff, and as you all know, only the position of editor-in-chief remains to be filled. Now, we are about to find out which of the two remaining applicants, Cassara Blackstone or Vasha Morrison, is truly qualified to take that post!" He took a deep breath. "LADIES…COME ON OUT!"

Another burst of cheering rocked the auditorium…and in the midst of the cheering, from the two exits on opposite sides of the arena platform, two figures appeared. On one side was Cassara, her Duel-Disk on her arm and her face set with determination…on the other side was Vasha, an ever-confident smirk on her face. On seeing Cassara emerge, Ricardo grinned widely. "There she is, guys! There's Cassara right there!"

"Go, Cassara! Do your best!" Natasha cheered.

Elsewhere in the auditorium, several Obelisk Blue girls were cheering something else. "Go, Vasha! There's no way you'll lose to that girl! Kick her ass!"

On the platform, Cassara and Vasha were approaching Mr. Weathers' spot. "Welcome, ladies," he greeted the two. "I trust you're both prepared? Remember, the winner of this duel will be the editor-in-chief of our school newspaper."

"No worries, sir; I'm prepared," Vasha said coolly.

"I was born ready!" Cassara countered.

"Glad to hear it!" Mr. Weathers nodded. "All right, we all expect to see a good show out of both of you! Do your best, now!"

"Oh, I intend to do more than just my best—I intend to _win,"_ Vahsa declared.

Cassara scoffed. "As if I'd lose to you!"

"Okay, ladies, that'll be enough of that," said Mr. Weathers. "Now, shall we get the duel underway? We don't want to keep everyone waiting, after all…"

"Excuse me, Mr. Weathers—but before we start, could we be allowed to shuffle each other's decks?" Vasha inquired. "That way, neither of us will be accused of rigging our own decks, and everyone will know it was a fair match," and she smirked a little at Cassara as she made the statement.

"Well, I don't see why not," said Mr. Weathers. "Very well, then. Exchange your decks and shuffle them, please."

Cassara promptly reached into her jacket and pulled out her deck; Vasha did likewise, reaching into a pocket and pulling out her cards as well…

Up above: _"Janus!"_

_ "Master Jiro!"_

Janus and Jiro jumped in surprise when, out of nowhere, the silhouetted forms of Elemental Hero Neos and Great Shogun Shien appeared, hovering in the air in front of them. "Hey, Neos, what's up? You seem pretty jumpy," Janus remarked, keeping his voice low so the other students standing nearby wouldn't hear him.

"You, too, Shien," Jiro observed. "Is anything the matter?"

_"I suspect foul play is at work here,"_ Neos replied. _"From the moment that girl, Vasha, emerged on the platform, I've been getting a very bad vibe from her…"_

_ "Indeed,"_ Shien nodded in agreement. _"And look down at her now."_

Puzzled, the boys looked down to where Vasha was standing, holding out her deck for Cassara to take. _"Observe,"_ said Neos. _"Vasha is holding her deck by her fingertips, and with her palm facedown. And…"_

_ "Look there!" _Shien added. _"Now she's accepting your friend's deck to shuffle it…see how she is now placing her facedown palm on top of the deck…as if she was putting something on top of it?"_

Jiro's eyes narrowed. "So Vasha's trying to rig Cassara's deck, then? Isn't there something we can do?"

"From here, no," Janus replied. "And even if we got down there, would we be able to stop the duel at this point, anyway? And we can't just accuse Vasha of cheating…she's got too much student support on her side to begin with."

"Then what _can_ be done?" Jiro protested.

_"For now, unfortunately, we can do nothing,"_ Neos answered, _"except believe in Cassara's strength. Believe in her to find her own way out of this."_

"Yeah…that's right, isn't it?" Janus said thoughtfully. "Cassara was one of the prime candidates here from Duel Academy who could've taken part in Dueltropolis, but she failed to make it because she got the flu the day we were to set out. If she'd been able to attend, she probably would've made it to the top eight, if not further."

_"Then let us see how much of a duelist she will show herself to be, against that other girl,"_ Shien answered, and with that both he and Neos disappeared into thin air.

Meanwhile, below, Vasha and Cassara finished shuffling, and handed each other's decks back. "Come on, then, let's get this over with," said Vasha, and she turned and headed for one side of the arena.

"I concur," said Cassara, making her way to the other side.

"Okay!" Mr. Weathers spoke into the microphone again. "Everyone, the duel will now begin! Duelists, ready yourselves!"

As cheering broke out throughout the auditorium again, Vasha and Cassara simultaneously turned and slotted their decks into their Duel-Disks. Their respective life point counters immediately went up to 8000. "Let's go! Bring it on!" they shouted to each other, again simultaneously.

**CASSARA: 8000; VASHA: 8000**

"Ms. Morrison, since you are the upperclassman, I will allow you to call the coin toss," Mr. Weathers addressed Vasha, even as he himself began to make his way off the platform.

"Thank you, sir," Vasha replied. "In that case, I'll call tails!"

The holographic coin then appeared on the field and was flipped. It soared…and soared…and then began to descend again, hitting the ground. Flicking around for a while, eventually it stopped…and indeed, the result was tails. "So I get to go first…that was only a natural outcome," Vasha declared.

"The coin toss doesn't mean anything—what's important is who wins this duel!" Cassara snapped at her.

"Well, it definitely won't be _you,_ that's for sure," Vasha replied. "Now, let's begin!"

Both girls swiftly drew their first five cards. Then Vasha, drawing her sixth to start off, examined her hand. _All right…I don't have the necessary cards in my hand to ensure my win, but it's all right…I'll just stall for time until I get the cards I need, and then this little bitch will never know what hit her! _"Time for me to get this duel underway! And I think I'll start things off by summoning the Grand Tiki Elder (ATK 1500, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"A moment later, there emerged a malevolent-looking spirit, wearing a mysterious mask on its face and adorned with several smaller masks suspended from its waist. "Then I'll set one card facedown, for later. Make your move now—if you have any worth making."

"Oh, I do, you'll see!" Cassara replied as she drew her card. "I summon my Hysteric Fairy (ATK 1800, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" And then, on her side of the field appeared a young woman in black, scholarly-looking clothes, with white wings on her back. "Destroy the Grand Tiki Elder!" And in answer, flapping her wings, Hysteric Fairy flew skyward, coming down seconds later with a diving kick that smashed Grand Tiki Elder's mask apart.

**CASSARA: 8000; VASHA: 7700**

"So much for your monster," Cassara chuckled. "Next, I'll place two cards facedown, and call it a turn."

"Splendid! Cassara scored the first attack of this duel!" Dr. Crowler exclaimed, impressed.

"Probably," Professor Crosskill replied. "But don't forget, this is Vasha Morrison she's up against. Let's see how much longer her luck holds out, hmm?"

Mr. Weathers, watching from the sidelines, smirked. _Come, Ms. Morrison…hurry and draw the card I gave you! Show this insignificant Osiris Red girl no mercy!_

"All right, my turn again! I draw!" Vasha announced, drawing from her deck. "This time around, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and another card facedown. And that's all for now."

"Well, that's just too bad, isn't it?" Cassara scoffed, drawing another card. "Now, what to do…I know! I'll activate a Magic card—Spell Absorption!" And then all at once, a bright green aura surrounded her side of the field. "Now, as long as Spell Absorption remains on the field," she explained, "I gain 500 life points each time a Magic card is activated. Therefore, you'd better be sure that any Magic cards you activate from here on out are worth it!"

"Just go," growled Vasha.

"Don't mind if I do!" Cassara grinned. "Now, Hysteric Fairy, attack her facedown monster now!"

Again Hysteric Fairy flew skyward, and again she shot down moments later with a kick to the facedown monster card. Flipped face-up, the monster was revealed to be a large blue mask, seemingly sentient, with arms and a long tail—and it was promptly destroyed with ease. "That monster was my Nuvia the Wicked (ATK 2000, DEF 800)…but don't worry, you'll be seeing him again real soon," Vasha declared.

"Bring any monster you like against me—but you made a big mistake when you agreed to duel with me as your opponent," Cassara countered. "Anyway, I'll just set a monster in Defense Mode now, and that's it for the time being."

Vasha quickly drew her next card—now she held four. Looking at the card she'd gotten…she cocked an eyebrow. _This is…but I can't use it just yet. I have to make sure I get that other card first…now, as long as she doesn't screw up my plan, this should go smoothly… _"I'll summon another monster now," she declared aloud. "And the monster this time will be my Masked Sorcerer (ATK 900, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" Then she called to the field a pink-robed sorcerer wielding what appeared to be a timepiece of sorts, and sporting a gray mechanical-looking mask on his face.

Cassara frowned as she beheld the newcomer. "That wasn't very smart…his ATK is far lower than my Hysteric Fairy's," she remarked.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, genius," Vasha sneered. "But while that may be true now, watch how quickly the statement changes when I equip my Masked Sorcerer with this—the Mask of Brutality!"

All at once, Masked Sorcerer unleashed a long, low grunt as his mask was replaced by a different one—a horrific-looking one with fangs and clawed hands protruding from the eyes! At the same time, his DEF went down dramatically to 400—but his ATK skyrocketed to 1900! "What the…!" Cassara breathed.

"The Mask of Brutality decreases the DEF of the equipped monster by 1000 points, but in exchange that monster's ATK is increased by 1000!" Vasha explained. "Now, my Masked Sorcerer is strong enough to take down your Hysteric Fairy!"

"That may be so—but I'll still get a 500-point boost to my life points, thanks to my Spell Absorption card!" Cassara snapped—and as if to prove it, her life points swiftly rose to 8500.

**CASSARA: 8500; VASHA: 7700**

Cassara continued, "And I'll fortify myself further with my Trap card—The Spell Absorbing Life!" Then one of her facedown cards immediately flipped face-up. "When this card is activated, all monsters that are in facedown Defense Mode are flipped face-up, without any flip effects they may have being activated. Then, I get an additional 400 life points for every Effect Monster on the field. So…"

As Cassara spoke, her facedown monster card was flipped face-up, revealing it to be a large squirrel-type monster. "Meet my Nimble Momonga (ATK 1000, DEF 100)," Cassara continued. "And both he and my Hysteric Fairy are Effect Monsters…as is your Masked Sorcerer, I believe…so that means I get 1200 extra life points right there!"

**CASSARA: 9700; VASHA: 7700**

Natasha, watching from the balcony, breathed deeply. "9700 life points…there's absolutely no way Vasha will be able to beat Cassara now!"

Vasha gritted her teeth at this new development. "That doesn't mean anything to me—your monster's still going down!" she snapped. "Masked Sorcerer, obliterate Hysteric Fairy with Atmospheric Corruption!"

"And now I'll activate my other Trap card—Enchanted Javelin!" Cassara interrupted. "I can now increase my life points by an amount equal to the ATK of your attacking monster!" And to Vasha's consternation, a beautifully-decorated javelin appeared on Cassara's side of the field, showering her with sparks from its tip even as her life points rose further by 1900!

**CASSARA: 11,600; VASHA: 7700**

"That's nothing—you still lose your monster!" Vasha yelled. In that moment, Hysteric Fairy found herself caught in a sickening green mist, protruding from Masked Sorcerer's timepiece. The fairy's hands went to her throat as she struggled to breathe…but she ended up collapsing and disintegrating into nothingness. Cassara frowned as she observed this, her life points going down slightly in the process.

**CASSARA: 11,500; VASHA: 7700**

"Now, Masked Sorcerer's effect comes into play!" Vasha continued. "When he delivers battle damage to my opponent, I get to draw a card from my deck!" And this she did, so now she held three cards. "Now…that ends my turn for the moment. Make your move."

"Indeed I will!" Cassara complied, so now she held three cards in her hand as well. "And what to do…oh, I know. I'll just set another monster in Defense Mode, for the time being. Go ahead—it's your move."

Nodding, Vasha drew another card—but all of a sudden, the Mask of Brutality that was equipped to Masked Sorcerer glowed with an ominous red light! That red glow found itself all around Vasha's body as well, and she grimaced as her life points went down by 1000 points.

**CASSARA: 11,500; VASHA: 6700**

"Ugh…in order to keep Mask of Brutality on the field, I can choose to pay a cost of 1000 life points during each of my Standby Phases," she explained. She then examined the card she'd gotten…and slowly a smile spread across her face. "Now…it's time for me to start getting serious! And I'll start by activating my Trap card—Mask of Restrict!"

A second later, one of her facedown cards flipped face-up, revealing a skull-shaped mask with an ominous energy cascading from it. "Now…as long as this card remains on the field," Vasha explained, "neither player can offer any monsters as tributes under any conditions. I'm not hindered by this for the time being—but can you say the same thing, I wonder?"

At that Cassara scowled, looking at the two cards she now held. Holding one of them up, her frown deepened. _This isn't good…I was hoping I could hold on to this card until later, but now that Vasha's activated that card of hers, I won't be able to use this at all! Guess my best bet will be to hold out with the monsters I already have on the field, and those that I can readily summon without having to tribute… _She looked up in Vasha's direction again. "So what? Even if I can't tribute any monsters, at least I can still summon them where necessary! And I have two monsters on the field to fend off your Masked Sorcerer!"

"Not for long, you won't," Vasha answered scornfully. "Now, I summon Infinity Dark (ATK 1500, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" And then she called forth a mysterious black-clothed being, wearing a tattered cape and appearing in a cloud of seemingly infinite shadow. "Now, remember my Nuvia the Wicked—the same monster you destroyed a little while back? Well, he's going to make a grand return to the field now—thanks to my Monster Reborn magic card! Return to the field, my monster, in Attack Mode!" And then, as Monster Reborn's ankh symbol flashed briefly on the field, Nuvia the Wicked came back, screeching and hissing menacingly at Cassara as it did.

In that same instant, however, Cassara's life points rose further to 12,000! "My Spell Absorption card is still active, you remember," she reminded Vasha. "And since Monster Reborn is a Magic card, my life points got another 500-point boost."

**CASSARA: 12,000; VASHA: 6700**

"Doesn't mean your monsters are safe from attack, though!" Vasha answered snidely. "Now, let's have a look-see…unfortunately, as powerful as he is, my Nuvia the Wicked loses 200 ATK for every monster on your side of the field," and she pointed out Nuvia's ATK, which was currently 1600. "…and since you have two monsters, his ATK has gone down by 400. But I'll remedy that very shortly! Nuvia, destroy her Nimble Momonga!"

Nuvia, screeching loudly, flew forward and rammed into the defending Nimble Momonga—but almost as soon as that monster vanished from the field, Cassara's life points shot up even further by 1000 points.

**CASSARA: 13,000; VASHA: 6700**

"When Nimble Momonga is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I gain 1000 life points," Cassara explained coolly. "Additionally, I can Special Summon up to two more Nimble Momonga cards from my deck in facedown Defense Mode." And, as if to verify her claim, two new monster cards were immediately set on the field in Defense Mode…and with Cassara having a total of three monsters on the field at current, Nuvia's ATK dropped further to 1400.

"Like that'll stop me!" Vasha cried. "Infinity Dark, destroy one of her facedown monsters that she just called forth—the one on the extreme left!" And in response, Infinity Dark jumped forward and delivered a powerful punch to the facedown Nimble Momonga, destroying it…and even as Nuvia's ATK rose slightly to 1600 again, Cassara's life points rose to 14,000.

**CASSARA: 14,000; VASHA: 6700**

Then, from Vasha: "Now, Masked Sorcerer, your turn! Destroy the other facedown monster that was just Special Summoned!" And in response, Masked Sorcerer unleashed his corrupting green mist on the other facedown Nimble Momonga, flipping its card face-up and decaying it to nothingness…and while Nuvia's ATK rose a little more to 1800 since Cassara now only had one monster left on the field, Cassara herself found her life points increasing to 15,000.

**CASSARA: 15,000; VASHA: 6700**

"Ha!" Janus, up on the balcony, couldn't help but laugh a little. "With Cassara's life points as high as _that,_ Vasha's gonna have a really warm time just trying to bring them back down!"

Jiro, however, frowned. "Janus, I doubt you should feel at ease just so," he warned. "Sure, I know you said we should trust in Cassara, and so far she seems to be doing well. But there's no way of knowing just how Vasha may have rigged Cassara's deck…we have to stay vigilant."

Back on the field, Cassara cocked an eyebrow at Vasha. "Getting tired?"

"Not on your life!" Vasha answered. "And I hate to break it to you, kid, but your time is just about up!"

"And you figure that, how exactly?" Cassara wondered. "You may as well face it, Vasha—no matter what you do, there's no way you'll be able to topple my life point strategy. It's going to take a whole lot more than what you've been doing so far in order to defeat me."

"Don't you worry about that…I'm quite prepared to deal with you and your troublesome deck strategy," said Vasha. "Now…I'll set a card facedown…and then I'll activate the power of this Magic card!" She held up the very last card left in her hand. "Dark Designator!" Then again the Spell Absorption card increased Cassara's life points by 500

**CASSARA: 15,500; VASHA: 6700**

But now Cassara's face held a puzzled look. "Dark Designator? What on earth does that do?"

"It's quite straightforward, actually," Vasha replied, a smirk on her face. "Dark Designator's effect states that I should declare the name of one Monster card…and if you have any copies of that Monster card in your deck, you get to add one of them to your hand. And at this point, there's only one card whose name I need to call…"

"And that is…?" Cassara prompted.

Vasha's smirk broadened. "Grinder Golem (ATK 3000, DEF 300)!"

On hearing the name, a confused expression pasted itself on Cassara's face. "Grinder Golem? What the hell is that? I don't have any such card in my deck!"

"Really?" Vasha queried. "Then why don't you check your deck and confirm that for all of us?"

Still confused, Cassara nonetheless pulled her deck out of its slot and fanned the cards out, examining them closely. And—her eyes suddenly widened with surprise. "What…wait…I don't understand…where did this…" Her voice died away as a sudden realization hit her. _This card wasn't in my deck when I prepared myself for this duel! I've never even seen or heard of this card before now! So…_ Her eyes narrowed. _Why, that BITCH! She must've been hiding this card, and slipped it into my deck when she was shuffling my cards at the start of the duel!_

"So? Do you, or don't you, have that card? Or maybe I should come over there and confirm it one way or the other for myself?" Whereupon Vasha swiftly crossed over to the still-stunned Cassara, snatched her deck from her and browsed through it. "Well, what do you know—you actually DO have a copy of the card! So, add it to your hand already!" And she handed the deck back.

Gritting her teeth, Cassara reluctantly added the card to her hand as instructed. "You…I know what you did…you're going to pay for this!"

Vasha laughed and brushed her hair back with one hand, even as she crossed back to her side of the field. "Really, now, I don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed with an air of innocence. "Anyway, it's time for me to end my turn…" And her smile became a lot smugger.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Liar, liar, pants on fire, as everyone who saw the old version of this chapter will know already…Well, read and review, anyway!


	23. Cassara vs Vasha, Part 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Call the Red Cross! Call the Salvation Army! Call the Meals on Wheels trucks!....um, yeah. I don't own any of these, nor do I own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 23 – Cassara vs. Vasha, Part 2**

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM

"Grinder Golem…" Ricardo frowned as he watched the exchange between Vasha and Cassara down on the arena floor. "I don't recall Cassara having that card…"

"But how did Vasha know Cassara had that card in her deck?" Natasha wondered.

"Because Vasha put it there."

"Huh?" Natasha and Ricardo looked over at Janus. "Janus, what are you talking about?" Ricardo queried.

Janus's eyes were narrowed. "Vasha rigged Cassara's deck from the start of the duel. She must have slipped that Grinder Golem card into Cassara's deck when they were shuffling each other's cards."

"But—that means Vasha cheated!" Natasha exclaimed. "Somebody's gotta do something! Make them stop the duel!"

"Unfortunately, it's not in our power to do that," Jiro pointed out. "And it's much too late to do it at this point, in any case. Everybody's been so hyped up about this duel all afternoon, so there's no way they'll allow it to be stopped—and besides, if we accuse Vasha of having cheated, she'll just deny it."

"For now, we'll just have to hope that Cassara can finish this duel," Janus nodded.

On the sidelines of the dueling platform, Mr. Weathers blinked at the turn of events unfolding before him. "That's odd…how'd Vasha know about that card…?"

"Because I gave it to her to put to good use, sir."

"Eh?" Mr. Weathers turned—and approaching him was Calhoun Vincente. "Oh, Mr. Vincente…so that card is yours, then?"

"Indeed it is, sir," Calhoun confirmed. "And with the combo that Vasha's set up, along with the card you gave her earlier, everything will fall into place."

"I see…Ms. Morrison told you about the aid I gave her," Mr. Weathers remarked.

"That she did," Calhoun nodded. "I merely decided to give her a little extra ammunition." He smirked at the older man. "Win by any means necessary; be stronger than all others; the weak cannot trample the strong. That's the lesson you taught us Obelisk Blue students before Principal Yuki came to power, remember?"

Mr. Weathers grinned at this. "It would seem I taught you well, Mr. Vincente. Now…" He turned his eyes back to the duel. "Let's see Ms. Morrison apply that lesson to this fight, hmm?"

**CASSARA: 15,500; VASHA: 6700**

The stats of the duel were shown for all to see: Cassara was way ahead in the lead with 15,500 life points, while Vasha only had 6700. Vasha held no cards in her hand; Cassara, meanwhile, had three cards, including the Grinder Golem that had just been added to her hand. On the field, however, it was a whole other story: Cassara only had one monster facedown in Defense Mode, and her Spell Absorption magic card was still active; meanwhile, Vasha had her Masked Sorcerer equipped with the Mask of Brutality, Nuvia the Wicked with 1800 ATK due to its effect, and Infinity Dark, all in Attack Mode, plus her Mask of Restrict trap card was still active, and she had two other cards facedown.

Now Cassara took her turn and drew another card, so she now held four in hand…and she gave her hand a troubled look. _This is bad…as long as Vasha has that Mask of Restrict on the field, I can't tribute any monsters, whether for summoning or for card effects…and especially with this troublesome Grinder Golem that I've suddenly wound up with… _She took a moment to examine the Grinder Golem card. _I see…so this is its effect, eh? Well…not like I have a choice…but it's the best I can do for the time being!_

"All right, Vasha!" she said aloud. "I'm going to Special Summon the Grinder Golem you were kind enough to let me have! I can only Special Summon this card if I also Special Summon two Grinder Tokens in face-up Attack Mode on my side of the field…and Grinder Golem itself will be Special Summoned to your side of the field!"

Almost instantly, there appeared on Vasha's side of the field a humongous metallic behemoth, with a buzz-saw blade for a head and spikes all over its body—crouched in a defensive stance. "As you can see, I've Special Summoned the Grinder Golem in Defense Mode," said Cassara, even as two tokens looking extremely similar to the Grinder Golem itself appeared on her own side of the field. "As for these tokens, they're both treated as Fiend-type, Dark-attribute, Level 1 monsters with an ATK and DEF of 0, and of course, as I said, they're both in Attack Mode. Unfortunately, I can't Normal Summon or Set any other monsters during this same turn…not that I could anyway, I'll admit…but that's all right for now. Still, I'll admit that this hand I have here is quite a bother, so…"

"So?" Vasha prompted.

"So, I'll activate this Magic card, Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards1 Let's see if I'll get anything worthwhile!" Cassara answered.

**CASSARA: 16,000; VASHA: 6700**

As Spell Absorption increased her life points by another 500 points, Cassara drew two more cards, so she now held four. Examining them, she scowled. "Argh…again, not much worthwhile that I can use, but oh well. I'll just set one card facedown, and then that's it for me."

"Took you long enough to do all that," Vasha said sourly, drawing her next card to replenish her hand—and again her life points dropped further.

**CASSARA: 16,000; VASHA: 5700**

"I've paid the 1000 life points needed to keep the Mask of Brutality on the field," she explained. "And…well, what do you know—I got myself a very interesting card, indeed! All right---now I summon my Masked Chopper (ATK 100, DEF 100) in Attack Mode!"A moment later, there emerged on her side of the field a helmeted monster wielding two huge swords in hand. "And, naturally, I'll shift the Grinder Golem into Attack Mode," Vasha continued, and the Grinder Golem stood up, hulking over everything else on the field. "Now, I'm in a good position to take back control of this duel from you! I've got five monsters on my side, and all you have are two measly tokens and one facedown monster! You, girl, are going down!"

"Bring it on, if you think you're so bad!" Cassara challenged.

"I'd be glad to!" Vasha laughed nastily. "Now, I'll lead the charge with the Grinder Golem—and I'll have it attack one of the Grinder Tokens!"

Its buzz-saw blade spinning, Grinder Golem charged toward one of the Grinder Tokens—but Cassara shouted, "Fat chance! I activate my Trap card, Draining Shield!"

As Vasha watched this development, a large energy shield emerged in front of the targeted Grinder Token. "Now," continued Cassara, "your attack will be negated and I'll receive life points equal to the Grinder Golem's ATK!"

But suddenly Vasha grinned widely. _So you think, little girl—but I think I've allowed you to gain life points long enough! Time to reveal my ace in the hole!_

"I'll activate my own Trap card…Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

"Huh?" Cassara's eyes widened at this.

On the sidelines, Principal Yuki stared in surprise. _That card is…!_

And Calhoun and Mr. Weathers were grinning widely. _YES!_

Grinder Golem slammed full-tilt into the Draining Shield—but all at once an immense shockwave from the collision flew forward and hit Cassara hard, knocking her down…and her life points, inexplicably, shot down to 13,000!

**CASSARA: 13,000; VASHA: 5700**

"Ow! Hey!" Cassara exclaimed. "What the heck just happened?"

Even Professor Crosskill was surprised. "Can someone explain to me what just happened there?" he demanded. "Wasn't that Draining Shield supposed to increase her life points in addition to stopping that attack? Why'd her life points go down?"

Professor Takamura looked from one to the other of the duelists' sides of the field. "I see…that must be it…!"

"Wondering why you couldn't increase your life points, huh?" Vasha sneered. "Well, you can thank my Bad Reaction to Simochi card for that. As long as it stays on the field, any card effect that would increase your life points will instead deal damage to you equal to the amount by which your life points would've increased. So, as an example, your Draining Shield card just now—sure, it negated the Grinder Golem's attack, but instead of increasing your life points by 3000, you sustained 3000 points of damage!"

Horror showed itself plainly on Cassara's face as this news sunk in. "No…but that means…"

"It means, kid, that now your entire deck strategy's gone out the window!" Vasha laughed triumphantly. "I told you I was prepared to deal with you, didn't I? And I'll show you now just how much so! Now…the Grinder Token I tried to attack a while ago—I'll attack it again, this time with my Masked Chopper!"

Masked Chopper, raising its swords onto its shoulders, leaped forward and cleaved the Grinder Token in half, lowering Cassara's life points slightly.

**CASSARA: 12,900; VASHA: 5700**

"And it doesn't stop there," Vasha went on. "For when Masked Chopper destroys a monster as a result of battle, his effect inflicts 2000 points of damage to your life points!"

"No way!" Cassara exclaimed—but just at that moment Masked Chopper turned around and slashed at her with its twin swords! Shrieking in pain, Cassara stumbled backwards a little as her life points dropped a lot more significantly!

**CASSARA: 10,900; VASHA: 5700**

"One Grinder Token down—one to go!" Vasha announced. "Masked Sorcerer, your turn!" And in response, Masked Sorcerer emitted more of his corrupting mist from his timepiece, eroding the second Grinder Token and sharply reducing Cassara's life points again.

**CASSARA: 9000; VASHA: 5700**

"And let's not forget, when Masked Sorcerer does battle damage to you, I draw one card!" and Vasha haughtily drew from her deck. "Now, I still have two more monsters to attack with. And you only have one more monster, that facedown crap that's been sitting there for a while. Well, time to find out what it is! Infinity Dark, use your Shadow Fist Attack!"

Infinity Dark's fist became shrouded in sinister black shadow as he dashed forward and punched with all his strength…but all at once, a huge, pink, worm-like creature emerged from the facedown Monster card, wrapping itself all around Infinity Dark's body! "That's the effect of my Kiseitai (ATK 300, DEF 800)," said Cassara. "When it's attacked while it's in facedown Defense Mode, no damage calculation is applied—instead, Kiseitai becomes treated as an Equip Magic card and is equipped to the monster that attacked it. Then, during each of my opponent's Standby Phases, Kiseitai will increase my life points by half the ATK of the equipped monster…" She flinched as she said this. "Or, at least, it _would,_ if it wasn't for your Bad Reaction to Simochi card…"

"And that's how it's going to stay!" Vasha answered. "And now, just one monster left to attack…and that's my Nuvia the Wicked! And in case you haven't noticed, now that you no longer have any monsters on the field, his ATK is right back to the way it should be…" And she pointed out Nuvia's ATK, right back to its original 2000! "Go, Nuvia! Attack her directly!" And Nuvia immediately flew forward, ramming hard into Cassara and knocking her onto her back as her life points dropped to 7000.

**CASSARA: 7000; VASHA: 5700**

"So much for you and your 'unstoppable' strategy," Vasha mocked her. "I'll end my turn for the moment…but next turn, you're done! You'll be nothing but dirt under my foot—right where you belong!"

Wincing, Cassara managed to pull herself together and get back up. _Crap…I'm in a really bad spot here…thanks to that Bad Reaction to Simochi card of hers, I can't risk increasing my life points, because then I'll only be inflicting damage to myself! And with that Mask of Restrict card on the field as well, neither of us can tribute monsters—but she doesn't need to do that at this point! She's really got me cornered, and then some—next turn, she'll be able to take her time and pick off my life points!_

She looked at the three cards in her hand, and flinched a little more. _And with the situation as it is right now…What can I do…? It's my turn now, but…if I get a dead draw this turn, then I'll…!_

"CASSARAAAAA!"

A collective gasp could be heard throughout the auditorium in response to the sudden yell, coming from the balcony. All eyes turned as one to look in the direction the yell had come from, Vasha's and Cassara's included. "Wha…?" Cassara blinked.

Vasha scowled. "That kid…"

Up there on the balcony, his hands tightly gripping the railing, Janus was leaning forward and looking intently down toward the platform. Close by, Ricardo, Natasha and Jiro were all looking at him with some degree of surprise, as was everyone else in Janus's general vicinity. From their places on the sidelines, all the teachers were looking up toward Janus's direction, as well. "Janus?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki wondered.

"Hey, Cassara!" Janus shouted down to her. "What's the big idea, having that look on your face when you haven't even drawn yet? You're still in this duel—you haven't lost by a mile! You can still win this! Never mind that Vasha's got the field advantage right now—that doesn't mean victory is hers! But if you just give up right now, you really will lose! Think about that!"

"Janus…" Cassara whispered.

"That expression that says you're thinking of throwing in the towel is no expression for a true duelist to wear!" Janus continued. "And as a certain really smart guy once said, 'A duel's not over till the last card is played!' So, come on! Take your turn with pride! Show everybody here that you're not going to run away from any obstacle or difficulty! Show everybody what kind of strength you've really got inside! SHOW US ALL THAT YOU'RE A TRUE DUELIST, CASSARA BLACKSTONE!"

Looking on with amazement as Janus loudly made his declaration, Principal Yuki couldn't help but smile. _Just the sort of thing you'd say, my son!_

Calhoun and Mr. Weathers, however, looked utterly annoyed. "That guy…doesn't he know when to shut up?" Calhoun asked crossly.

"It's only natural he'd be so noisy—he's Jaden Yuki's son, after all, isn't he?" Mr. Weathers added.

For her part, though, Cassara continued to stare up at Janus. And…ever so slowly, a smile appeared on her lips. Then—taking everyone by surprise—she flashed him a thumbs-up. "As if I'm gonna give up so easily!" she cried out to him. "Watch me, Janus—I'll beat this bimbo's scrawny butt!"

"Now THAT'S what I wanna hear!" Janus grinned and returned the thumbs-up.

Vasha scoffed at this exchange of gestures. "Geeks comforting each other…it's only natural, I suppose," she snorted.

"That's enough out of you, now!" Cassara flared. "You think your little cheap trick was going to stop me? Well, I beg to differ! Now…my draw!"

With a grand flourish, she drew from her deck—and her eyes widened when she saw what the new card was. "Heh…you know, even I'd almost forgotten, silly me," she remarked. "When it comes to mastery of a life point strategy, it's not only about increasing one's own life points…in fact, it works both ways."

"What're you talking about?" Vasha demanded.

"You've only seen one half of my overall strategy," said Cassara. "Now, it's time I showed you the other half. So…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…and that's it for the time being. Go ahead."

"You'll regret that invitation!" Vasha snarled, drawing her card so that she now held two in hand. "Now, then…since this is my Standby Phase, your Kiseitai's effect activates, and half of Infinity Dark's ATK…will be deducted from your life points thanks to my Bad Reaction to Simochi!" At once the Kiseitai wrapped around Infinity Dark glowed slightly…and Cassara winced as she felt her life points drop to 6250.

**CASSARA: 6250; VASHA: 5700**

"All right, then," Vasha went on. "Next, I'll pay another 1000 life points to maintain my Mask of Brutality!"

**CASSARA: 6250; VASHA: 4700**

"Now I'm going to attack once again!" Vasha went on. "Nuvia the Wicked, attack first! Destroy her facedown monster!"

Nuvia, its ATK lowered to 1800 due to the presence of Cassara's monster on the field, flew forward once again and rammed into the facedown monster card, revealing it to be a huge, pink, semi-transparent blob of sorts—but suddenly, and to Vasha's utter astonishment, she got an electric shock as her life points dropped to 4200!

**CASSARA: 6250; VASHA: 4200**

"Hey! What gives, here?" Vasha demanded.

"The monster you attacked was my Giant Germ (ATK 1000, DEF 100)," Cassara explained calmly. "When it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard via battle, 500 points of damage is inflicted to your life points…and in addition, I can Special Summon up to two more copies of Giant Germ from my deck, in Attack Mode!" And then, as she said this, two more Giant Germs emerged on her side of the field.

"Grrr…fine, but they're not going to be there for much longer!" Vasha stormed. "Infinity Dark, destroy one of those disgusting things!"

Infinity Dark rushed forward and punched through one Giant Germ, splattering its remains all over the place and lowering Cassara's life points to 5750—and in turn, the destroyed monster's effect hit Vasha again, lowering her own life points.

**CASSARA: 5750; VASHA: 3700**

But Vasha didn't stop. "Now, Masked Sorcerer, destroy that other monster!" And, with a wave of his timepiece, Masked Sorcerer sent his corroding mist to consume the remaining Giant Germ, lowering Cassara's score further to 4850.

**CASSARA: 4850; VASHA: 3700**

"And once again, Giant Germ's effect activates!" Cassara announced—and sure enough, Vasha found herself suffering 500 more points of damage.

**CASSARA: 4850; VASHA: 3200**

"But once again, Masked Sorcerer's effect activates—since I've done battle damage to you, I draw another card!" Vasha countered, and she drew her card from her deck so that now she held three in her hand. "And now, your life points are wide open once again! Masked Chopper, Grinder Golem, attack directly!"

Masked Chopper jumped forward, slashing at Cassara with his swords and bringing her life points down slightly to 4750. Then, Grinder Golem charged forward, thrusting one metallic fist forward and slamming Cassara's stomach hard, sharply bringing her score down to 1750! Reeling from the attack, Cassara found herself tumbling backwards, involuntarily gagging and choking from the force of the blow!

**CASSARA: 1750; VASHA: 3200**

"Oh, no! Cassara!" Natasha cried out.

"Damn it…" Ricardo winced as he watched Cassara collapse to her knees. "Another attack like that, and then…!"

Janus's expression was now grim.

"So, how does it feel, to bow before a superior duelist?" Vasha taunted Cassara, who was struggling to get back up while holding her midsection. "How does it feel, to finally come face-to-face with the realization that you, a lowly Osiris Red student, are no match for me, an Obelisk Blue elite?"

Standing up again, Cassara glared at her. "Who's an elite?" she asked. "You? Well, 'Ms. Elite,' just wait right there…for I've got something to show you. I'm going to show you the strength of Osiris Red's determination—a strength that'll break you in half and leave you nothing but an empty shell of yourself when I'm through with you!"

"Ha! As if!" Vasha laughed. "Well, all right, then. Show me this determination of yours, if you think you can."

"I will!" Cassara vowed. And with that, she prepared to draw…and as she did, one thought crossed her mind.

_Janus…I know sometimes you do a lot of stuff to tick me off…but even with all that, you've never had cause to intentionally mislead me. And with what's at stake in this duel—not just the position of editor-in-chief for the school paper, but also the pride of Osiris Red, the integrity of Duel Academy, and the strength and honor of duelists the world over—with all of that, you wouldn't have given that speech you just gave if you didn't think it was worth giving. So…watch me, Janus! You wanted me to show you that I am a true duelist…so that's exactly what I will show you! And…I'll bet all of that…on this draw…!_

And then she drew.

Standing opposite her, Vasha sported an ever-growing impatience on her face. "Well? Get on with it!"

Vasha examined the card she'd drawn. Then she shook her head. "Vasha Morrison…that's a demand you're going to regret having made," she answered. "I'll set one card facedown…then summon Nurse Reficule the Fallen One (ATK 1400, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later, there appeared on her side of the field a woman with white and blue bat's wings, blue hair styled with several bangs shaped like blades, and clothed completely in white with bandages covering her face, arms and legs—and immediately Nuvia the Wicked's effect lowered its ATK slightly to 1800. Vasha, on seeing the monster, was dumbfounded for a moment. "What the hell is that supposed to be?" she asked.

"I'll confess right now, it's not a monster I use very often," Cassara admitted. "But at this point, and against you, I have no reason to hold back. So…Nurse Reficule, destroy the Masked Chopper with your Hair Scythe Attack!"

Several strands of Nurse Reficule's hair suddenly seemed to come to life, lengthening on their own and rushing toward the suddenly-afraid Masked Chopper…but then Vasha exclaimed, "Not so fast! I activate my Trap card, Mask of Weakness, to decrease your attacking monster's ATK by 700 till the end of this turn!"

As Vasha's card that had been facedown so long finally flipped face-up, Nurse Reficule found her face being inexplicably encased by a large mask with spikes protruding from its edges, as her ATK sharply went down to 700. "Not too shabby," said Cassara, "but her ATK is still high enough to destroy the Masked Chopper!" And as if to confirm the statement, Nurse Reficule's hair sliced Masked Chopper into pieces, lowering Vasha's life point count to 2600.

**CASSARA: 1750; VASHA: 2600**

"Oh, well, at least I was able to soften the blow of your monster's attack," sighed Vasha. "It's not like it would make a big difference in the eventual scheme of things, anyhow."

"We'll soon see about that, now won't we?" answered Cassara. "Take your turn, now."

"And THAT, I'm afraid, was your final turn!" Vasha taunted her as she drew from her deck, giving her a total of four cards in hand. "Now, first things first, I no longer need my Mask of Brutality's power, so I'll choose not to pay the cost for its upkeep…"

At once the Mask of Brutality disappeared from the Masked Sorcerer's face, replaced by his normal mask as his ATK went back down to 900 and his DEF went back up to 1400. "Then," continued Vasha, "the effect of your Kiseitai activates—and since my Bad Reaction to Simochi card is still active, you'll once again get damage equal to half of my Infinity Dark's ATK!"

As Vasha said that, Cassara flinched as Kiseitai's effect kicked in, altered by the Bad Reaction to Simochi card, and her own life points went down to a very flat 1000. "Geez…that really, really bugs me now…" Cassara muttered.

**CASSARA: 1000; VASHA: 2600**

"Oh, don't worry, it won't be much of a bother to you for much longer," Vasha said with false sincerity. "Now…Grinder Golem, attack! Eliminate her Nurse Reficule and give me my victory!"

Grinder Golem's buzz-saw blade began to spin, with sinister intent as the behemoth prepared to charge—but suddenly Cassara exclaimed, "Hold it, Vasha! I'm going to give you a little gift…in the form of my Trap card, Gift Card!"

All at once, Cassara's facedown card flipped face-up—and out of nowhere, what looked like a greeting card adorned in ribbons popped up on the field. Vasha blinked on seeing this. "Uh…what?"

"Gift Card's effect is quite simple and straightforward, you see," said Cassara. "When I activate it, my opponent gets 3000 life points. No catches, no quirks. You increase your life points as simple as that."

"HA!" Vasha laughed loudly. "I always figured Osiris Red dweebs were retarded, but you take the prize! Why would you want to knowingly increase my life points, especially at this point when I'm about to destroy you and your pathetic monster?"

"Actually…Nurse Reficule isn't so pathetic when you stop to consider her special effect," Cassara countered, as a twinkle appeared in her eye. "Because as long as she's on the field, any card effect that would increase my opponent's life points will instead inflict the same amount of points in damage to my opponent! Basically, Nurse Reficule is a monster version of your Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

"…what…!" Vasha's eyes widened in absolute horror at this revelation. "But—that means…!"

"It means, this combo is dead perfect!" Cassara grinned. "And you're just plain _dead!"_

The Gift Card immediately transformed into a ball of light, drawn into Nurse Reficule's hands. Lifting both hands above her head, she flung the light-ball right over to Vasha's side of the field—and it exploded with major concussive force, enough to cause Vasha's monsters to shy away from the point of impact! "AAAAAHHH!" Vasha screamed, flung back by the impact and landing hard on her rear end, culminating in her tumbling head over heels off the platform even as her life points shot down to 0.

**CASSARA: 1000; VASHA: 0**

An immense hush fell over the entire auditorium as Vasha landed on the ground outside the platform. Calhoun and Mr. Weathers stared in absolute shock. Principal Yuki, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, and all the teachers stared, wide-eyed. All the other students were silent, even as they gaped at what had just happened.

Then Natasha broke the silence. "Woo-hoo! All right, Cassara!"

Janus joined in, flashing two thumbs-up. "That was absolutely rockin'!"

Ricardo laughed and applauded loudly; the applause was swiftly taken up by surrounding students, spreading throughout the auditorium. Jiro merely crossed his arms and smiled. "In spite of being unfairly set up, she still won in the end," he commented. "Truly, she knows how to duel, for real."

"Way to go, little trooper!" Coach Hassleberry had waterfalls sprouting from his eyes. "I feel so proud right now…!"

Professor Takamura beamed brightly. "Well played, Ms. Blackstone!" she called to the girl.

Cassara took in all the accolades that were being hurled her way, and blushed. "Aw, gee, everybody…" she giggled, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

On the sidelines, Calhoun was already at Vasha's side, helping her to sit up. "Vasha! Vasha, you okay?" he asked urgently.

Vasha winced as she rubbed the small of her back. "Ow…I can't believe it…to lose to a filthy Osiris Red student, and _that_ bitch at that…"

Mr. Weathers stared in dismay at Vasha, then at Cassara. "No…how could this be…how could an Obelisk Blue student lose such a privileged position just so…?" he moaned.

"Hey! Mr. Weathers!" Professor Crosskill called to him. "Hurry up and make the official announcement, would you? I think the students would at least like that formality done!"

"Yeah! Announce it!" several excited students, sitting closest to the platform, echoed.

His mouth now set in a grim line, Mr. Weathers stiffly ascended the steps to the platform, crossing over to where Cassara still stood. Raising his microphone to his mouth, he spoke for everyone to hear. "Everyone, here is your winner of this duel—Ms. Cassara Blackstone of the Osiris Red dorm! From here on out, until otherwise indicated, she will be the editor-in-chief for the _Duel Academy Revealer!"_

More cheers broke out across the auditorium. Mr. Weathers then turned to Cassara. "Would you care to say a few words to the school now, Ms. Editor-in-chief?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice from sounding strained.

"Yes, sir!" Cassara eagerly took the mike from him. "Everyone, thank you for having come to show your support and to witness this duel between Vasha and myself! As the newly-appointed editor-in-chief of the school paper, I promise you right now, that all reports that you'll read will be as concise, as factual, and as well-supported by evidence as possible! There will be no cover-ups, no hiding of truth—that's why it's known as the _Revealer!"_

"Well said! Well said!" Professor Flannigan said, grinning widely.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, Principal Yuki noticed that Mr. Weathers had quickly left the platform while Cassara was addressing everyone, and that even now he was leaving through one of the exits with Calhoun and Vasha. "Hey, Alexis," he nudged his wife, "think you can cover for me in giving Cassara my congrats? I think I need to have a word with the loser of this duel."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki blinked, taken by surprise by the request. "Um, all right, I guess…"

"Thanks." And without another word, Principal Yuki turned and walked off in the direction that the departing trio had gone.

----------

"Damn it…damn it…damn it…damn it…" Vasha kept saying that phrase over and over as Calhoun led her down the hallway, away from the auditorium.

Mr. Weathers, not far behind the couple, had a very displeased look on his face. "I cannot believe it…I simply cannot believe it," he growled. "How could Ms. Morrison, an Obelisk Blue elite, lose to an Osiris Red scrub?"

Calhoun scowled. "Whether you like it or not, old man, the fact remains that she did," he answered. "But now what're you planning to do about it? I mean, it's not like you can just waive the outcome of that duel, right?"

The trio headed round a corner, where only then Calhoun gently leaned Vasha up against the wall. "Damn it…" Vasha said again. "Why, that little runt…I'll never forgive her!"

"Ms. Morrison, believe me when I say I feel just as badly about this as you do right now," Mr. Weathers remarked. "After all, I _did_ give you the Bad Reaction to Simochi card to use in this duel—how could I possibly have known that Ms. Blackstone would still have been able to survive regardless?"

"How could you, indeed?"

The three jerked their heads up at the sound of the voice. "Crap…!" Calhoun hissed.

There was Principal Yuki, leaning against an adjacent wall right at the corridor's corner, his hands in his pockets in a carefree manner. Now he stood up straight and walked toward them. "I thought you'd been up to something during that duel, Vasha, but I never would've imagined that a well-respected teacher would've been in on such a scheme."

"What are you talking about? I played that duel, fair and square!" Vasha exclaimed.

"Did you, now?" Principal Yuki sounded amused. "Because, you see, I thought something was off when you played that Dark Designator card during the duel. That card's effect requires that you _know_ your opponent has the card whose name you call inside their deck. And to the best of my knowledge, you and Cassara have never actually dueled each other before today. Plus, the very fact that Cassara didn't even know that that Grinder Golem card was in her deck until you showed it to her…don't you think even an amateur duelist would know their own deck better than that?"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Calhoun said hotly.

"Well, you're right. Just my observation of that doesn't prove beyond a doubt that cheating was involved in this duel." Principal Yuki pulled one hand out of his pocket and rubbed the tip of his nose sheepishly. "Also, it could be possible that you, Vasha, just happened to see Cassara dueling somewhere, and decided to fortify your deck with a card that would specifically combat her style. Who am I to say yea or nay, right? But then, of course, there's that little admission that old man Weathers here just made…"

Mr. Weathers's eyebrows knitted together. "So what?"

"Well, you see, giving a student a little helping hand _per se _isn't a bad thing in itself," Principal Yuki admitted. "But…why DID you do it, Mr. Weathers? Why give that particular card to Vasha, when she was going to be in this duel that had such an important prize waiting for the winner? Well, I have a little theory about that. Would you like to hear it?"

"Even if I say no, I've a feeling you'll tell us anyway," Mr. Weathers said sourly.

"And you'd be right," Principal Yuki laughed lightly. "You see…back when I first became principal of Duel Academy, you were one of those folks who voted against me. After that, when I changed the dorm structure to give all three dorms equal standing and power, you were one of those teachers and department heads who protested, and threatened to resign and boycott the school board if that decision wasn't overruled…and yet, funny enough, you're not one of those people who actually did leave after the fact. So, just now, I thought about it…and then I came to the core of my theory."

"And that would be…?" Vasha asked.

"Well, it's like this," said Principal Yuki. "Vasha, you're a highly-respected member of Obelisk Blue. If you had won today, and gotten to be editor-in-chief of the _Revealer_, you probably would've used your influence to call for a reinstating of Obelisk Blue's former rule over Ra Yellow and Osiris Red. And with backing from Mr. Weathers here, who a lot of people know doesn't like me already, you would've been able to call for my removal from the post of principal. Whether that would've actually worked or not, however, I don't know…but I guess I'd have been in a lot of trouble if it did!" He laughed again.

"Go ahead, laugh it up," Mr. Weathers said darkly. "There's no way you can prove any of what you're saying. It's all nothing but conjecture and theory!"

"And at this point, it's all moot, too." Principal Yuki shrugged. "Now I'm just going to say a couple more things, and then you three can be on your way. Vasha, you're a really good duelist, I know that much after watching you today…but next time, could you maybe try winning on your own, with your own cards? And make it a fair duel, too; it's more fun that way."

Vasha scowled at him, but kept silent.

"Calhoun, I know about how Janus beat you in a duel the other night," Principal Yuki continued. "And like Vasha today, you tried a cheap shot in order to win. But if you really try to play fair, you'd make a great duelist! Just don't go dueling for revenge—it kinda sours the experience, you know what I mean? And like I said, dueling's supposed to be fun! Even Dr. Crowler will attest to that!"

Calhoun's eyes narrowed.

"And now you, Mr. Weathers…" Principal Yuki smiled broadly. "You could've resigned from a long time ago, yet here you are still. And do you know why I haven't fired you yet, even knowing you'd pay to see me booted out of Duel Academy? It's because you're a good teacher; you're a role model, especially to the Obelisk Blues who'll be graduating in another year or two. And even some of the Ra Yellow and Osiris Red kids look up to you, you know? Just because of that, I'll keep quiet about your role in what went on today. And I'll even put up an offer to you. If you ever still want to resign, feel free to do that. If you ever want to challenge me head-on because you don't like me being principal, that's fine too—just name the time and place. But there's just one thing I want you to remember…"

All at once—as if in an eye-blink—the sheepish joviality was gone from Principal Yuki's face; the humor vanished from his voice; instead of smiling, he was now glaring, speaking in a very ominous undertone. "If you _**ever**_…even do so much as _**think**_ of using any of my students for your own selfish reasons again…I will _**never**_ forgive you. And you will _**not**_ escape my wrath. Count on _**THAT!"**_

Calhoun's and Vasha's eyes widened in astonishment at the sudden change that had come over the principal. Mr. Weathers' defiant attitude melted, replaced for a brief moment by a twinge of fear as he involuntarily stepped back—in addition to the uncharacteristic voice Principal Yuki had just spoken in, his eyes, normally dark brown, seemed to be glowing bright amber! Swallowing out of nervous reflex, Mr. Weathers swiftly spun around, his back turned to Principal Yuki. "Come on, you two. We're leaving."

"But, sir—" Calhoun began.

"We're leaving!" Mr. Weathers repeated, more urgently and sounding more agitated than before, and he walked off in quick, jerky steps. Clearly unnerved at this, Calhoun and Vasha hurried after him, neither of them looking back at Principal Yuki even once.

Watching the trio's hasty departure, Principal Yuki closed his eyes for a moment and let out a long sigh…and when he opened his eyes again, they were their regular dark brown. "Well, I hope they've learned their lesson," he chuckled, his voice regaining its humor. "Anyway, time to go back and join in on the celebrations…I just hope they haven't decided to dump Gatorade on Cassara or anything…" And with a chuckle, he turned and walked back down the corridor toward the auditorium.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Those of you who've watched Yu-Gi-Oh GX and know Jaden Yuki's personality as of Season 3 will understand what just happened. Anyway, the school day's not over yet for Janus and his pals…but come next chapter, a new adventure begins regardless! Stay tuned!

yamikriz: Awww…I'm hungry…

rampagerkriz: Shut up! Didn't you partake of the corned beef sandwiches neomage ate earlier this evening?

yamikriz: But I don't want corned beef sandwiches…I want pizza!

neomage: Calm down, calm down. If all goes well, in due time I _might_ think of getting a pizza. Now, what kind of toppings should I get?

yamikriz: Barbecued chicken!

rampagerkriz: Sweet peppers!

krizrampage: Cheese! Lots and lots of CHEESE!

kriztrigun: Onions and olives!

kRiZ: Pineapple slices!

neomage: Heh…so many toppings, so little time…


	24. En Route to Duel Academy

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Somebody help! My fingers are typing non-stop! And as always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 24 – En Route to Duel Academy**

DUELIST KINGDOM ISLAND, 3:30 p.m.

Maximillion Pegasus sat in his large office, various business portfolios on the desk before him. But he wasn't paying any attention to these; instead, his attention was focused solely on the action figures he held in his hand. "Stop! Stop, I say! Stop in the name of the law!" he mimicked a gruff-sounding voice, even as he waved around in one hand an action figure of a dog wearing a policeman's uniform. Then, waving around an action figure of a comical rabbit in his other hand, he said in a goofier-sounding voice, "No can do, Ruff Ruff McDogg! Funny Bunny can NEVER be caught, bwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Instantly Pegasus reached down, pulled open a random desk drawer, flung the two action figures in there, and slammed it shut. Then, straightening himself in his seat, he announced in his normal speaking voice, "Come in!"

And in came Malachi Jordan, shaking his head even as he glared at Pegasus through narrowed eyes. "Were you playing with those dumb-ass cartoon action figures of yours again?" he asked warily.

"Uh…no…why would you think that?" Pegasus asked innocently.

"How about the fact that I could hear you from outside your office door?" Malachi challenged.

Pegasus laughed sheepishly as a sweat-drop made itself very prominent on his forehead. "Now, now, my boy, it's not nice to eavesdrop, didn't anybody ever tell you that?" he asked.

Malachi sighed. "Well, whatever. It doesn't concern me. Rather, I came because I wanted to ask you something."

"Well, I suppose I can spare a little time," said Pegasus warmly. "So, Malachi-boy, what's on your mind?"

Malachi eyed him. "Well…call me crazy if you will, but…it has to do with Drake Phoenix's duel with those three guys earlier today. Something…weird…happened during that duel."

At that Pegasus smiled knowingly. "I take it you're referring to the Duel Spirit that was hovering near Drakey-boy?"

Malachi cocked an eyebrow at this. "You saw it, too? Then how come nobody else could?"

"Quite simple, actually," Pegasus explained, leaning forward a little. "Not just anybody can see a Duel Spirit. For those that can, it's usually because they're that much in touch with the world where Duel Monsters reside. It's usually tapped into when a duelist is under extreme stress in the midst of a duel…or, it may be tapped into when a duelist maintains constant focus through training, as you have been doing."

"Wait—what're you saying, that Duel Monsters exist in a world separate from this one?" Malachi asked.

"Malachi-boy…after some of the things you yourself have witnessed, can you honestly ask that question?" Pegasus asked, amused. "You saw the power of the Millennium Items first-hand, and briefly used one yourself. You saw how the underground organization, JUDAS, was able to steal souls in order to revive an ancient demon. Is it really so far-fetched, then, to believe that Duel Monsters exist in their own world, apart from humanity?"

"Hmmm…I suppose not," Malachi admitted after a moment.

"You must understand—the game of Duel Monsters as we know it now was born from my study into the history of Egypt and its mythology, back when I was a young man," Pegasus told him. "Based on what I read, Duel Spirits existed long, long ago, in ancient Egypt, and could be summoned to do battle—in fact, that was how the then-Pharaoh, Aknamkanon, was able to repel the enemies of his kingdom, by using the magic of the Millennium Items to summon these monsters. Duels were fought in Egypt back then, but not with cards—they were fought with real monsters and real magic. Needless to say, it was a much more haphazard version of Duel Monsters, compared to what we have in modern times."

"Sounds like something from a storybook," Malachi remarked.

"That's what some people would say," Pegasus admitted. "But listen to this. On one day out of every year, Duel Spirits can actually become real and interact with our world just as we do. This is most especially prevalent on the island where Duel Academy is located, as that area is said to have much mystical energy surrounding it for eons. And one has to admit, many mysterious events have occurred there over the years that can't be fully explained by logic or modern science."

"Hmm…" Malachi nodded, taking in this information.

Suddenly, he held his head up and glanced sideways. "And how long have _you_ been standing there, pray tell?"

"Huh?" Pegasus turned in the direction Malachi was looking—and his jaw dropped. "My word!"

Standing there on the open windowsill was a figure dressed in a blue duffel hooded jacket, blue jeans, indigo gloves and high-heeled boots. She was wearing a small mask that covered the bottom half of her face. "Salutations," she addressed them.

Pegasus's initial surprise vanished; now he chuckled with amusement. "My, my…it's been a long time since I last saw you. I'm impressed that you were able to sneak past my security detail."

"I was bored. And I'm still bored. You really need to work on your security guards' training program," the girl answered.

"You know this girl?" Malachi asked, on his guard, his eyes never leaving the intruder.

"I certainly do," Pegasus nodded. "She's the one the media's been calling the 'Jewel Duelist.' I take it you've heard of her?"

"The Jewel Duelist, huh? Sure, I've heard of her…she's supposed to be an extremely tough duelist to defeat, and packing some rare cards to boot." Suddenly Malachi grinned. "Hey, you there. Wanna show me how good you really are?"

The Jewel Duelist eyed him. "Malachi Jordan, the infamous former Intercontinental champion," she addressed him. "You committed quite a few unforgivable acts against your unsuspecting opponents when you still held that title…however, you did play a role in the downfall of the Zodiac organization a while back. It's difficult to decide whether you're a hero or a villain."

"If I may—what brings you to my humble island home?" Pegasus inquired. "Was it merely to evaluate Malachi-boy's character, or…was it something else?"

"Hmmm…you're right, I did come for another reason," the Jewel Duelist answered. "Mr. Pegasus…I've been hearing through the grapevine that you sanctioned the creation of a certain card, amongst the new Gemini monsters you recently released to the public."

"And what card would that be, my dear?" Pegasus asked her.

The Jewel Duelist didn't bat an eyelash. "Neos Alius."

At the mention of the name, Pegasus frowned. "You heard correctly. However, Industrial Illusions has not released that card for sale to the general public."

"I see…and was it only one such card you made?" the girl pursued.

"No, actually," Pegasus shook his head. "Three copies of that card exist. I have not made any more, due to the power they possess."

"Hmm." The Jewel Duelist seemed to consider something. "Mr. Pegasus…give those cards to me. They need to go to their intended bearer, right away."

"Why should he trust you?" Malachi interrupted.

"That's not your concern." The Jewel Duelist gave Malachi a brief look, then turned her attention back to Pegasus. "It's important that their destined holder gets these cards as soon as possible. Since I'm on my way to where he is anyway, let me take them to him."

"But why does he have to get them so soon?" Pegasus wondered. "Has something happened?"

"Not yet, but…" The Jewel Duelist closed her eyes. "Since this morning, I've been having a bad feeling about things…as though if he's not properly fortified from now, we will all regret it later."

Pegasus gave the girl a long look. Then he closed his eye and sighed. "Well…I've never known you to make an impetuous judgment, or one without good reason. And you do know this boy's character well…will he use them responsibly if you get them to him?"

"Without a doubt, he will." The girl nodded.

Pegasus nodded. "In that case…"

Malachi stared in astonishment. "Oy, oy! You're actually trusting her?"

"I've no reason not to," Pegasus replied simply, even as he got up and walked over to a nearby safe. As Malachi and the Jewel Duelist watched, he bent down and started fiddling a little with the safe's dial, using swift wrist movements to do so…then presently he opened the safe with a loud _clunk._ Reaching inside, he pulled out a small box, then stood up and walked toward the girl.

"All right, my dear, here they are," Pegasus announced, opening the box. Reaching inside, he pulled out three cards and handed them to her. "Take good care of them. Make sure they get to him safely."

The Jewel Duelist examined the three cards, then calmly tucked them inside her jacket. "They'll be safe." And then, turning, she jumped off the windowsill.

"HEY!" Malachi rushed to the window—but oddly enough, when he got there and looked out, there was no trace of the girl to be seen anywhere. "What the hell…where'd she go?"

Pegasus chuckled wryly even as he sat back down at his desk. "A disappearing act, hmmm? It certainly matches some of the reports that have been circulating about her as of late…"

Malachi turned away from the window and eyed Pegasus. "For you to give her those cards so easily…you know who she is under that mask, don't you?"

Pegasus leaned back in his chair, resting both arms on the chair's armrests as he did so. "Perhaps…who knows…" he said softly, mysteriously.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY CAFETERIA, 4:55 p.m.

"One side, coming through! Make way, make way! The lady of the day is here!"

So announced Janus as he led Cassara into the cafeteria, followed a moment later by Natasha, Ricardo and Jiro. "Okay, Cassara, you know how it goes," Janus continued. "This is a celebration of your win against Vasha! Feel free to order whatever you want—it's all on us!"

"Guys, you really don't have to do this," Cassara protested, a sweat-drop on her head. "I could barely get to my 3:30 class earlier with everybody wanting to congratulate me, and now this! I mean, all I did was beat Vasha in a duel and become editor-in-chief of the school paper…"

"And how many Osiris Red students do you know who've ever accomplished such incredible things in this generation, and two of them in one day at that?" Ricardo grinned. "Cassara, I say take the congratulations while they're still available."

"Even so, why do _I_ have to contribute my money to this celebration?" Jiro asked grumpily. "I don't remember agreeing to participate…"

"Give it up, Jiro," Natasha laughed. "When you hang around with Janus, things like this are par for the course. Just go with the flow."

"Don't worry, Jiro," said Cassara good-naturedly. "At least I don't pig out exponentially, unlike a certain blond boy right here…"

"Aw, come on!" Janus protested. "I'm not THAT bad with food!"

"Suuuuuure," Ricardo answered sarcastically.

The food line wasn't very long, so it didn't take the group long to join the queue and then reach the counter. "Howdy, kids," the cook greeted them in her gruff tone. "What'll you have this evening?"

"We're having a celebration for our friend here—give her anything she wants!" Janus said importantly, indicating Cassara.

"Really, now?" The cook eyed Cassara. "What's the occasion—a birthday celebration or something?"

"No, it's not like that," Cassara admitted. "It's just that I beat Vasha Morrison in a duel this afternoon, and won the chance to be editor-in-chief of the school paper…"

"Wait—you're the girl that beat Vasha Morrison in a duel?" The cook lifted an eyebrow at this news. "I've been hearing the kids gossiping about that all afternoon. Well, I guess congratulations are in order…I've been waiting for somebody to put that pompous little girl in her place for the longest while now."

"No way—really?" Cassara's eyes widened at this information.

"But of course. That Vasha Morrison's always acted like she was the Queen or something…" The cook snorted in disgust. "And you say you're the editor-in-chief for the school paper now? Tell me, is there going to be a food section in there?"

"Well…there could be, I guess," said Cassara.

"Tell you what," the cook said. "Put a food section in the paper, where people can post recipes and share ideas and critiques of certain dishes, and I'll let you and your friends have whatever you want here, on the house, this evening only. What do you say?"

"She accepts!" Janus exclaimed instantly.

"MORON!" Cassara snapped, clocking Janus on the head with a suddenly enlarged fist and flooring him as a result. Then she politely turned back to the cook. "If you're really in earnest, then I'll do my best to have that section added to the paper once we start running the office."

"Good enough for me," the cook nodded. "Now, what'll you have?"

"I'll let my friends order for themselves," said Cassara. "As for me, what've you got that has cheese in it?"

"Hmm…well, you're in luck on that score," the cook answered. "I've got cheeseburgers and cheese fries here."

"Great!" Cassara beamed. "I'll take a cheeseburger and two helpings of cheese fries, and a strawberry milkshake! Okay, you guys, make your orders!"

"Lasagna for me, please, and orange juice!" Natasha grinned.

""I'll have two tuna fish sandwiches and one bottled lemonade," said Ricardo.

"One serving of rice balls, a small salad, and an iced tea," said Jiro.

"Ow…" Janus was just starting to get up from the ground, nursing an extremely large lump on his head. "Lemme just have a double-cheeseburger with everything on it, and a cola, please…" Then, still dazed, he slumped back to the ground.

"Is this really the same guy that gave you that word of encouragement during your duel?" Jiro asked Cassara.

"Somehow, I'm afraid to ask," Cassara sighed.

----------

EN ROUTE TO DUEL ACADEMY, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Several miles away from Duel Academy, out on the open water, a motorboat was cruising along at a fairly swift pace. On board that boat were Jan Shimizu and Jasmine, the former manning the steering and the latter holding on tightly. "Okay, so now we go to Duel Academy and find those three students that Phoenix said he wanted," Jan announced.

"I made sure to photocopy a newspaper clipping of the Zodiac incident at Domino City's library, before we left," Jasmine informed him. "It carries the names of all the members of the group who were in Dueltropolis, including those three Duel Academy students."

"Did you, now?" Jan wondered. "Well, I guess you're good for something, at least."

Ignoring that latter comment, Jasmine reached into her jacket and pulled out the aforementioned newspaper clipping. "James Truesdale, Cassius Princeton, and Angel Snow…the article even has pictures of them," she told Jan. 'That should make locating them easier."

"Mmm-hmm," Jan answered.

Silence reigned for a moment. Then Jasmine sighed and put the clipping back into her jacket. "So…you were in prison?"

"Yeah, and like I told you already, I was pardoned and released," Jan answered indifferently. "Why? Does it still bother you?"

"That Master Drake has me working with someone like you? Who wouldn't be bothered?" asked Jasmine. "What bothers me more, though, is why he'd resort to hiring an ex-convict, instead of a duelist with at least a reputable past."

"Well, if you can tell me why he's orchestrating this whole plan of his to begin with, maybe then you'll have your answer," said Jan.

"He _was_ disappointed at not being able to attend Dueltropolis—perhaps he's trying to make up for that somehow," Jasmine suggested.

"And yet that doesn't explain a few things," Jan countered. "Why bother bringing in a number of duelists who were known to be members of the Zodiacs, the same group that tried to overthrow the World Championships, even if the ones he's recruiting have repented of their past actions? Why'd he want the Jewel Duelist recruited, when he knew it wasn't a guarantee that she'd be found so easily? And why be so scant in the details for his message to Seto Kaiba? Your little boss is up to something…but what it is he's got in mind, only he can say, I suppose."

"Well…it's not my place to question Master Drake's motives, even if I don't agree with them myself," said Jasmine. "I just do as he tells me. It's how I show my loyalty to him."

"What are you, a robot?" Jan asked, in a tone that clearly showed disapproval.

"So why are _you_ working for Master Drake, then?" Jasmine challenged.

Jan's gaze turned cold. "Blackmail. If I don't do what he wants, I go back to jail, my pardon revoked. It's as simple as that."

Jasmine looked at him with surprise. "Are you serious?"

Jan narrowed his eyes some more. "Do you really want to ask me that?"

Seeing his warning glare, Jasmine backed down. "Uh…let's just head on to Duel Academy, shall we? We shouldn't be more than a hundred miles away by now…at the speed we're going, we'll likely reach by nightfall."

Jan nodded. "Right answer." And with that, he turned his eyes back to the sea as he resumed his concentration on getting the motorboat to their destination.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 5:45 p.m.

"Whew!" Janus fell back onto his pillow, holding his exaggeratedly inflated stomach. "I am so STUFFED!"

Standing near the doorway, Jiro shook his head in bemusement. "What do you have for your stomach, a canyon or something?" he asked.

"Hey, come on now, man! I'm a very serious eater, you know! I appreciate what's supposed to be done with food!" Janus laughed, patting his belly.

Jiro shook his head again and scowled. "I'm just surprised you're not obese, if this is how you eat every day," he remarked. "More importantly, though, at least the little celebration party in the cafeteria just now was for a good reason. With Cassara as the new editor-in-chief of the school paper, there'll be an objective, level-headed view in every report we read from now on."

"That _is_ true, isn't it?" Janus smirked. "Well, I can't wait to see that food section get introduced to the paper…"

Jiro threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "You're impossible! How do those guys live with you?"

"Eh, they know me well," Janus shrugged indifferently. "Anyways, enough about all that—I can't wait for the Duel Monsters Pro Circuit report to start!"

"It's not going to be for another fifteen or so minutes," Jiro informed him. "But I would like to see it, as well, myself. I want to know if they'll have any news on Shigeo Tatsunoko."

"Shigeo Tatsunoko? You mean the Ninja Duelist?" Janus asked.

"The very same," said Jiro. "You should probably know him, or at least have heard of him—he was a competitor in the Intercontinental tournament a while back, and was also in Dueltropolis." He smiled. "That guy is the reason I decided to take up dueling in the first place…his monsters and his style of play have always fascinated me."

"Ninjas and Samurai…I guess it fits," Janus chuckled.

Just then Natasha appeared at the doorway. "Hey, guys!" she greeted them. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, hey, Natasha…we're not really doing much right now, actually," Janus answered. "We're just waiting for the Pro Circuit report to start."

"The Pro Circuit report? Awesome!" Natasha cried gleefully. "Hey, can I watch it here with you guys?"

"Hang on—I thought you have a TV in your room as well," said Jiro, frowning.

"Well, yeah," Natasha admitted, "but Cassara has some homework to do regarding Ritual Summoning, and I don't really want to disturb her. Plus, Ricardo went off to the library after we left the cafeteria, so his room's likely locked up…"

"All right, fine. You can stay a little while," and Jiro stepped to one side to allow Natasha better entry.

"Goody!" Natasha promptly bounded over to Janus's bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. "Now I just have to wonder if my Uncle Syrus is gonna be on tonight. I can't wait to see him!"

Jiro looked at her. "Uncle Syrus?"

"Oh, I know him," Janus spoke up. "He and my dad go way back, you know. They were in Osiris Red together, back when Dad was still a student here at Duel Academy."

"And Uncle Syrus has become quite a big figure since then, too," Natasha added. "He works as a commentator for the Pro League. Everybody who watches the Pro League knows him!"

"A commentator?" Jiro fingered his chin as though in deep thought. "Hang on…Syrus Truesdale, right?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Natasha nodded eagerly.

"He's pretty popular as a Duel Monsters commentator," said Jiro. "I'm surprised you guys are actually related to each other, though."

"What time is it now? Is it time for the report yet?" Janus asked.

"Um…" Natasha looked at her watch. "Another ten minutes, it looks like."

"Aw, man! So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Janus complained.

"Wait." Jiro said this with a nonchalant face.

----------

OBELISK BLUE DORM, 5:50 p.m.

Calhoun walked up to the big blue-and white building that was the Obelisk Blue students' dorm, a blue plastic bag in one hand. Approaching the front steps, he had a steely focus in his eyes even as he kept his gaze dead ahead.

He pushed the front doors open—and was immediately aware of a dark atmosphere present in the vicinity. There were several Obelisk Blue students lounging around in the main hall, some by themselves, some in pairs, and some in their own little groups of three or four. All appeared to have been chattering amongst themselves prior to Calhoun's arrival…yet now all of them were silent, giving him blank stares. Scowling at this, Calhoun stepped inside and walked toward the staircase that would lead upstairs to the students' rooms.

Going up the staircase, walking along the corridor, then heading up another flight of stairs…all along the way, Calhoun passed by several more Obelisk Blue students, all chatting about this and that, yet instantly pausing their varied conversations upon his approach. He could feel their eyes on him, but he didn't exchange glances with any one of them. Instead, he pressed on, his focus remaining unbroken.

Presently he stopped at the foot of another flight of stairs. This one broke off into two different directions—one heading to the boys' rooms, the other to the girls' rooms. Calhoun paused for only a second, then made his choice—and started up the stairs to go to the girls' rooms.

"Excuse me, but where do you think you're going?"

Pausing at the sound of the authoritative voice, Calhoun slowly turned and beheld a red-headed, green-eyed female teacher, looking at him with an upraised eyebrow accompanying the stern expression on her face. "You know that the boys' and girls' rooms are kept separate for a good reason, young sir," the teacher continued. "You can't just go up to the girls' rooms like that."

Calhoun sighed. "You don't have to lecture me about that, Dean Noble," he answered. "I was just going to drop off some supper for Vasha Morrison, that's all." And he held up the blue plastic bag to indicate his point.

"Is that so? Well, why don't you just hand that bag to me, and I'll take it up for you?" said Dean Noble, approaching Calhoun.

Shrugging, Calhoun surrendered the bag to the woman. "Can I just say this? You're probably the meanest girls' dean that Duel Academy's ever had," he remarked.

Dean Noble raised a finger to her face and brushed her eyebrow back in a show of indifference. "I'm fine with being called mean…but rules are still rules," she answered. "Whether it's your girlfriend or your spouse that's living on the girls' side of the dorm, nobody of the opposite sex can just go up there without permission…and right now you do not have permission to go up there, even if it's just to drop something off for a friend. I'm quite sure that Dr. Crowler would say the same thing."

"Pfft…well, you're the girls' dean, so I can't really do anything about that," Calhoun sighed.

Dean Noble kept her gaze fixed on him. "If you understand, then you can either go the other way and go to the boys' side of the dorm, or you can go back downstairs or outside altogether. Make your choice."

Shrugging again, Calhoun came back down the stairs, then turned and headed toward the opposing staircase leading to the boys' rooms. As he went, though, he turned and hissed spitefully, "I'll bet the only reason you're so mean is because you're still a virgin even at your age!" Then he swiftly dashed off before Dean Noble could reply.

Watching Calhoun's rapid departure, Dean Noble simply shrugged and scoffed. "It's fine if you want to insult me…but rules are still rules nonetheless," she said aloud, even as she headed up the stairs toward the girls' rooms, lightly swinging the plastic bag in one hand.

----------

Upstairs, in her room, Vasha was sitting on her bed, her knees curled up to meet her chest…and a hateful expression on her face. She was glaring straight ahead, not at anything in particular…but her jaw was set, her hands tightly gripping the bed-sheets.

And then there came a knock on the door. "Ms. Morrison? This is Dean Noble. Please let me in."

"Go away," Vasha growled.

"I have something here from your friend, Calhoun Vincente," Dean Noble's voice came through again. "Something from the cafeteria, it would seem. Are you going to take it or not?"

Only now did Vasha's eyes shift, glancing toward the door. Then, quite reluctantly, she got up off the bed and headed for the door, opening it just wide enough for her to look outside. "From Calhoun, you say?"

Dean Noble, standing there with the plastic bag she'd gotten from Calhoun, nodded. "He was coming up here to give it to you himself, but I had to send him back—you know the dorm rules, after all," she stated simply. "Here." And she held up the bag.

Reaching out, Vasha snatched the bag from the older woman. "Thanks. Now give me some space." And she shut the door with a very loud bang.

Leaning against the door a moment, Vasha waited…and then she heard footsteps heading away from her room. Satisfied that Dean Noble had gone, she crossed over to the bed and opened the plastic bag. Inside was a Styrofoam box; upon opening it, Vasha beheld food placed into the box's quadrants: a mixture of beans and meat on one side, some coleslaw on another side, a roll and a small slice of cheese on another side, and a chocolate chip cookie in the last quadrant. Accompanying the box was a small carton of milk.

"Geez…Calhoun…even a treat from you isn't going to ease how I feel right about now…" Vasha muttered as she took up the cookie from the box and bit into it.

----------

OSIRIS RED DORM, 6:00 p.m.

"Welcome to this report of the Duel Monsters Tournament Pro Circuit! We're coming to you live from the famous Kaiba Dome, here in the great U.S.A.! I'm Syrus Truesdale!" the announcer on the TV screen declared in a bright and cheerful voice. He wore thin-framed spectacles, and sported slightly spiky blue hair that was tied back in a ponytail.

"Yay! That's Uncle Syrus!" Natasha cried.

"And I'm Melissa Bridges," a second announcer came on-screen; this one had curly blond hair and a little too much eye-shadow on her face. "Okay, Syrus, what can we expect here tonight?"

"Well, Melissa, as all dueling fans know, it's been a week and a few days since the end of the Dueltropolis World Championships, but the hype is still present, even here," Uncle Syrus replied. "The duelists here who're part of the Pro Circuit all intend to pull out all the stops, to show that they've got what it takes to be champions themselves. Looks like there's going to be no mercy on anyone's part tonight!"

"But, Syrus, lest our viewers forget, last week when we conducted interviews after the Dueltropolis tournament ended, there were quite a few duelists who were upset that they'd been unable to participate in Dueltropolis for one reason or another," Melissa added. "And some of those duelists are here at the Pro Circuit right now, aren't they?"

"Yes, that is true," Uncle Syrus acknowledged. "However, some analysts have pointed out that those duelists who were in the Pro Circuit wouldn't have been allowed to participate in Dueltropolis due to their obligations to honor their Pro League contracts. Attending Dueltropolis wouldn't have fit into their arranged match schedules according to their contracts, you see. Plus, there _was_ that group that tried to take over the tournament for their own ends…the Zodiacs, if I remember correctly…"

"You do remember correctly, Syrus," Melissa assured him. "A nasty bunch of duelists, those were, and with such grandiose plans for world domination, too. Thank goodness they were stopped, though."

"Amen to that," Uncle Syrus nodded his head. "But even with all that, there are still a number of duelists here in the Pro League who're heaping harsh criticism upon the Duel Monsters World Tournament Committee for not sending them personal invitations to compete. Let's see if there are any of those particular detractors among the competitors this evening…"

Natasha looked up from the TV, a puzzled expression on her face. "Do you guys really think that's true?" she asked Janus and Jiro. "I mean, sure, there were plenty of people who wanted to compete in Dueltropolis, but all of them were screened out by the Committee's selection process, weren't they?"

"Well, obviously, there are a lot more duelists in the world than were present at Domino City when all of us were gathered there for the screening," said Janus. "But do you remember what we were told when we were going to board the boat to Dueltropolis? Only thirty-two duelists could be accommodated in the tournament. And besides, like they just said on the TV, duelists in the Pro League circuit wouldn't have been able to attend anyway, because they had to stick to their contracts."

"In any case, there are lots of people out there who're only wannabe duelists, but would've been trampled by the competition even if they'd somehow managed to get into Dueltropolis," Jiro added matter-of-factly. "Those who did participate in Dueltropolis should feel honored…no matter what their intentions for the tournament itself were."

"But—the Zodiacs nearly took over the world, and they were tournament contestants too!" Natasha protested.

"Then we should be grateful that none of _them_ were the winners," Jiro said smoothly.

Janus sweat-dropped a little. "Hard to argue with logic like that," he admitted.

----------

A SHORT WHILE LATER, 6:25 p.m.

The last remaining rays of the sun were vanishing in the west, seeming to sink below the ocean horizon. The first few twinkling lights of the stars were appearing in the rapidly-darkening sky. The ocean was tranquil, only occasionally sending a wave or two onto the island's beaches and against its cliff faces…

The motorboat pulled into a small cove on the island's south coast. Switching the motor off, Jan Shimizu glanced up at the sky, and nodded with approval. "Perfect…the light is just perfect," he remarked. "Just perfect for stealth."

Jasmine regarded him. "So…what is your plan?"

"Give me that newspaper clipping of those three Duel Academy students," Jan instructed her. "While I scope out the island, you are going to stay here and wait for me to return. I can move about a lot more quickly and stealthily if you're not tagging along behind me every second."

"All right…I guess." Jasmine pulled the newspaper clipping from her jacket and handed it to Jan. "I'll just call Master Drake, then, and inform him of our progress so far."

"Yeah, whatever," Jan answered. "Anyway, I'm going. Don't leave this boat." And with that, he hopped out of the boat, trudged out of the water and onto the shore, and moments later disappeared into the surrounding woodland.

Watching Jan's departure, Jasmine shivered a little as a cool breeze blew past her. Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out her cell-phone and speed-dialed a number. Holding the phone to her ear, she waited patiently while the number rang.

"Yes?" Drake's voice came on the line a moment later.

"Master Drake, it's me," Jasmine replied, in a low tone. "We've just arrived at Duel Academy Island. Jan's gone to find those students you wanted. Also, we've managed to schedule a meeting for you with Seto Kaiba at his office in Domino City, tonight, at 8:00."

"Good, very good." Drake's voice sounded smug.

"But, sir…there's something else…" Jasmine hesitated.

"Oh? And what is that?" Drake asked.

Jasmine swallowed a little. "Master Drake…Jan is not who we thought. As it turns out, his surname 'Shimizu' was merely a name change…he was originally known as Jan Bakura, and he is the older brother of Kyo Bakura, who was a participant in Dueltropolis."

"Really?" Now Drake seemed interested.

"And on top of that, Jan and Mr. Kaiba know each other…and Mr. Kaiba knew that Jan was a _convict!"_ Jasmine's voice suddenly rose in pitch as she practically spat the last word out. "Master Drake, how could you do something like that?"

Drake chuckled humorlessly at that. "So what if I did, Jasmine? His record's been wiped clean—he's a free man now, he's turned over a new leaf; so you shouldn't have any qualms about being near him. Besides, hiring him is merely a means to an end as far as I'm concerned. To fulfill my plans, I'll do what I must, even if I have to bend a few rules here and there."

"But, Master Drake…!" Jasmine sputtered.

"Relax, Jasmine. It'll all work out, of that I can assure you." Drake chuckled again. "As long as Shimizu—or Bakura, or whatever the hell he wants to call himself—as long as he stays in line like I've told him, and does as I've instructed him, there's no need to worry. If he steps out of line even a fraction of an inch, he'll get what he deserves and then some."

Jasmine released a heavy sigh. "Yes, Master Drake. I understand."

"Good. Now, once you're done at Duel Academy, call me so I can instruct you further." And with that, the line went dead.

Jasmine pulled the phone away from her ear and sighed again. "Master Drake…is this really worth it…?"

----------

_**neomage:**_ As some readers may notice, part of this chapter will have addressed (at least in part) the method by which participants for Dueltropolis were selected. Back when I was compiling the Dueltropolis arc for "Yu-Gi-Oh Forever," there simply weren't as many deck archetypes in existence as there are now, but now…the possibilities are quite limitless, if I do say so myself! Of course, as long as I refrain from using anime-only cards, it's all good as far as I feel…however, I'm not averse to using cards that were released in Japan but haven't been released in America yet. So, folks, expect to see one or two cards that haven't been released in English yet, being used in the near future!

Anyway, time for me to go to bed soon…but please read and review!


	25. The Demon's Mission

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yep, yep, yep. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 25 – The Demon's Mission**

DUEL ACADEMY ISLAND, 6:40 p.m.

"Whew…" Jan exhaled sharply as he jogged along at a quick but even pace. "I'll bet the students at this Academy have a warm time with their P.E. classes as long as they're on this island…who'd have expected that this run would've had me winded like this…

At length the cluster of trees around him grew thinner and thinner…and several hundred feet away, he could make out several shining lights. "Hm…I'm close," he mused, picking up the pace.

A moment later he neared the end of the tree-line, and beheld a humongous building painted white and blue, with several outside lights illuminating both the building and the nearby grounds. "Now, where do I start…" he wondered aloud, taking in the sight before him.

"…so you really said that to her? Dude, how dumb can you possibly get?"

Hearing several voices closing in on his location, Jan quickly slipped behind a tree. Peeking out slightly, he saw three boys, all wearing blue jackets, approaching the tree-line and talking loudly as they did. "Hey, man, that is NOT how you tell a girl you like her! That, like, goes against the code of being a man!" the first speaker continued in a jeering tone.

One of the other two boys appeared to take offense to this. "And I suppose _you_ know what the 'code of being a man' is all about?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't let him get to you, dude," the third boy consoled him. "But still, you _do_ need to know how to deal with a girl properly. They're not going to go for any nerdy approach, like what you just said you did."

"But it's what my dad taught me!" the second boy protested.

The first boy scoffed. "Well, _my_ big brother taught me something different—and because of what I learned from him, I've got girls throwing themselves at my feet! Even the ones from the Osiris Red dorm!"

"What? Dude, that's just sick!" the second boy made a face. "A guy from Obelisk Blue getting it on with a girl from Osiris Red? That's like getting it on with an old lady!"

"And you know that, how exactly?" the third boy chuckled.

"I-I-I-I—I'm just saying, is all!" the second boy sputtered. "Obelisk Blues should only stick to Obelisk Blues! And maybe a Ra Yellow or two…but definitely not an Osiris Red! It's only common sense!"

Listening to the back-and-forth banter, Jan's eyes narrowed…and he stepped out from behind the tree. "Excuse me, fellows," he spoke up.

The three boys looked up at Jan's intrusion. "Hey, who the hell are you?" the first boy demanded.

"Just a guy passing through, that's all," Jan answered mildly. "But I'm thinking maybe you fellows can give me a helping hand. See, I'm looking for three specific Duel Academy students…perhaps you can tell me where I can find them."

"And why would we tell YOU that kind of thing?" the third boy asked.

"Because if you don't…" Suddenly Jan, with a flourish, pulled out his Duel-Disk, strapped it on, and flung a series of cards onto the open slots. "…then you'll have to answer to THEM."

As Jan finished speaking, a bunch of dark shadows loomed behind him, red eyes glaring at the three boys…and then their silhouetted forms became clearer, revealing them to be Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300), Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200), Terrorking Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1500), Pandemonium Watchbear (ATK 1300, DEF 1800), and Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800)! The monsters all growled at the boys, claws and teeth shining with murderous intent. "So…care to rephrase your statement?" Jan asked coolly, but with his own eyes shining with warning in them.

The three boys looked at Jan…then at the ominous monsters he was wielding…and, as one, all three of them swallowed nervously. "Uh…who exactly did you say you were looking for?" the second boy asked, chuckling weakly even as a bead of sweat strolled down his face.

Nodding with approval, Jan switched off his Duel-Disk, causing the monsters to vanish into thin air; then, reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the newspaper clipping he'd gotten from Jasmine and held it out to the boys. "The three students depicted in this newspaper clipping I have here. They're supposed to be fairly well-known, if I'm not mistaken."

Hesitantly, the first boy approached Jan and took the clipping from him. He studied it for a moment; then his eyes widened. "Whoa! Guys, check it out! This is about James and Cassius, and that Angel girl, too!"

"What? No way!" the other two exclaimed simultaneously.

"You do know them, then?" Jan cocked an expectant eyebrow. "Then perhaps you can direct me to where they are?"

At that the boys suddenly appeared sheepish. "Um, actually…they aren't here at Duel Academy now," the third boy admitted. "They were suspended for a year because they were part of this bunch of duelists that tried to take over the Dueltropolis tournament a while back. As far as we know, they were sent to a detention facility, but…we don't know where."

"Who _would_ know?" Jan pressed.

"Well…" The second boy appeared to fidget a little. "Maybe Dr. Crowler would know about that. He's the one that announced it to all of us earlier this week, about their suspension."

"Fine, then," said Jan. "Take me to see this Dr. Crowler. I'd like to have a word with him."

"Well, yeah, but even if you say that, they're not gonna just let some outsider walk into the Obelisk Blue dorm at this hour!" the first boy protested.

Jan narrowed his eyes. "Then it's obvious that your superiors have never met me. Now, march."

----------

OBELISK BLUE DORM, A FEW MINUTES LATER

"Hello, Dr. Crowler!"

"Good evening, Dr. Crowler!"

Several Obelisk Blue students hailed Dr. Crowler as he walked past them, on his way back to his office. In response, he waved a hand slightly at them. "Good evening, everyone," he hailed them. "How are the assignments coming along? Doing them in a timely manner, I hope?"

"Yes, sir!" several of the students answered readily.

"Good, good. Keep it up, then." Nodding his approval, Dr. Crowler continued up the stairs and onward to his office.

A moment later, further down the corridor, he arrived outside a door bearing a nameplate with his name engraved on it. He dipped a hand into his pocket, feeling for the office door key…

"There you are, Dr. Crowler! Could I have a moment of your time, perhaps?"

Turning, Dr. Crowler beheld Dean Noble, standing a few feet away, just outside her own office door. "Ah, hello there, Dean Noble," he greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

"If it's not too much to ask you, since you're both the dean of our boys' dorm and the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm as a whole…" Dean Noble stepped forward to Dr. Crowler. "I must ask that you try to enforce the rules separating the boys from the girls more strictly. It's all I can do as the dean of our girls' dorm without certain people undermining my efforts."

"How is that?" Dr. Crowler wondered.

"Earlier, Calhoun Vincente tried to go up to Vasha Morrison's room without permission," Dean Noble explained. "He said he was just dropping something off for her, and in fact he was, but even so…"

"Forgive me, Dean Noble, but if that's all, then I don't see what the problem is," said Dr. Crowler, cocking an eyebrow. "If it was a case of a male student trying to sneak up to a female student's room, or vice-versa, for an unauthorized liaison, then I could understand the concern; but all I'm hearing from this story is that one student was simply trying to make an ordinary delivery to another student. And besides, I know Calhoun Vincente well—even he knows better than to try to usurp the dorm rules here."

"One can't be too careful, Dr. Crowler," said Dean Noble. "As the girls' dean, it is my responsibility to ensure that the young women under my tutelage are kept safe and secure from any invasion or violation of their private space by anyone of the opposite gender. And as the boys' dean, I'm certain that the same responsibility applies to you, where the young men are concerned."

"But even so, surely we mustn't completely restrict them from normal interaction with one another," Dr. Crowler countered. "Most of our students are no longer children, you understand. They're all developing as young people develop, and naturally they'll have an interest in sexual matters sooner or later. It's a normal, expected part of their growth. If we try to smother that interest that they have, then this may as well be a convent or a monastery."

"I think _that_ would be a suitable approach…" Dean Noble muttered.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

The sudden loud scream from downstairs caused both of them to look up in alarm. "Something's happened!" Dean Noble cried, and she rushed toward the stairs.

"H-hey, wait for me!" Dr. Crowler yelled, following right behind her.

Mere moments later, the two were going down the stairs, arriving at the dorm's main hall—and they stopped short at what they saw. "Merciful goodness…" Dean Noble's eyes widened in shock.

Obelisk Blue students, both boys and girls, were strewn all across the floor of the hall, groaning. There were a few huddling in various corners, trembling in terror. And…standing right there in the middle of the hall was a young man with wild, spiky, aqua-colored hair, dressed in a maroon trench-coat, with a Duel-Disk on his arm and what appeared to be a green-winged Duel Monster standing next to him. "Hey! What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" Dr. Crowler demanded.

The young man looked up. "I'm here to speak to Dr. Crowler," he announced. "However, this bunch of kids thought it would be smart to try and jump me as soon as I came in—so I had to sic my Mazera DeVille here on them to calm them down."

Dr. Crowler came the rest of the way down the stairs, until he was on the floor of the hall. "I'm Dr. Crowler," he declared. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

The young man smirked a little. "I was sent here by Drake Phoenix to find three certain students of your Duel Academy—the three that were members of the Zodiacs. He wants to have a word with them. I was informed that you'd know where they are at present."

On hearing this, Dr. Crowler stiffened. "Well, I'm sorry, sir, but I am not at liberty to divulge that information to you, even if you _were_ sent here by a member of the Phoenix family," he said stoutly. "All you need to know is, none of them are here at the Academy now—all of them were suspended for one academic year."

Now the young man's eyes narrowed. "I doubt that's the kind of answer Phoenix will want to hear…and it's definitely not the kind of answer I want to hear right now, either. I've spent all day today running around, running errands for Phoenix, and quite frankly, I am _tired._ And when I am tired, I tend to not be in a good mood."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear of your plight, but I'm not changing my stance on this," Dr. Crowler said sternly, crossing his arms. "And for that matter, I am not amused at the fact that you've attacked the students of my dorm like this. If you think I'm going to just let you leave quietly after what you've done here, then read my lips: You are SADLY mistaken."

"Oh? And what're you going to do about it?" the young man queried.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Dr. Crowler answered. "I'm going to detain you right here, and make you answer for what you've done to my precious students."

In response, the young man held up his Duel-Disk, and the Mazera DeVille snarled at Dr. Crowler. "I think not," the young man replied.

Dr. Crowler scowled at this show of defiance. "You think I'm afraid of that little pest you have there? Little fellow, you're at least twenty years too young to be able to scare me just so."

Dean Noble, meanwhile, was looking back and forth from one to the other of the two men. "Dr. Crowler, be careful," she said to him. "After all, you don't even have your Duel-Disk on you right now, and as long as he has that monster out…"

"You'd better listen to the lady," the young man warned. "And anyway, even if you _did_ have a Duel-Disk, it wouldn't make a difference—my Mazera DeVille is capable of taking you down with one strike. These little pansies here," indicating the students he'd felled, "are all lucky they're still breathing at least—but now they're all too scared to even consider standing up to me."

"I'm a teacher—so naturally I'm on a different level from the students here," said Dr. Crowler. "And to deal with scum like you, I don't need a Duel-Disk."

And then—he assumed a kung fu stance. "I'll knock you down with my bare hands!" he declared loudly.

Dean Noble stared, suddenly dumbfounded. "IDIOT! How is that going to help this situation?" she snapped.

The young man's hair briefly overshadowed his eyes. "I can answer that. How will that help you? The answer is…" Then suddenly his eyes were visible again—and the irises were suddenly psychotic white, shining with sheer malevolence. "It won't."

Seeing the murderous intent emanating from the young man's eyes, Dr. Crowler paled and his entire body trembled, even as he stayed in the kung fu stance…and then, ever so slowly, he fell backwards, landing on his rump. "Did I say I was going to detain you? That's not what I meant at all! I meant to say that you can leave whenever you choose! Just please, leave peacefully!" he exclaimed rapidly, even as he sweated bullets by the dozen.

"What the heck happened to that impassioned speech a minute ago?" Dean Noble snapped at Dr. Crowler, very agitated.

"Pfft. Truly a waste of my time. Well, I guess I'll take my leave now, since I haven't gained anything from here." The young man switched his Duel-Disk off, and Mazera DeVille disappeared. "Later." And then he turned and walked out the door, leaving the incapacitated students, the frightened Dr. Crowler, and the terribly upset Dean Noble.

----------

From the top of the stairs behind Dean Noble and Dr. Crowler, Calhoun was watching the entire proceedings with a curious eye. "Hmmm…so that guy's a lackey of Drake Phoenix, huh? Interesting," he muttered. "That would explain why there was all that screaming from down here a while ago. Although, why would Phoenix be so interested in the three suspended duelists, I wonder?"

His lips curled into a smirk. "Guess there's only one way to find out." And, ever so quietly, he slipped away down the corridor and around a corner.

----------

Still in her room, Vasha was sitting on her bed, looking out through the nearby window. _Well…tomorrow's Friday, at least,_ she mused. _No classes…that means plenty of time to restructure my deck strategy and get a little practice in…and maybe spend some extra quality time hunting down those spineless cowards who ditched me and Calhoun the other night…_

Suddenly she paused as something outside the window caught her eye. _Eh?_

From her window she could see a section of the Obelisk Blue dorm building, where she knew the boys' section of the dorm was located. At this moment, from her vantage point, she could see Calhoun opening a window, reaching out to grab the storm drain pipe, and then sliding down said pipe to the ground. "What're you up to, Calhoun?" Vasha asked aloud.

Then something else caught her eye: moving along the grounds at a cool and untroubled pace was someone with spike aqua-colored hair, and a maroon trench-coat, heading toward the tree-line of the nearby forest. From a distance, Calhoun, by now having reached the ground, appeared to be shadowing the stranger, hiding behind the front-lawn sign of the Obelisk Blue dorm, then behind any available shrubbery, all the while seeming to keep an eye on the outsider. "Okay, what's going on now?" Vasha asked. "Guess I'd better go check this out…at least it beats sitting here doing nothing…"

----------

Back at the cove where Jan had left her and the boat, Jasmine sat and looked about fretfully. "Hurry up and come back, please…" she whispered. "I don't like being out in the woods at such an hour as this…"

All at once she heard a throat clearing. "A-hem!"

"EEK!" Jumping up quickly, forgetting she was in a boat, Jasmine very nearly lost her balance and quickly sat back down. "Who's there?" she called, in a rather timid voice.

"Sheesh…I didn't think I'd run into you twice in one day," a voice spoke up. "But you seem to be on your own this time…where's the guy who was with you?"

_That voice…_ Jasmine's eyes narrowed as the realization came home to her. "It's YOU, isn't it? Why are you here?"

"That's what I should ask you," the voice returned…and then, emerging from behind a tree was none other than the Jewel Duelist herself! "In any case, don't you know that it's dangerous out in the woods come nightfall?" she continued.

"How come I didn't see or hear any sign of you before now?" Jasmine demanded.

"Well, if you really must know," and the Jewel Duelist sighed with what sounded like exasperation, "I was on my way here to this island, and then when I arrived I saw your boat tucked away here. So I merely anchored my own boat on the other side of this cove, just past those trees over there," and she indicated a section of trees just near the edge of the forest's tree-line. "I rowed in so whoever was parked here wouldn't hear me. I usually prefer to do what I have to do in silence."

"You're a weird one, without a doubt," said Jasmine.

"Says the girl who sits on a boat all by herself on the edge of a forest at dusk," the Jewel Duelist countered. "What happened, Drake Phoenix's other lapdog ditched you?"

"It's not like that!" Jasmine snapped.

"Oh. Well, my mistake, then." The Jewel Duelist shrugged and turned away. "In that case, feel free to stay here if you like…although I hear that wild animals tend to prowl around this side of this island and attack anybody who's not adequately prepared for a night outdoors. But what happens to you isn't my concern now—I have other things to do. Later, girl."

Jasmine glanced around at the darkness of the surrounding forest; that darkness seemed to grow larger the longer she looked at it. "Ulp…wait! Don't leave me out here alone!" she cried, swiftly getting up and jumping out of the boat and into the water.

Already in the process of walking off, the Jewel Duelist paused while Jasmine hurried up the riverbank, out of the water. "Oh, so you suddenly want to come with me after all?" she asked. "Well, as long as you don't get in the way of my objective, it's fine."

"Like I'd even care what your objective is," Jasmine grumbled, looking disdainfully at her legs which were now quite wet from the water she'd trudged through only moments ago.

Shrugging, the other girl turned and walked off again, and Jasmine quickly stepped up her own pace so she could keep up. Together, they disappeared into the forest.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, A SHORT WHILE LATER

Principal Yuki was sitting in his office, sifting through some paperwork on his desk. "Geez…this sucks…" he grumbled. "Being the head of a school can be such a pain in the ass sometimes…"

Sighing, he let the papers he'd been holding rest on the desktop. Then, turning slightly, he glanced out the window. "Okay, I need to take a walk…gotta get some air…"

----------

Elsewhere on the island, in the meantime…

Having already left the Obelisk Blue dorm building, Jan was now back in the forest, making his way past the trees and other vegetation. Carefully, he trudged on until he found himself in a small clearing, with what appeared to be a small dirt path under his feet. Regarding this path for a moment, he took a few steps forward…

…then suddenly did an about-face. "How long did you think you could shadow me?"

From the line of trees he'd just come through, a chuckle could be heard—then out came a guy with blond hair, wearing one of the Obelisk Blue coats. "So, you knew I was behind you, then?" he queried. "I'm impressed."

"Of course," Jan answered. "I could sense you from a good while back…and I also sense, even now, that you've got a duelist's spirit. It's seeping off you so much it can practically be tasted."

"Is that so?" said the student. "Well, I don't know about duelist's spirit or whatever, but I did see how you were able to intimidate Dr. Crowler back at the dorm. Hardly anybody can intimidate that man so easily, much less with just a look like you gave him. Anybody who can do that, as far as I'm concerned, is worth checking out."

"Calhoun! There you are!"

Both of them looked up in the direction of the shout, and beheld a dark-haired girl, also in an Obelisk Blue jacket, emerging from the trees. "Vasha? What're you doing here?" Calhoun asked her.

"I saw you sneaking out of the dorm, so I decided to follow you and see what's up," said Vasha. Then she turned to look at Jan. "And this guy…who is he?"

"That's what I was hoping to find out," said Calhoun. "He was trying to quiz Dr. Crowler about James Truesdale, Cassius Princeton, and Angel Snow. Apparently, Drake Phoenix wants to see them for some reason or other."

"Drake Phoenix wants to see those guys?" Vasha's eyes widened at that. "That's interesting…I wonder what for?"

"That's none of your concern," Jan declared flatly. "I came here to find out what I needed to find out, and I'm leaving now. That's all there is to it." And he turned to depart.

"Wait just a minute!" Calhoun exclaimed. "At least tell us what Drake Phoenix wants with those guys!"

"Why should it matter to you?" Jan asked, not turning around or slowing his pace as he continued walking off.

Calhoun smirked. "Because I have a theory as to why he wants them. It's for revenge against Janus Yuki…isn't it?"

On hearing that, Jan paused. "Come again?"

"Earlier this week, on Monday, Drake Phoenix paid Duel Academy a visit and challenged Janus Yuki to a duel," Calhoun elaborated. "Janus Yuki is this little punk from the Osiris Red dorm who placed third in the Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. The two of them had a duel, and Drake lost—even though he's well-known as a pro duelist."

Vasha cocked an eyebrow at Calhoun. "So, wait—you think Drake's trying to find a whole bunch of people to gang up on Janus as revenge for his defeat on Monday?"

"Hmph." Jan shrugged. "Well, whatever his motive for getting these duelists, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just doing what needs to be done. And since there's no way of knowing where those three particular duelists are now, and especially since they aren't here, I'll just have to think of something else. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Not yet!" Calhoun stepped forward. "Take me back with you!"

Both Jan and Vasha stared at Calhoun when he said that. "What?" Vasha exclaimed.

"Why should I?" Jan wondered, cocking an eyebrow.

Calhoun grinned. "Drake hates Janus, see? And, if what he's planning is revenge against Janus, then I want to be in on it! I owe Janus for defeating me—me, the current elite of the Obelisk Blue dorm!"

But Jan merely scoffed. "Look, pal, you seem quite a bit gung-ho about getting revenge on this Janus Yuki character, but there are a few things you ought to consider," he said. "First of all, you don't even know for sure that Phoenix is in fact planning anything against anyone—you're just speculating. And second of all, even if your speculation turns out to be actual fact, Phoenix is looking for top-caliber duelists—he won't even blink at some wannabe who's out to settle a personal score."

"Hey! Who're you calling a wannabe?" Calhoun flared up.

"If you're not, then how come Phoenix never mentioned you?" Jan returned.

Calhoun gritted his teeth. "All right, fine! You want it that way—be my guest!" Flinging open one side of his jacket, he pulled out his Duel-Disk. "Put me to the test, right here, right now!"

Jan scoffed again. "And the purpose would be, what exactly…?"

"The purpose will be for you to see that I'm just as skilled a duelist as those other guys you were sent here to find!" Calhoun answered. "You don't want your visit to this island to have been for nothing, after all, now do you? So let's get this started!" And he quickly fastened his Duel-Disk onto his arm, slotted his cards into place, and readied himself.

Rolling his eyes at this show, Jan held up his own Duel-Disk. "Okay, sure, whatever. You want to embarrass yourself, be my guest. Just don't complain when I'm done decimating you."

"Now just a minute!" Vasha shouted suddenly. "Calhoun, don't think you're going to do this just like that! I want in, too!"

"Huh?" Calhoun turned to look at her. "Vasha, what're you saying?"

"Have you forgotten already? You're not the only one still smarting from when Janus lucked out against you!" Vasha told him. "And besides that, just today I lost a duel against his little friend, as well! I want the two of them to pay for what they've done—and if it means going with you to see Drake Phoenix, then I'll do whatever it takes! And, in any case…I made sure to bring my Duel-Disk and cards in case what was happening out here turned out to be even remotely interesting—I may as well use the opportunity, right?"

Jan looked from one to the other of the two, and his lips curled into a grimace. "Oh, brother…all right, fine, then. Both of you can at least _try_ to impress me. Just don't make me regret that I accepted this."

"You got it!" Vasha agreed. She hurriedly pulled her own Duel-Disk out of her jacket and strapped it on her arm. "C'mon, Calhoun, let's show this guy what real elites of the Obelisk Blue dorm can do!"

"Got that right!" Calhoun nodded. "Okay, how should we do this…?"

Jan frowned in consideration. "How about this, then, since you're both determined to show what you're made of? Let's make this a triangle duel—we'll all have our own set of life points, and our own sides of the field to summon monsters and play other cards. I'll go first, then you guys determine which of you will go second and third—and for the sake of fairness, nobody attacks until we've all had our first turn. And just to make it a little more fair on both of you, I'll even allow you to use card effects to help each other. Sound reasonable?"

"No objections here!" said Calhoun. "Hey, Vasha, you wanna go second?"

"I'm cool with that," Vasha nodded. "So, let's bring it on already!"

**JAN: 8000; VASHA: 8000; CALHOUN: 8000**

As the three readied themselves, their life point counters rose to 8000 apiece, and they all drew their first five cards; then Jan drew a sixth to begin. "All right, now," he announced. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!" And in a moment his fiendish soldier emerged, sword at the ready and cape billowing all around him. "Then I'll place one card facedown, and that's all for now."

"Okay, good! I'm up next!" Vasha quickly drew her card. "Okay…I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's it."

"My turn!" Calhoun said, drawing from his deck. "All right—I'll also set one monster in Defense Mode, and put two cards facedown. That's all from me…and now we're all set!"

"So you believe," Jan answered dryly. "My turn again! I draw!"

He drew his card, then examined his hand. "Now, I summon Terrorking Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1500)!" Then, mere moments later, his kingly monster appeared, sword at the ready. "But that's not all…"

"Oh?" Calhoun eyed him warily.

Jan then held up another card. "I activate the Magic card, Checkmate! By tributing one other Archfiend monster on my side of the field, I can have Terrorking Archfiend attack directly this turn!"

Archfiend Soldier promptly vanished from the field—and Terrorking Archfield roared loudly as his body glowed with incredible energy! "Now, which one of you should be my first victim…?" Jan looked from Vasha to Calhoun and back again. "Hmmm…how about the one with the least protection—the girl!"

"ACK!" Vasha croaked—but there was little she could do as Terrorking Archfiend rushed past her facedown monster and toward her, swinging his sword at her and knocking her back! Hitting the ground hard, Vasha flinched as her life points sharply dropped.

**JAN: 8000; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

"No! Vasha!" Calhoun cried in distress. Then he turned on Jan, eyes blazing. "You bastard, I'll make you regret that!"

"Ungh…it's okay, Calhoun, I'm all right," Vasha called to him as she gingerly picked herself up. "I just wasn't expecting something like that, that's all."

"First rule of a duelist—always be prepared for anything," Jan said stonily. "Now, I'll end my turn."

"And I'm up once again—so I can pay you back for that!" Vasha quickly drew her next card. "I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster now…Nuvia the Wicked (ATK 2000, DEF 800)!"

A moment later her flying mask-fiend was revealed…but then its ATK dropped to 1600! "Nuvia the Wicked loses 200 ATK for every monster my opponent controls," Vasha explained. "So, there's your Terrorking Archfiend, which accounts for 200 of Nuvia's ATK lost…and since Calhoun is technically an opponent of mine as well, and he's got his facedown monster, that's another 200 ATK lost…so Nuvia loses 400 ATK thanks to both of you."

"Heh, sorry about that, babe," said Calhoun, rubbing the back of his head a little sheepishly. "Hope you've got a backup plan, though…?"

"I certainly do—and here it is!" Vasha promptly held up one of her hand-cards. "This Magic card, the Mask of the Accursed!"

All at once, a green mask with huge nails hammered into its surface appeared on Terrorking Archfiend's face! "Huh? Hey, what is the meaning of this?" Jan demanded.

"It's very simple," said Vasha, looking quite pleased with herself. "The Mask of the Accursed is an Equip Magic card, which—as you can see—I equipped to your Terrorking Archfiend. Now, any monster that's equipped with that mask is unable to attack, and during each of my Standby Phases, that monster's controller loses 500 life points."

"Heh—good move there, Vasha," Calhoun complimented her.

"Naturally," Vasha replied. "Next, I summon my Infinity Dark (ATK 1500, DEF 1200) to the field!" And in a sudden burst of shadowy fog, her mysterious masked monster appeared on the field. "Then I'll set one card facedown, and that's it."

"Okay…I'll go once again!" Calhoun drew his next card. "Now, I'll offer my facedown monster as a tribute to set another monster in Defense Mode…" And as he said this, the image of his facedown monster card disappeared from the field, only to be replaced mere moments later with another facedown monster card. "And then I'll activate this Magic card, a card known as 'A' Cell Breeding Device!"

All at once, there appeared on Calhoun's side of the field some sort of stasis tank with yellowish liquid bubbling inside of it. "And what is that supposed to be?" Jan queried.

"This card is a Continuous Magic card," Calhoun told him. "As long as it's on the field, during each of my Standby Phases I can put what is known as an A-Counter on one face-up monster controlled by my opponent. Since both you and Vasha are my opponents, I can choose any face-up monster that either of you controls, in order to use this effect…but I don't have any reason to use it on Vasha's monsters, as much as I'll have reason to use them on _yours!_ Anyway, that ends my turn for the time being."

Jan harrumphed. "Stalling tactics…you're both using stalling tactics against me," he observed. "Not too shabby, actually…and yet, even stalling will only help you out for so long. As for me, I still have plenty of cards I can play…which means that you'd better be prepared to deal with what I have in store for you."

"Bring it on! We'll take anything you can throw at us!" Calhoun challenged.

"And then we'll throw it back at you with ten times the force!" Vasha added.

Jan nodded. "As you desire." And he prepared to draw again…

----------

Elsewhere on Duel Academy Island, at that moment…

"I am not used to this kind of thing…" Jasmine grumbled, even as just ahead of her, the Jewel Duelist carefully picked out a path between the trees and bushes of the forest. "Master Drake had better pay me extra on my salary for this."

The Jewel Duelist chuckled a little. "Well, you didn't have to follow me, you know. You could've just stayed there on that boat back at that cove, all by your lonesome little self, with only the darkness and the animals of the forest for company…"

"Shut up!" Jasmine snapped.

"That's the problem with you people who're too exposed to ease and comfort, whether you're masters or servants," the Jewel Duelist continued, paying no mind to Jasmine's angry outburst. "You become too sheltered; you have little to no way of fending for yourselves in the real world of life."

"As if a mere vigilante could know anything about that!" Jasmine countered.

The Jewel Duelist shrugged. "Have it your way, then."

Jasmine snorted, then decided to change the subject. "So do you even know where you're going, anyway?"

"If you're going to ask that, then why did you bother coming with me?" the other girl countered.

"As if I was going to stay out here in the open, at night, by myself!" Jasmine answered.

"Well, you seemed to be doing just fine when I ran into you back there," the Jewel Duelist said coolly.

"Ugh!" Jasmine grunted in disgust.

"Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I do know where I am going," the Jewel Duelist added. "Fortunately for you, I've studied the terrain of this entire island. I know it like I know the back of my hand—it's a pretty nice place to be, actually. If Duel Academy wasn't here already, they probably could've built a hotel resort here."

"Where _are_ you going, then?" Jasmine pressed. "And why?"

"You'll soon see…" and then the Jewel Duelist lapsed into silence, focusing on continuing the trek through the forest.

----------

While Jan, Calhoun and Vasha were having their three-way duel, and while Jasmine and the Jewel Duelist were still wandering through the forest, on their way to only the Jewel Duelist knew where…

Principal Yuki was walking along the grounds just outside Duel Academy's main administrative building, holding his head up with eyes closed as a gentle breeze passed by him. _Now this is cool…ditching paperwork…just hanging around…man, it's almost like back in the good old days when I was still a student…_

Then he opened his eyes, his gaze focusing on the night sky, as a serious look suddenly emerged on his face. _But…what is this feeling…as though something big is about to happen…and happen tonight…?_

----------

_**neomage:**_ NYAA! Foreshadowing! A three-way duel! And an "Odd Couple"-type pairing with Jasmine and the Jewel Duelist! What else could happen? Stay tuned!

REVIEW SOON, PLEASE!


	26. The Demon, the Masks, and the Aliens

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Dueling madness continues! But as always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 26 – The Demon, the Masks, and the Aliens**

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST

**JAN: 8000; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

As the three-way duel between Jan, Calhoun and Vasha continued in the forest, the stats were shown: Both Jan and Calhoun had an untouched 8000 life points apiece, while Vasha was trailing behind with 6000. Jan held four cards in hand; Vasha had three; Calhoun had two. On the field, Jan had Terrorking Archfiend in Attack Mode and also one other facedown card; Vasha had Nuvia the Wicked—its ATK reduced to 1600 via its effect—and Infinity Dark in Attack Mode, plus her Mask of the Accursed was equipped to Jan's Terrorking Archfiend, and she also had one card facedown; and Calhoun had one facedown monster that he'd just Tribute Set, plus two other cards facedown, and his "A" Cell Breeding Device magic card was still on the field as well.

It was now Jan's turn again, and he drew his next card—and suddenly he flinched as red energy surrounded his body.

**JAN: 7200; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

"Most of my Archfiend monsters require a life point cost during each of my Standby Phases…Terrorking Archfiend's asking cost is 800 life points," Jan explained. "But I'm going to rectify that shortly, for now I play this Field Magic card…Pandemonium!"

Suddenly, the forest around them vanished—replaced with skulls, sacrificial altars, and a blood-red sky with lightning crashing here and there! "Now, as long as this card stays on the field, nobody has to pay any costs for Archfiend monsters," said Jan. "Plus, the fact that Pandemonium is now active will allow me to summon this guy: Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800)!" Then a second later, his new monster emerged, swinging its sword above his head and leveling both Vasha and Calhoun with a cold, piercing stare…and, per its own effect, Nuvia's ATK went down a little further to 1400. "All right, then…time to attack! And since I've already taken a shot at you, girl, it's your friend's turn! Go, Archfiend General—attack that guy's facedown monster!"

Raising his sword and bellowing a loud battle-cry, Archfiend General stampeded toward Calhoun's side of the field, intent on slicing his facedown monster apart—but suddenly Vasha yelled, "I don't think so! I activate my Trap card, Mask of Weakness!"

All at once, a blue-and-red mask with spikes protruding from it appeared over Archfiend General's face! "My Mask of Weakness reduces the ATK of one attacking monster by 700 points until the end of this turn," Vasha informed Jan—and just like that, the General's ATK sharply dropped to 1400!

"NO!" Jan shouted. But it was already too late—Archfiend General was slashing down at the facedown monster, flipping it up and revealing it to be some sort of intricately-designed flying saucer. The flying saucer, in turn, suddenly emitted a force-field that knocked the General back, in the process lowering Jan's life points.

**JAN: 6600; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

Calhoun now grinned slyly. "Say hello to my Flying Saucer Muusik'i (ATK 1000, DEF 2000)," he announced. "And thanks for the back-up, Vasha."

"It's nothing," Vasha answered. "I know every card in your deck, you know—so I knew that that was the monster you'd just Tribute Set, and that it wouldn't last long against an attack from a monster as strong as that Archfiend General. So I thought I'd just let you borrow the effect of my card. Now you owe me."

"And I'll repay you in full, and then some," Calhoun winked at her.

"Geez…how annoying," Jan grunted. "All right, fine. I'll end my turn for now." And then, as if nothing had happened, Archfiend General's ATK went back up to its original 2100.

"Then I'll go once again!" Vasha swiftly drew her card, so now she held four in hand—and then all of a sudden, the Mask of the Accursed that was still equipped to Terrorking Archfiend glowed with a sinister blue light! Even as Terrorking Archfiend grabbed at his face and moaned in pain, Jan flinched as his life points went down to 6100.

**JAN: 6100; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

"Heh…your Mask of the Accursed is still on his monster," Calhoun observed. "So far, babe, you've got him pegged."

"Seems that way," Vasha agreed. "And now, time to give my Infinity Dark a bit of a boost! Tell me, have you ever heard of the Gemini monsters?"

Jan cocked an eyebrow at that. "Gemini monsters?"

"That's right," said Vasha. "They're a series of monsters that were released some time ago by Industrial Illusions…and my Infinity Dark is one such monster. Allow me to show you how the power of a Gemini monster works, first-hand!"

Suddenly, Infinity Dark pushed his chest outward as his body began to shine with bright white energy! "You see, Gemini monsters are treated as Normal monsters when they're in the deck, in the hand, or in the Graveyard," said Vasha. "And when they're initially summoned to the field, they're also treated as Normal monsters at that time. However, once a Gemini monster has been summoned, it can activate what's called a Second Summon—which in itself counts towards the player's Normal Summon for that turn—and then it gains an effect. In the case of my Infinity Dark, I've just activated his Second Summon, which means now he gets his effect…and his effect states that when he declares an attack, I can change the battle position of one monster controlled by my opponent! And right now, I'm looking at your Archfiend General!"

"What? But—" Jan cast a glance at Archfiend General. "If his battle position changes, his DEF won't be enough to…!"

"Go, Infinity Dark! Attack with your Shadow Fist Strike!" Vasha commanded. In response, Infinity Dark vanished in a cloud of thick shadow…and to Jan's consternation, Archfiend General knelt down in a defensive stance, mere seconds before a black-gloved fist slammed straight through his skull! Then, as the General's body split apart and vanished into dust, Nuvia's effect increased its ATK to 1600!

"…you'll pay for that trick…" Jan growled through clenched teeth.

"Suck it up, pal," Vasha answered indifferently. "I'll end my turn with that for now. Take it away, Calhoun."

"Be glad to!" Calhoun replied. "Now…it's my Draw Phase at this point, but instead of just drawing from my deck, I'm going to do something different, thanks to the effect of my Flying Saucer Muusuk'i!"

"Is that a fact?" asked Jan.

"Indeed it is!" answered Calhoun. "You see, my deck strategy revolves around Aliens…and Flying Saucer Muusuk'i's effect says that while it's face-up on the field, I can select and add from my deck to my hand one monster with 'Alien' in its card name, instead of drawing a card for my regular Draw Phase. And so…" He pulled his deck out of his Duel-Disk's slot, thumbed through it a moment, then located the card he wanted. "…the card I'll add to my hand from my deck via this effect is Alien Mother (ATK 2300, DEF 1500)!"

Jan watched him carefully.

"All right," Calhoun continued, slotting his deck back into its place. "Now it's my Standby Phase…and the effect of my 'A' Cell Breeding Device magic card activates! So now I can put an A-Counter on your Terrorking Archfiend!"

A moment later, a bright-green orb emerged and started floating all around Terrorking Archfiend. Jan looked at it, unimpressed. "I suppose this is meant to scare me somehow, right?" he asked.

"Oh, you _ought_ to be scared," Calhoun sneered. "And I'll show you why! Now, I summon the Alien Mother that I added to my hand just now, offering Flying Saucer Muusuk'i as a tribute!"

Calhoun's flying saucer disappeared from the field…then all of a sudden, his enormous female alien emerged on the field, snarling as she flexed her four arms. "But that's not all," Calhoun continued. "I now activate my facedown Quick-Play Magic card, 'A' Cell Scatter Burst! By destroying one 'Alien' monster on my side of the field, I can distribute a number of A-Counters equal to that monster's level among my opponent's face-up monsters—so I'll destroy my own Alien Mother to give your Terrorking Archfiend six A-Counters, since Alien Mother is a Level 6 monster!"

As Calhoun's facedown magic card flipped up, Alien Mother suddenly exploded…into what looked like glowing green bubbles, numerous bubbles that gradually formed into six solid orbs that swiftly joined the one already swirling around Terrorking Archfiend. "Look, if this is actually going somewhere, hurry up and make it reach there, because you're already boring me," said Jan.

"No good strategy should be rushed," Calhoun answered, even as he picked one of the two cards left in his hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive my Alien Mother in Attack Mode!" A moment later Alien Mother came back to the field, hissing and growling at Jan.

"And now, for the _coup de gras," _Calhoun continued. "I activate my Trap card, Brainwashing Beam! This allows me to select one of my opponent's monsters that has at least one A-Counter on it…and then I gain control of that monster!" Immediately Calhoun's remaining facedown card was flipped face-up—and suddenly, to Jan's consternation, Terrorking Archfiend went to stand next to Alien Mother!

"Go, Alien Mother! Attack him directly!" Calhoun commanded—and in an eye-blink, Alien Mother rushed forward and pummeled Jan with her four fists, violently pushing him backwards.

**JAN: 4300; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

Then: "Now, Terrorking Archfiend, attack also!" And in turn, Terrorking Archfiend raised his sword—albeit with a little reluctance—and jumped forward, slashing at Jan and reducing his life points further.

**JAN: 2300; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

"Heh…now are you impressed?" Calhoun jeered Jan. "It's only too bad now that this wasn't a two-on-one duel, or else I'd be able to use Vasha's monsters to finish your sorry ass. And you call yourself a duelist—you're nothing but talk!"

"Never mind, Calhoun," Vasha said soothingly. "When it comes around to my turn again, I'll just decimate him. All we need to do is wait."

"Yeah…that's true," Calhoun answered, brightening. "In that case, I'll call it a turn for now…oh, and before I forget, Brainwashing Beam's effect also states that I need to remove one A-Counter from the monster I'm controlling each time I end my turn. Also, if all A-Counters are removed from that monster, or that monster is destroyed, Brainwashing Beam itself is destroyed." And then one of the seven green orbs floating around Terrorking Archfiend vanished from the field, leaving six.

Jan leveled a glare at Calhoun. "Just for _that_ little stunt you just pulled…I'll personally make sure you pay dearly," he vowed. "Now, my turn! I draw!" And draw he did, so now he held four cards in his hand. "And it seems I've got quite a good set of cards here to take back my dominance of this duel," he commented. "All right…first, I'll activate Raigeki, to destroy all of your monsters on the field!"

"SAY WHAT?" Calhoun and Vasha exclaimed in dismay—but all at once a volley of lightning bolts shot down from above, completely obliterating Nuvia the Wicked, Infinity Dark, Alien Mother, Terrorking Archfiend, and even the Brainwashing Beam trap card!

"Next," Jan continued coldly, "Pandemonium's effect activates! When a player's Archfiend monster is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, that player can add one Archfiend monster with a level lower than that of the destroyed monster from their deck and add it to their hand…and that applies even if the destroyed Archfiend was under the control of the opponent! So, since Terrorking Archfiend was a Level 4 monster, I need to add to my hand from my deck one Archfiend that's Level 3 or lower…so…" He swiftly pulled out his deck and thumbed through it. "All right…I've decided!" he announced a moment later. "I'll add from my deck to my hand my Vilepawn Archfiend (ATK 1200, DEF 200), a Level 2 monster!" And he added the card to his hand, giving him four in hand again.

"Now, moving on," Jan continued, "I'm going to Special Summon a monster—a monster who requires that I remove three Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard from play! So, Archfiend Soldier, Archfiend General and Terrorking Archfiend will all be removed from play…so I can call forth Dark Necrofear (ATK 2200, DEF 2800) in Attack Mode!"

The silhouettes of the three Archfiend monsters vanished from out of Jan's Graveyard…then a moment later, a black shadow appeared on Jan's side of the field. From that shadow materialized Jan's blue-skinned fiend, holding her broken baby doll in her arms. Then Jan examined the two cards he had left. "All right…next I activate this Magic card, Card Destruction! We'll all discard the cards in our hands, and then draw cards equal to the number we each discarded!"

Flinching, Vasha discarded her four cards and drew four more; Calhoun, looking apprehensive, discarded the one card he had in hand and drew another; and Jan, his face set like stone, discarded his two hand-cards and drew two more. "I hope you're not thinking that that wasn't for a purpose," Jan went on. "Because with this, I can take a hefty chunk out of your life points, regardless of which of you I select for that!"

"What? What do you mean by that?" Vasha demanded.

"Watch and learn, girly!" Jan replied. "Now…" He pointed to his still-facedown card. "I activate my Trap card, Archfiend's Roar! Now, at a cost of 500 life points, I can Special Summon one Archfiend monster from my Graveyard, even though that monster can't be tributed for any reason and will be destroyed at the end of this turn…but the monster I have in mind will be worth it!"

"But—if that's true, the only monster you should be able to get back that way would be Vilepawn Archfiend! And he isn't worth jack!" Calhoun exclaimed.

"You really think so, do you?" Jan jabbed at him. "Then you must think that Vilepawn Archfiend was the only monster in my hand when I activated Card Destruction…but I'm about to prove you wrong! For the monster I'm going to revive…is my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200), in Attack Mode!"

**JAN: 1800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000**

Instantly Jan's life points dropped to 1800 for the effect of Archfiend's Roar…and then, in a burst of lightning, the Skull Archfiend of Lightning emerged on his side of the field, roaring as electricity coursed all over his body! "And now, with both of you as wide open as you are, it's only a matter of choosing which of you to attack! So…how about…"

Vasha tensed. _Uh-oh…_

Calhoun looked grim. _This is going to suck…_

Jan looked from one to the other of the two of them. "Now this is a tough one…the girl's life points are lower, so she'll be a much more likely target…on the other hand, the boy needs to have his life points touched even a little…oh, what the hell. You'll survive either way, so…Dark Necrofear, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, both of you—attack the Obelisk Blue boy directly!" And then, as Vasha looked on in horror and Calhoun braced himself, the Skull Archfiend and Dark Necrofear charged at him…

----------

Not far away, Jasmine and the Jewel Duelist were still walking together, in relative silence. Only their footsteps and Jasmine's heavy panting broke the stillness. "Are we there yet?" Jasmine asked presently.

"No. We are not there yet. Stop asking. That's the fifteenth time you've asked in the last fifteen minutes." The other girl seemed quite calm and patient as she pointed this fact out.

"You were actually counting?" Jasmine asked incredulously.

"Aside from walking and keeping an eye out for forest animals that might stalk us, there wasn't much else to do. At least I wasn't bored too much." The Jewel Duelist shrugged.

Suddenly—from straight ahead there came a loud explosion, followed by an agonized cry. "What was that?" Jasmine asked, instantly on her guard.

The Jewel Duelist frowned. "That certainly didn't sound like the usual sounds you'd expect in a forest. Let's go check it out—something might've happened."

"Yes…yes, let's," Jasmine nodded her head.

----------

**JAN: 1800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 3300**

Calhoun was currently on the ground, smoke rising from his body while his life point count went down to 3300 as a result of Jan's two monsters' attacks. "Calhoun! Are you okay? Say something!" Vasha cried, frantic.

"Ugh…" Gingerly, Calhoun tried to rise. "I…I'm all right…sort of, anyway…"

Across from them, Jan crossed his arms. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd have this kind of trouble from two no-names," he remarked. "But I will say this. Even though this is a triangle duel, which technically puts the two of you against each other as well as against me, your co-operation with each other is interesting, at least. In fact, I wonder just how well you'd be doing if you were dueling on your own, in a one-on-one match-up, without the burden of a partner to handicap your full ability."

Vasha and Calhoun looked at him. "Well, first of all, pal," said Calhoun, "we're both strong duelists, whether alone or as a team! And of course Vasha and I would willingly have each other as partners in something like this—even if our deck strategies are that much different, we can still work together nonetheless!"

"And secondly," Vasha added, "you may be meeting us for the first time, but we aren't no-names! We are Vasha Morrison and Calhoun Vincente, of Duel Academy's Obelisk Blue dorm!"

"Is that so…" For the first time, a faint smirk appeared on Jan's face. "Well, since you've given me your names so boldly and with such conviction, it would be a dishonor not to do the same. My name is Jan Shimizu. Remember it."

"Shimizu!"

Turning at the sound of his name being called, Jan beheld two familiar figures at the edge of the path. "Oy, what're you doing out here?" he called to Jasmine. "I thought I told you not to leave the boat…although it's not too hard to see how you could've been coerced to do so," and he fixed his gaze on the Jewel Duelist.

"Well, hello to you, too," the Jewel Duelist answered. "Unfortunately, I haven't got time to stick around and socialize with you. I have somewhere to be…but since I've run into you here, you can take back this bit of baggage that I was so kind to bring to you," and she gave Jasmine a slight shove, sending her stumbling forward.

"HEY!" Jasmine exploded, turning and glaring at the Jewel Duelist.

"Didn't I tell you already, you're way too noisy?" Jan rebuked Jasmine. Then to the Jewel Duelist he asked, "As for you, why are you here in the first place?"

"That shouldn't be your concern…after all, I haven't asked you why you're here, nor do I care to know the answer to that," the Jewel Duelist replied indifferently. "Anyhow, have fun with your little duel…I must now be on my way." And with that said, she turned and walked off in another direction, disappearing into the nearby trees.

"That girl is so…so uncivilized!" Jasmine glowered.

All this time Vasha and Calhoun hadn't said a word during the exchange. Now Vasha looked at Jasmine and remarked, "Hey, I've seen you before…you're that maid that was with Drake Phoenix when he was here on Monday…"

"Ah—yes, that would be me," and Jasmine bowed politely.

"But who was that other person just now?" Calhoun wondered.

"That's not important now, is it?" Jan cut in. "Right now, we have a duel to finish. So let's hurry and finish it."

"Right!" Vasha and Calhoun agreed immediately.

"Now…it's still my turn, isn't it? Well, I'll end my turn now," said Jan…and just like that, Skull Archfiend of Lightning vanished from the field, as per the effect of Archfiend's Roar.

"Um, excuse me, what sort of duel is this?" Jasmine asked uncertainly.

"It's a triangle duel," Vasha told her. "Me, Calhoun, and Jan Shimizu here pitted against one another…and if Calhoun and I can prove our stuff, we get to go see your boss, Drake."

"And we don't intend to fail here—not when we have such a golden opportunity at our fingertips!" Calhoun added. "Okay, Vasha, it's your turn now!"

"Got it!" said Vasha, and she drew her next card so she now held five. Her face lit up when she saw what she now had. "Well, well…hey, Calhoun, I've got a nice little way of kicking the crap out of that Dark Necrofear and clearing the way for you to blow his life points away on your next turn!"

"Really?" Calhoun seemed interested. "Then go ahead and do your thing, babe. Set me up for the finish!"

"All right!" Vasha then turned her attention to Jan. "All right…now, watch and learn! Because now I'm going to initiate a ritual, by playing this Ritual Magic card…Curse of the Masked Beast!" Then a huge stone altar with a big mask on the front appeared on her side of the field. "Next, I have to offer up as tributes a number of monsters from the field or my hand whose total level stars equal 8 or more," Vasha continued. "So, I'll offer two monsters from my hand, and call forth…The Masked Beast (ATK 3200, DEF 1800)!"

All at once, the stone altar shone with a massive light—then vanished into thin air. And…in its place was a grotesque-looking creature with various masks adorning its face and body. "Check it out—the strongest monster of my whole deck!" Vasha said proudly. "Masked Beast, wipe that Dark Necrofear off the field! Mask Explosion Blast!" And in answer, one of the masks on the Masked Beast's torso glowed with an intense red light—and from that mask, a huge red beam was fired, completely decimating Dark Necrofear.

**JAN: 800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 3300**

"So much for her," said Vasha. "Oh, well, I guess I'll end my turn for now."

But—hardly had Vasha finished the sentence when suddenly, from out of nowhere, a dark shadow wrapped itself around the Masked Beast's body! "Huh?" Vasha exclaimed, suddenly alarmed on seeing this. "H-H-Hey, what's going on? What's happening to my monster?"

Jan allowed himself a chuckle. "You thought you were rid of Dark Necrofear when you destroyed her in that battle just now? Well, you thought wrong," he informed Vasha. "During the End Phase of a turn when Dark Necrofear was destroyed in battle, her effect permits me to treat her as an Equip Magic card and equip her to one of my opponent's monsters…and as long as that monster's equipped, control over it belongs to me!"

"But that means—" Realization sprung up on Calhoun's face. "Vasha! He tricked us!"

"ACK!" Vasha shrieked—but there was nothing she could do as the dark shadow made itself known to be Dark Necrofear, even as the Masked Beast was forced to go to Jan's side of the field.

Jan then leveled a gaze at Calhoun. "What was that about taking out my life points, now…?"

Calhoun was sweating by this time. "Uh…fine. My turn." And he drew, so now he held two cards in hand. "I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for now."

Shaking his head and smirking, Jan drew again. "All right…time for you to meet the ace of MY deck!" he announced. "First things first, I'll summon Warrior of Zera (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)!" A moment later, his warrior appeared on the field, sword at the ready. "And next," Jan continued, "since my Pandemonium is still active on the field, I'll offer Warrior of Zera as a tribute and Special Summon his more fiendish form…Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)!"

At once Warrior of Zera swiftly underwent his transformation…and then, mere seconds later, Mazera DeVille emerged on the field, looking ready to rumble. "And now, Mazera DeVille's effect activates!" Jan continued. "When he's Special Summoned while Pandemonium is on the field, you have to discard three cards from your hand—and from here, it looks like you're both holding less than that, so…!"

Suddenly, two bolts of lightning shot down and hit the single cards that Vasha and Calhoun were holding! Yelping, the two swiftly discarded their cards, leaving them both empty-handed; Jan watched this with some faint amusement. "And now, Lady Morrison, your life points are wide open!" he added. "And between Mazera DeVille and this Masked Beast that my Dark Necrofear's controlling, I'd say they've got just enough ATK to wipe you out in one shot, wouldn't you say?"

Vasha took this in at a glance. "…eep…!" she squeaked.

"Both monsters, attack directly!" Jan commanded. And in response, Mazera DeVille ran forward and slashed at Vasha with one razor-sharp wing, lowering her life points to 3200…then, the Masked Beast blasted another beam from its chest-mask, hitting her and sending her sailing as her remaining score dropped to 0!

**JAN: 800; VASHA: 0; CALHOUN: 3300**

"Vasha! NO!" Calhoun yelled. Then he turned his gaze to Jan, eyes narrowed in anger. "Why, you…you'll pay for that!"

"Oh, well—at least now it's a proper one-on-one, like you'd originally intended, right?" said Jan. "I'm ending my turn right here…so now you can show me what you're made of when you fight alone!"

Eyebrow twitching, Calhoun drew his next card, replenishing his hand. "Vasha, you all right?" he called over his shoulder.

A short distance away, Vasha was picking herself up from where she'd landed after the Masked Beast's attack had knocked her back. "Whew…looks like I'm out of the duel now," she noted. "Calhoun, it's all up to you now, baby!"

"Got it," Calhoun affirmed. Then he examined the card he'd just drawn. "Crap…I can't use this card now…! Ugh, fine. I end my turn."

Shrugging, Jan drew another card. "You wanted to keep going for your girlfriend's sake…but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," he told Calhoun. "Because I'll now equip Mazera DeVille with a Magic card, the Axe of Despair, to increase his ATK by 1000!"

"What!" Calhoun cried.

But just as Jan had said, Mazera DeVille soon found himself holding the mighty axe in both hands, his ATK shooting up to 3800! "And now, you and your defense are going down!" Jan declared. "First, I'll use the Masked Beast to destroy your facedown monster! Attack now!"

Once again, the Masked Beast blasted an energy beam from its chest-mask, tearing the facedown monster to shreds and revealing it to be Alien Grey (ATK 300, DEF 800). "Ugh…you've activated Alien Grey's effect," said Calhoun. "When it's flipped face-up, I place an A-Counter on one of your face-up monsters…and after it's been flipped face-up, when sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I draw one card." And this he did.

"Well, it's just too bad your card-drawing won't save you here!" Jan rebutted. "Mazera DeVille, finish this duel now!" And Mazera DeVille flew forward, slashing at Calhoun with the Axe of Despair so hard that Calhoun flew backwards a few feet, his life points dropping to 0.

**JAN: 800; VASHA: 0; CALHOUN: 0**

At once Vasha ran to Calhoun's side. "Calhoun!"

"Ungh…" Calhoun sat up from where he'd fallen. "Sorry, Vasha…in the end, I couldn't do anything…"

Jasmine, having been watching from the sidelines, now strode up to Jan. "Well, congratulations, I guess…"

"Uh-huh," Jan said nonchalantly, switching off his Duel-Disk. Then he turned and strolled over to where Vasha and Calhoun were now standing up. "You two…let me tell you this right now, and pay attention when I tell it to you."

"Huh?" the couple looked at him questioningly.

Jan nodded knowingly. "Even though the two of you teamed up in this triangle duel…there's no way you would've been able to beat me as easily as you thought you would," he remarked. "I've been in duels where the stakes were far higher…where losing a duel meant, literally, losing your life. They probably don't teach you that here, but for some duelists, this isn't a game…they'll literally throw everything else away for the sake of this, or in order to fulfill some stronger agenda. A long time ago, I was like that—as a result, I've seen things that you couldn't even imagine. That's why, no matter how skilled you were, you wouldn't have been able to hold a candle to me…if you haven't had that kind of hard edge that comes with experience, you'll never survive long in a duelist's real world."

Jasmine's eyes narrowed as she heard Jan say this. _Considering where Master Drake found you, it's no surprise you'd say a thing like that…_

"Even so…" Jan chuckled a little. "…you did come close to beating me, even though you lost in the end. Only a handful of people, in the time I've been a duelist, have ever actually defeated me, or come close to doing it. In your case, your strategies were somewhat impressive, although they do need work…and I think that, if nothing else, allowing you to meet with Drake Phoenix will help you give your decks the overhaul that they need."

Calhoun and Vasha looked at each other, then back at Jan. "So we pass your test, then?" Vasha asked eagerly.

"I'd say so," Jan nodded. "Of course, I doubt I'd take you back with me to see him tonight—won't your dorm miss you if you leave unannounced?"

At that Calhoun scowled. "Oh, yeah…I'd forgotten about that…"

"So you were really planning to leave without saying anything?" Vasha asked incredulously.

"Well, _you_ said you weren't going to let me go into this by myself, didn't you?" Calhoun countered.

"Ahem…anyways…" Jan interrupted them. "When we get back, we'll pass your names on to Phoenix—and once he hears about your deck strategies and motivations, surely he'll be willing to give you even a small trial to prove yourselves to him."

"Um, if I may…" Jasmine spoke up. "You could probably come to the Phoenix mansion tomorrow and have a meeting with Master Drake, provided you could get a leave of absence from Duel Academy for the day…"

"Hmm…that actually makes sense," Vasha said thoughtfully. "I don't have any classes scheduled tomorrow…do you, Calhoun?"

"Nope," Calhoun answered. "So, yeah, we _could_ take a day from the Academy tomorrow, and nobody would miss us. All right, then, it's agreed—tomorrow, Vasha and I will come to Drake's place and have a chat with him."

"And I'll let him know to expect you two," and Jasmine nodded.

"All right…now that that arrangement's been made, I suppose you two had better get back to your dorm before people start wondering where you are…and it's definitely time for _you_ to get back to the Phoenix mansion before your employers start wondering where you are," Jan directed the last bit at Jasmine.

"Ah—yes, I almost forgot! It's that late by now, isn't it?" Jasmine exclaimed. "What time is it?"

"About…7:40, it looks like…" Vasha checked her watch.

"Well, we'll have to take our leave now," said Jan. "Make sure you two come tomorrow and talk to Phoenix, that's all." Then he turned away. "Come, we're leaving now."

"Right!" Jasmine bowed briefly to Calhoun and Vasha, then turned and hurried after Jan. Watching them leave for a moment, Calhoun and Vasha turned and headed back toward the Obelisk Blue dorm.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 7:45 p.m.

Principal Yuki, by this time, was walking along the pathway leading toward the Osiris Red dorm. "Heh…it's been a real long time, huh, Red dorm?" he asked softly. "Yeah…it sure has been…" He looked ahead toward the Osiris Red dorm. "Boy…the days when we all used to hang out here together…me, Chumley, Syrus, Alexis, Chazz, Blair, Bastion…and back when this dorm wasn't the most impressive building in the world…now, all these years later, look how far we've come…"

A slight movement caught his eye. Turning, he saw someone within the nearby tree-line, also heading toward the direction of the Osiris Red dorm. _Hmm…? Who…?_

Stopping where he was, Principal Yuki watched the figure for a moment. The figure in question was moving at a swift yet steady pace, with not a hint of hesitation. Principal Yuki cocked an eyebrow at this. "Interesting…"

----------

In his room, Janus was laying on his bed, hands behind his head on the pillow, eyes closed. Close by, Jiro was sitting at the nearby table, going through his stash of cards, shuffling his deck carefully. And then—Jiro abruptly paused mid-shuffle. He turned his head slightly toward the door. "Janus…"

Janus, in turn, opened his eyes. "You sensed it, too?"

"Uh-huh…" Jiro stood up slowly. "An extremely powerful dueling presence…and it's coming right this way."

In turn, Janus got out of bed. "What say we find out who this dueling presence belongs to, huh, Jiro?"

"Yeah, it would be interesting, at least," Jiro nodded. "Your deck is ready, I assume?"

"Always!" Janus answered, reaching for his Duel-Disk that was leaning on the wall near his bed. Strapping that on, he then walked over to the doorway and pulled on his shoes. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Jiro answered, slotting his deck into his own Duel-Disk. Then he walked over to the doorway, slipping into his own shoes. "All right, let's go."

Stepping outside, the two boys walked along the corridor, then headed down the staircase and soon ended up on the grounds. "All right, it's just to find this person now," Janus remarked.

Looking straight ahead toward the nearby forest, Jiro's eyes narrowed. "I think we're about to find out…"

And not a moment too soon; for mere moments later, there appeared from the forest a figure in a hooded jacket and wearing a Duel-Disk with what seemed to be sparkling gemstones on its design. "That Duel-Disk…" Jiro frowned.

There were stars in Janus's eyes. "That's so cool! I want a Duel-Disk like that!"

"Focus on the bigger issue here!" Jiro yelled at him, exasperated.

The jacketed figure walked toward the duo, halting when only twenty feet separated them. "Janus Yuki…" she spoke, her eyes giving him a searching glance.

"Uh, yeah, that's me," said Janus. "And based on your Duel-Disk…that Jewel Duelist that everyone was talking about, right?"

"Right," the girl nodded. "It seems you sensed my presence before I even reached this position…"

Janus nodded, a serious look on his face now. "Yeah. I tend to be able to sense immense dueling power when it's in close proximity…especially when it's being given off as strongly as you were doing."

"Impressive." The Jewel Duelist nodded approval. "Not many duelists nowadays can boast of having that kind of natural ability."

"Why are you here, if I may ask?" Jiro queried. "You'd be hunting down criminals as per your reputation, wouldn't you?"

"That's true, but…tonight I had a much more pressing mission to fulfill," the Jewel Duelist replied. "And it has to do with Janus, here."

"Well, given the fact that you were putting off so much dueling energy and that you're wearing your Duel-Disk so openly, it's fairly obvious you want to duel me," said Janus.

"It's not that simple," the Jewel Duelist answered. "I've also come…to give you a warning."

Janus and Jiro looked at each other when they heard that; then they looked back at the girl. "A warning?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yes." The Jewel Duelist nodded. "I'll be very brief about it. I have reason to believe that Drake Phoenix is gathering duelists together, for the purpose of defeating you, Janus."

"To defeat Janus?" Jiro asked.

The girl nodded again. "Drake and Janus have a rivalry that goes back several years, you see…and over time Drake has turned it into an obsession. By this point he's willing to do whatever it takes to prove he's the superior duelist…particularly in the wake of the Dueltropolis tournament, where Janus came in third behind Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba."

Janus regarded her. "But even if that's the case, how would _you_ know about my particular rivalry with Drake?"

"It pays to keep your ear close to the ground, especially whenever it concerns pro duelists like Drake," said the Jewel Duelist. "Even though he's a champion duelist in his own right, it's not exactly a secret that he's lost duels to you in the past—you, Janus Yuki, the one duelist who Drake has never officially been able to conquer. And when a perfectionist has a stain on his otherwise-spotless slate, he'll move heaven and earth to remove that stain. And, too, gossip has a way of serving as a negative motivator to even the best of people."

"Well, answer us this, then," said Jiro. "Why have you decided to come forward with this information? And how can we know that it's true?"

"Who knows…" The girl shrugged. "Maybe it'll turn out to be nothing more than a false alarm; maybe it'll turn out to be true. Still, given Drake's arrogance, I wouldn't put anything past him. I just figured Janus would like to know, is all, so as to be adequately prepared."

"Well, that's fine," said Janus. "So…a duel, you said?"

The Jewel Duelist nodded again. "This will be more like a test, actually—to see just how well you'll be able to fare against anything that may come your way, whether from Drake or anyone else," she informed him. "Additionally, I have something to give you, too…but that can wait until after this duel is over. I only hope you're not going to back down…?"

"Hell, no!" said Janus, and he swiftly activated his Duel-Disk. "It's not as if you woke me out of my bed or anything—if it's a duel, I'm ready anytime!"

The Jewel Duelist then looked at Jiro. "This doesn't involve you…but if you'd prefer to stick around and witness the outcome, I suggest you get a good enough distance between yourself and us. I will not be holding back my strength in this fight, you understand."

"I won't interfere," Jiro answered. "It's not like Janus needs my help to win this duel or anything. He can take care of himself—I've seen it first-hand."

With that, Jiro turned and walked a respectable distance away from Janus and the Jewel Duelist. The latter two, in turn, activated their Duel-Disks. "Shall we begin, then?" the girl asked.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ This footnote replaces the one that was here before…and let's just say that I'm making a lot of changes in my life and trying to stick to them as best as possible. Nice, huh? Well, more to come, so read and review, meanwhile!


	27. Strength of the Rainbow Dragon

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fanfiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(furiously scarfing down a box of rice and curried chicken)** Munch, munch…don't own Yu-Gi-Oh…chew, chew, chew…)

**CHAPTER 27 – Strength of the Rainbow Dragon**

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 7:55 p.m.

**JANUS: 8000; JEWEL DUELIST: 8000**

Both players' life points rose to 8000 as they drew their first five cards. "I'll call it! Tails!" the Jewel Duelist declared.

The holographic coin emerged on the field and was quickly flipped…and when it landed, it showed…heads. "Too bad! So I get to go first, then!" Janus announced.

Jiro, watching the two as they readied themselves, crossed his arms. _All right…this Jewel Duelist…she said she won't be holding back—if that's the case, let's find out just how skilled she really is._

Janus then drew his sixth card to start off. "First things first, I'll summon Neo Space Pathfinder (ATK 1800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought forth a white-skinned alien with dark gray hands and feet, red lines decorating her torso and legs, and a solid blue line on top of her domed head. "Then I'll set two cards facedown, for later. Try beating that!"

"Yes, you do seem to be off to a good start," the Jewel Duelist nodded approval. "Now, my draw!" and she drew her card. "Well…I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's it for now."

Whereupon Janus drew again. "Now, I'll summon Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin (ATK 600, DEF 800)!" Then he brought forth his bipedal dolphin. "And now, time for me to activate Aqua Dolphin's effect…"

"Hmmm?" The Jewel Duelist cocked an eyebrow.

"By discarding one card from my hand once per turn during the Main Phase," Janus explained, even as he discarded a card, "I get to look at your hand and select one Monster card that you're holding. If I happen to control a monster whose ATK is higher than the ATK of your monster that I pick, then your monster is destroyed and you take 500 points of damage—otherwise, I lose 500 life points."

Nodding, the Jewel Duelist turned her cards around so Janus could see what they were. She was holding Crystal Beast – Topaz Tiger (ATK 1600, DEF 1000), Crystal Beast – Ruby Carbuncle (ATK 300, DEF 300), the magic cards Rare Value and Crystal Beacon, and the trap card Crystal Pair. "Only two monsters, huh? Well, in that case, I choose your Topaz Tiger!" said Janus. "And since I have my Neo Space Pathfinder here on the field, and her ATK is higher than your tiger's…Aqua Dolphin, use your Sonar Blast and destroy that card in her hand!"

Aqua Dolphin promptly released a supersonic cry that hit the Jewel Duelist's hand, in the process destroying the Crystal Beast – Topaz Tiger card. Again, though, the Jewel Duelist just nodded as her life points went down accordingly. "Impressive effect your monster has," she remarked.

**JANUS: 8000; JEWEL DUELIST: 7500**

"Thanks," Janus answered. "But I'm not done just yet! Now I activate the Magic card, O – Oversoul, which allows me to Special Summon one Normal monster from my Graveyard that has 'Elemental Hero' in its name…and I choose my Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000), the same card I just discarded for Aqua Dolphin's effect!"

One incredible burst of light later, Neos emerged on the field, ready to do battle. Jiro's eyes widened as he witnessed this. "Neos is here already? That's something!" he exclaimed.

The Jewel Duelist regarded Neos. "Hmm…so this is your ace monster…"

"Got that right!" Janus grinned. "Now, then…Neo Space Pathfinder, attack and destroy that facedown monster of hers!"

Pathfinder jumped forward, doing a diving kick at the facedown monster—but when it was flipped face-up, it was revealed to be a tortoise with emeralds on its shell, and to Janus's surprise his monster's attack was quickly repelled, his life points going down to 7800! "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

**JANUS: 7800; JEWEL DUELIST: 7500**

"Sorry, but the monster you just attacked was my Crystal Beast – Emerald Tortoise (ATK 600, DEF 2000)," the Jewel Duelist informed him coolly. "And as you can see, his DEF was more than enough to repel your Pathfinder's attack."

"Maybe so—but I still have two monsters I can attack with!" Janus rebutted. "Go ahead, Neos—crack that turtle's shell!" And in response, Neos jumped forward and delivered a bone-splitting punch to Emerald Tortoise's shell, smashing the monster into pieces.

"It's a tortoise, not a turtle…there's a difference…" the Jewel Duelist muttered.

"Well, whatever! Anyway, Aqua Dolphin, you're next to atta—huh?" Janus paused in mid-sentence…for now, in the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap zone, there was a huge emerald sitting there!

"Oh, yes, I should inform you," the girl spoke up. "If any of my Crystal Beasts are destroyed while they are on the field as monsters, they can then be placed face-up in my Magic/Trap zone as Continuous Magic cards, instead of going to the Graveyard. And that is precisely what happened to my Emerald Tortoise just now, when your Elemental Hero Neos destroyed it in battle."

"I see…that's pretty cool, I guess," said Janus. "But in any case, you're wide open for an attack now! Aqua Dolphin, attack directly!" And Aqua Dolphin again released his supersonic cry, knocking the Jewel Duelist back a little bit as her life points dropped further.

**JANUS: 7800; JEWEL DUELIST: 6900**

"Hmph." The Jewel Duelist straightened herself up. "Well, you really are off to a good start, Janus. I commend you."

"Well, sure, but…" Janus scratched the back of his head. "It seems just a little bit boring if this is all you're going to offer me in the way of a challenge. I mean, come on, you've built up this really fearsome reputation—back it up or something, even a little!"

Jiro, on the sidelines, pursed his lips. _Janus has a point…so far, this girl hasn't shown much in the way of resistance, even though she said she wouldn't be holding back. But…still… _He frowned more deeply. _Even though she's taken more damage than he has, she still seems to be quite calm about her whole situation…maybe she'll surprise us or something…_

Meanwhile, the Jewel Duelist drew another card. "Hmm…all right, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, one card facedown, and…that's all for the moment."

Janus sighed loudly. "And I'm willing to bet you anything that that facedown monster is your Ruby Carbuncle monster," he commented. "Even Aqua Dolphin will be able to take that out, real easy! I'll soon show you!"

He drew his next card, so now he held two in hand. "Now, then—Aqua Dolphin, attack her facedown monster!" he ordered. And in reply, Aqua Dolphin unleashed his supersonic screech at the facedown monster…

…but all at once the Jewel Duelist announced, "And I'll counter that with my Trap card, Radiant Mirror Force!"

"Huh?" Janus replied—but before he could blink, a brightly-glowing force field emerged on the girl's side of the field, and Aqua Dolphin's attack was reversed, destroying all three of Janus's monsters in one shot!

"I take it you're wondering what I just did?" said the Jewel Duelist. "Well, that card I just activated was my Radiant Mirror Force trap card—yes, the same card I drew last turn. I could only activate it when you declared an attack while you had at least three monsters in Attack Mode…then, I was able to destroy all of your Attack Mode monsters." She gave Janus a look. "So? Still think I'm not convincing enough for you?"

Janus looked back at her…and then grinned. "Nope, I take it back. I guess I really will have to take you more seriously, after all."

"That you should," the Jewel Duelist agreed. "Are you going to do anything else for now?"

"Nah—you go ahead, I'm ending my turn for now," Janus answered.

Nodding once more, the Jewel Duelist drew her next card, so now she held four in hand. "All right, now I activate the Magic card, Crystal Blessing!" she declared. "This card lets me select up to two Crystal Beast monsters in my Graveyard and place them face-up in my Magic/Trap card zone as Continuous Magic cards. Right now, though, there's only one monster in my Graveyard that fits the bill, but it'll do for now—and that's my Crystal Beast – Topaz Tiger!"

A moment later, right next to Emerald Tortoise's representing emerald gemstone, there appeared a brightly-glowing topaz gemstone, representative of Topaz Tiger. Then the Jewel Duelist picked one of the three remaining cards from her hand. "You've already seen this card, so I may as well play it now," she told Janus. "I activate my Crystal Beacon! If there are two or more Crystal Beasts that are in my Magic/Trap zone as Continuous Magic cards, this card allows me to Special Summon another Crystal Beast from my deck…and the one I choose is Crystal Beast – Amber Mammoth (ATK 1700, DEF 1600)!"

All at once, a loud trumpeting noise could be heard, as a four-tusked mammoth with a giant amber gemstone on its forehead appeared on the girl's side of the field. "Whoa…that _so_ does not look friendly…" Janus gulped nervously as he took in the new monster's immense size.

"Continuing," said the Jewel Duelist, picking one of her two remaining cards. "I activate Rare Value! This card could only be activated when I had two or more Crystal Beasts in my Magic/Trap zone as Continuous Magic cards…but now, you get to select which of these will go to the Graveyard, and then afterwards I'll draw two cards from my deck."

"Is that so?" said Janus. "All right…I choose the Topaz Tiger that you just brought back!"

In an instant, the topaz shattered into pieces…then the Jewel Duelist drew two more cards, so now she held a total of three. "Hmm…seems my hand keeps getting better and better," she remarked. "Okay—next, I activate another Magic card, Crystal Tree!"

Suddenly, in the same spot where Topaz Tiger's representing gemstone had been moments earlier, a tree suddenly sprouted out of the ground, bearing nothing but dry branches! "Um…what's up with that tree of yours?" Janus asked.

"It's quite simple, really," the Jewel Duelist answered him. "Each time a Crystal Beast monster is placed in my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card, this tree gets what's known as a Crystal Counter. At any time I choose, I can send the Crystal Tree to the Graveyard to take a number of Crystal Beast monsters from my deck, equal to the number of Crystal Counters on the tree at that time, and then place those chosen Crystal Beast cards into my Magic/Trap zone."

Then she held up the two cards left in her hand. "Next, I'll set one card facedown, and summon my Crystal Beast – Cobalt Eagle (ATK 1400, DEF 800)!" Then she called forth her cobalt-attired eagle to the field, screeching as it arrived.

"Argh…this isn't looking very good for me right now…" Janus grumbled.

"And lastly, so as not to make it feel too left out, I'll Flip Summon my Crystal Beast – Ruby Carbuncle!" the Jewel Duelist finished, flipping her facedown monster card face-up and revealing the little ruby-tailed creature. "Now, I've got quite a powerful attack force here to deal with _your_ unprotected life points! So, my Crystal Beasts…attack directly!"

Amber Mammoth charged forward first, and Janus barely managed to jump out of the way in time even as his life points sharply went down.

**JANUS: 6100; JEWEL DUELIST: 6900**

But then the next thing he knew, Cobalt Eagle was flying all over him, scratching at him with its talons as his life points went down further.

**JANUS: 4700; JEWEL DUELIST: 6900**

Finally, Ruby Carbuncle flew forward and slammed its tail into Janus's face, bringing his score slightly further down.

**JANUS: 4400; JEWEL DUELIST: 6900**

"And now, I enter my Main Phase 2," the Jewel Duelist announced. "That way, I can activate Cobalt Eagle's effect—once per turn, I can return one face-up Crystal Beast card that I control to the top of its owner's deck…and since Ruby Carbuncle has the lowest ATK of my three monsters on the field at current, and would therefore be in the most danger from any monster you might summon later, I'll return it to the top of my deck." And to correspond with this, Cobalt Eagle flapped its wings hard and repeatedly, and Ruby Carbuncle simply vanished in a gentle shower of red sparks; the girl then took the card and slotted it back on top of her deck. "Now I end my turn."

Still watching the duel, Jiro now seemed quite interested. _Impressive…this girl's deck strategy seems to flow very well…even though Janus was off to a strong start at first, now she's the one pushing him against the ropes! How will he respond now?_

Janus, meanwhile, now drew his next card so he held three in his hand. "Hmmm…seems I've got something here that can perfectly counter your Crystal Beasts' ability to become Continuous Magic cards!" he announced. "Let me show you what it is! I summon my Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab (ATK 500, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!"

All at once a burst of flame erupted on Janus's side of the field…and then, subsiding a moment later, it revealed a black-scaled bipedal insect. But the Jewel Duelist didn't seem impressed. "And what in the world is that supposed to be? That's not so scary."

"Not right now, it probably isn't," Janus admitted. "But watch how that changes in a moment…for Flare Scarab's ATK increases by 400 points for every Magic and Trap card controlled by my opponent! And since you've got one of your Crystal Beasts acting as a Continuous Magic card, your Crystal Tree, and that other facedown card of yours…"

"…he gets 1200 ATK…!" The Jewel Duelist's eyes narrowed—and as she made that realization, indeed Flare Scarab's ATK rose sharply to 1700!

"All right, now…" Janus chuckled. "I'll have my Flare Scarab attack your Cobalt Eagle right now!"

"Not so fast!" the Jewel Duelist rebutted suddenly. "If one of my face-up Crystal Beast monsters is selected as an attack target, Amber Mammoth's effect lets me change that attack target to him instead!"

"So then they'll destroy each other since their ATK will be equal…fine, then! As you say!" Janus answered. And in response, Flare Scarab and Amber Mammoth charged at each other, and the resulting collision caused a mighty explosion that consumed the both of them!

"And now, I'll forego turning Amber Mammoth into a Continuous Magic card and let him go to the Graveyard instead, so I can activate my Trap card—Crystal Pair!" the Jewel Duelist cried. "When one of my Crystal Beasts is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can place one Crystal Beast monster from my deck into my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card, and also I take no battle damage this turn!"

"Well, I'll do you one better," replied Janus. "Since my monster was also destroyed and sent to the Graveyard via a battle, I'll activate my own Trap card—Hero Signal! Now I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero monster from my hand or deck…and the monster I choose will be Elemental Hero Clayman (ATK 800, DEF 2000), from my deck, in Defense Mode!"

"And the monster I choose for Crystal Pair's effect is my Crystal Beast – Sapphire Pegasus (ATK 1800, DEF 1200)!" the Jewel Duelist answered.

A moment later, right next to the Crystal Tree and Emerald Turtle's representing gemstone, there appeared a beautiful sapphire stone…meanwhile, on Janus's side of the field, Elemental Hero Clayman appeared, crouched in a defensive stance. Then, almost instantaneously, on the Crystal Tree there appeared a plum-like fruit, sprouting from one of the branches where previously there hadn't even been a sign of a bud! "That's the first Crystal Counter to show up on the Crystal Tree," the Jewel Duelist noted.

Janus rubbed his nose with his thumb. "Not too shabby, I'll admit…in fact, you're doing really well here."

"You, too," the Jewel Duelist acknowledged. "Our two decks are both very fluid."

"Yeah, well…" Janus examined the two cards in his hand. "I can't do anything else for now, so…I'll just end my turn."

Nodding, the Jewel Duelist drew again. "There's no point in me hiding it—this card I've drawn is, once again, my Ruby Carbuncle," she announced. "So I'll just set it on the field in Defense Mode…but at the same time, I'll also send my Crystal Tree to the Graveyard, to place in my Magic/Trap zone the only other Crystal Beast left in my deck…my Amethyst Cat (ATK 1200, DEF 400)."

She reached up to the tree, plucked the fruit from its branch, and…immediately, the tree itself disappeared, and the fruit turned into a beautiful purple gem that found its way next to Sapphire Pegasus's and Emerald Tortoise's representing gems. "So now, this makes five of my Crystal Beasts that are on the field, and two are sleeping in the Graveyard," the girl mused. And to herself she added, _And the cycle will soon be complete…_ "I end my turn for now. There's nothing more I can do."

"Then I'll take my turn once again!" Janus drew once more. "Now, I summon my Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900)!" And then moments later, his glowing amoeba-like creature appeared on the field. "Now, here is a Neo-Spacian that I really, really like!"

"And why's that?" the Jewel Duelist asked.

"Because of his effect!" Janus replied. "When Glow Moss attacks or is attacked, you get to draw a card, and the type of card it is—whether Monster, Magic or Trap—determines what Glow Moss does next! So…Glow Moss, attack now!"

Glow Moss readied itself to attack—and per its effect, the Jewel Duelist drew one card. "Hmm…it's a Magic card," she said, revealing it to be Monster Reborn.

"A Magic card? Sweet!" Janus exulted. "That means Glow Moss gets to attack you directly!" And Glow Moss did just that—forming a spear of light in its hand and flinging it at the Jewel Duelist, piercing her.

**JANUS: 4400; JEWEL DUELIST: 6600**

"Not too bad, for a monster with such low ATK," the Jewel Duelist remarked. "But I'm wondering—why didn't you shift your Elemental Hero Clayman into Attack Mode? You could've easily been able to destroy my facedown monster with him, since we already know that the monster in question is my Ruby Carbuncle…and its stats aren't anything to brag about, really…"

"Yeah, but then I would've been sacrificing my only line of defense—your Cobalt Eagle would've made short work of Clayman," Janus pointed out.

"You say that as though Cobalt Eagle can't take out Glow Moss anyway," the Jewel Duelist told him. "Well, let's find out, eh? My draw!"

She drew her next card, so now she held two in hand. "Go, Cobalt Eagle! Attack and destroy his Glow Moss now!"

"Uh-uh-uh—Glow Moss's effect activates again!" Janus interrupted her. "You draw a card, then what type of card it is will determine what happens next!"

Without missing a beat, the Jewel Duelist drew her card as per Glow Moss's effect—and her eyes widened in utter surprise when she saw what she'd gotten. _Incredible! I actually got THIS in my hand? Then all I need to do now is…_

She revealed the card. "It's a monster card…and coincidentally, it's also the most powerful monster of my deck…Rainbow Dragon (ATK 4000, DEF 0)!"

Still on the sidelines, Jiro blinked. "Rainbow Dragon…?"

"A Monster card, eh? Well, in that case, Glow Moss's effect will end this Battle Phase immediately!" said Janus…and just like that, Cobalt Eagle—about to fly forward to attack—now backed down.

"Hmm…I see now why you like Glow Moss so much…it's got an effect for whichever specific card type I draw for its effect," the Jewel Duelist commented. "But I must say, you didn't seem very worried when I showed you that I'd drawn my Rainbow Dragon card for Glow Moss's effect…I take it you've never heard of the Rainbow Dragon, then?"

Janus smiled a little. "Actually…yes, I HAVE heard of it before. It and the Crystal Beast monsters are one-of-a-kind cards, wielded by the legendary duelist Jesse Anderson, many years ago…but then that makes one wonder, how come _you_ have them now? Did you know him or something?"

"We were…acquainted." The Jewel Duelist nodded. "I proved my worth, and he gave me his deck as a token of respect. Duelists don't just give up their signature cards to someone else without reason, so that in itself was a great honor for me, to be able to say I'd been given Jesse Anderson's deck by the legend himself. And I've used this deck ever since, to right wrongs wherever I can, to stand up for the oppressed…never mind that the authorities might call me a vigilante—but I'm doing a whole lot more than they ever could with their rules and regulations."

She then fixed a look upon Janus. "You want to see the Rainbow Dragon in action, don't you? To see how much your own deck will be able to stand up against it?"

"Do I? That would be sweetness in and of itself!" Janus exclaimed.

"Then watch and learn," the Jewel Duelist told him. "You want the Rainbow Dragon? I'll show you the Rainbow Dragon, up close and personal."

She held up the Monster Reborn card. "First, I'll activate my Monster Reborn, to revive my Topaz Tiger to the field, in Attack Mode!" And then, mere moments later, a large white saber-toothed tiger with black stripes, a sword-like horn on its head, and brightly-glistening topaz jewels on either side of its neck, emerged on the field, growling low in its throat as it glared at Janus.

"Then," the girl continued, holding up the card she'd drawn for her standard draw, "I activate Premature Burial! At a cost of 800 life points, I'll Special Summon my Amber Mammoth to the field in Attack Mode, equipping him with this card in the process!" And as her life points dropped to 5800, the Amber Mammoth reappeared, trumpeting in fury.

**JANUS: 4400; JEWEL DUELIST: 5800**

"And lastly, I'll Flip Summon my Ruby Carbuncle again," and the Jewel Duelist did just that, revealing Ruby Carbuncle once more. "And now…the conditions are right…for once I have all seven Crystal Beasts on the field or in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my deck's ace monster from my hand! Now…come forth—RAINBOW DRAGON!"

As numerous colors suddenly exploded all over the Jewel Duelist's side of the field, both Janus and Jiro covered their eyes with their arms lest they be blinded. "Whoa! What a light-show!" Janus exclaimed even as he shielded himself.

After a moment the glare of the lights dimmed down, though the lights themselves didn't vanish. Taking a chance, Jiro lowered one arm and cracked his eyes open a little—and then his eyes widened altogether at what he saw. "What…is…that…?"

For there now, on the Jewel Duelist's side of the field, was a huge white dragon with a few golden scales here and there near its head and crossing down its body. On its neck shone four gems, a ruby, an amber, a topaz and an emerald; further down, three more gems shone, a sapphire, a cobalt and an amethyst. The dragon sported humongous white-feathered wings, with two golden wings just below them, and a smaller pair of white bat-like wings near its tail. Janus, only now looking up, stared at the dragon in awe. "Now _that_ is utterly cool…"

"You have every right to be wonderstruck by my beast," the Jewel Duelist told him. "Unfortunately, since I've already attacked you this turn, I'll have to wait a while to show you what my monster is capable of. So, for now, I'll end my turn. My only question now is…can you possibly find a way to defeat the Rainbow Dragon, assuming one does exist?"

"What're you talking about? There's always a way to defeat a monster! No monster is infallible!" Janus countered.

"Well, if that holds true for the Rainbow Dragon as well, I have yet to see it," the Jewel Duelist replied. "The few times I've had to summon him in my past duels, none of my opponents could ever bring him down. To your credit, though, you're the first opponent against whom I've summoned the Rainbow Dragon, who hasn't cowered in fear upon sighting him."

"I guess I just don't scare easily, then." Janus grinned.

Once again, he drew his card so he now held three in hand. "Hmm…this could probably work…I'll set one card facedown, shift Glow Moss into Defense Mode, and end my turn for now."

Shrugging, the Jewel Duelist drew another card, replenishing her hand. "Well, now…I suppose it should be all right to let you see this card, since I've already let you see my Rainbow Dragon," she surmised. "Very well, then! I activate this Field Magic card…Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins!"

All at once, their natural surroundings and even the night sky vanished…and in their place now stood a bunch of old ruins, accompanied by a great rainbow hovering in a day-lit sky. "Now, here's how it works," the Jewel Duelist caught Janus's attention again. "The Ancient City gets a certain number of effects, depending on how many Crystal Beasts I have in my Magic/Trap zone. If I have one or more, the Ancient City can't be destroyed by card effects…two or more, I can halve any battle damage I take once per turn…three or more, I can send one Crystal Beast monster that I control to the Graveyard to negate the activating of a Magic or Trap card and destroy that card…four or more, I can draw one card once per turn during my Main Phase…five, I can Special Summon a Crystal Beast from my Magic/Trap zone. And seeing as I have three Crystal Beasts in my Magic/Trap zone at current, that means the first three effects will apply."

Janus cast a quick glance at the two facedown cards in his own Magic/Trap zone. _Does that mean that if I try to activate these now, she'll…? Well, no use in just having them here—might as well try!_

Aloud he announced, "Well, guess what? I activate my Hero Ring trap card!" And immediately the card he'd just set last turn flipped face-up. "This card will now be treated as an Equip Magic card and be equipped to one Warrior-type monster on my side of the field that has 1500 ATK or less, and as long as it's equipped, no monster with 1900 ATK or more can attack that monster!"

"And you seem to not have heard what I said just now," the Jewel Duelist rebutted. "I'll now activate the third effect of the Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins, and send my Ruby Carbuncle to the Graveyard to negate that Trap card's activation and destroy it!"

As Ruby Carbuncle disappeared from the field, a beam of red light from the rainbow overhead shot down, incinerating Janus's trap at that moment! "A fairly good plan, that would have been," the Jewel Duelist noted. "If you had managed to equip that card to your Elemental Hero Clayman, then none of my monsters would've been able to attack him at all, come what may. Unfortunately, your plan was a bust from the start…as you will be in another moment! Now…Rainbow Dragon, lead the way and destroy his Clayman!"

The seven jewels on Rainbow Dragon's body swiftly lit up one by one; then, a bright colorful light shone from his mouth. But Janus countered, "Now I'll activate the Trap card, Hero Barrier! If I control an Elemental Hero monster, I can negate one attack!"

Jiro's eyes narrowed as he saw this. _Of course…that's the other card of the two Janus had set facedown from the beginning…he never needed to activate it before, since Clayman was never targeted for an attack and the Glow Moss had its own effects to protect itself…but now, with this Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins card on the field…_

"And once again, I activate the Ancient City's effect to negate and destroy your Hero Barrier!" the Jewel Duelist returned. "And this time I'll send my Cobalt Eagle to the Graveyard to do that!"

As Cobalt Eagle vanished from the field, this time a bright blue light shot down from the rainbow, destroying the Hero Barrier before it could even be formed! The Rainbow Dragon took that opportunity to strike, firing a multi-colored beam of energy from its mouth and blasting Elemental Hero Clayman to dust!

"No! Clayman!" Janus cried.

"Next, Amber Mammoth will strike your Glow Moss dead!" the Jewel Duelist declared. "Do it now, Amber Mammoth!"

"Well, wait right there—now you've triggered Glow Moss's effect once again!" Janus interrupted—then suddenly he looked uncertain. "Um, your Field Magic card doesn't negate monster effects, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," the Jewel Duelist assured him. "And I haven't forgotten your Glow Moss's effect, either—now I have to draw a card, and whatever type of card it is will determine what happens next. So, here I go…" She drew her card, then held it up for Janus to see—it was a Trap card, Last Resort. "According to your Glow Moss's effect, the fact that this is a Trap card would mean that Glow Moss would be shifted to Defense Mode…except, it's _already_ in Defense Mode," she pointed out. "Amber Mammoth, continue the attack!"

Trumpeting, Amber Mammoth charged forward, slamming into Glow Moss with such force that the other monster was reduced to small, wet particles. "And now, your side of the field is totally empty—which means Topaz Tiger can attack you directly!" the Jewel Duelist announced. "Go, Topaz Tiger!" And in turn, Topaz Tiger sprinted forward, slashing at Janus with the sword-like horn on its head.

**JANUS: 2800; JEWEL DUELIST: 5800**

Knocked backwards by Topaz Tiger's assault, Janus fell down hard on his rump. "Ow…that sucked…"

"Only a little further to go," the Jewel Duelist noted. "Now, I'll end my turn for the moment…but now what will you do, Janus?"

"HEY!"

Janus, Jiro and the Jewel Duelist all looked up at the sound of the shout—and beheld Cassara and Natasha, coming from around the corner of the dorm's building. "What's going on out here?" Cassara demanded. "We saw all these flashing lights coming from here, and—" Only then did she notice the duel that was going on. "Hey…what's…" And then any more words she would've uttered stuck in her throat when she looked up at the Rainbow Dragon.

Natasha, too, was spellbound. "What…what _is_ that thing?" she whispered.

The Jewel Duelist chuckled. "It seems our duel attracted quite a few spectators, eh, Janus? I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised if everyone from your dorm comes running to see what's going on…"

"Yeah, I guess that would be a natural consequence, after what we've been doing out here," Janus admitted. "But you're not really too concerned about that, are you?"

"Normally, I try not to interact with too many people, but since the Rainbow Dragon can grab anybody's attention, I suppose it can't be helped this time," the girl responded.

Now Jiro spoke up. "I believe you can rest easy regarding anybody coming to see what's going on," he told the Jewel Duelist. "True, people would be running to see what was happening—but that would be more likely if duels weren't played within their vicinity or with such frequency. But this is Duel Academy; duels can happen anywhere, anytime, on this island. If anybody did see the lights from this duel, they probably wouldn't be bothered to come and check it out unless they had nothing better to do. And it's not as if the lights that were shining when you summoned your Rainbow Dragon are still shining now, anyway."

The Jewel Duelist chuckled at that. "It would seem so," she agreed.

Now Cassara found her voice again. "Um, Jiro, you mind explaining just what is going on here?" she asked. "Who's that girl that Janus is dueling? And why the hell does she have a monster like THAT?" pointing at the Rainbow Dragon.

"Heh…long story, I'm afraid," Jiro answered. "For now, just stay right where you are and watch how this duel plays out, hmm?"

"Yeah, Cassara, Natasha, you guys do that," Janus added his voice. "Anyway, it's my turn now, right? So now I'm going to have to do my very best to make a comeback before you can wipe my life points out!"

"That you should," the Jewel Duelist answered.

"Well, I don't know what's going on, really, but…just do your best nevertheless, Janus!" Natasha called to him.

Nodding, Janus drew again, so now he held three cards in hand. _Hmm…this is going to be a gutsy move, but… _"I activate the Magic card, Cocoon Party!"

"Cocoon Party?" the Jewel Duelist queried.

"That's right!" Janus beamed. "See, I've got support for my Neo-Spacians in my deck, including a bunch of monsters known as Chrysalis monsters! And this card, Cocoon Party, allows me to Special Summon one Chrysalis monster from my deck for each differently-named Neo-Spacian in my Graveyard—and right now there are three of those in there, my Aqua Dolphin, Flare Scarab and Glow Moss!"

"So that means you will be able to summon three of these Chrysalis monsters of which you speak," the Jewel Duelist remarked. "Or—at least you WOULD, if it weren't for my Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins! For now I can once again negate and destroy your card, and this time I'll send my Topaz Tiger to the Graveyard to do that!"

Topaz Tiger disappeared from the field—and a yellow beam of light shot down from the Ancient City's rainbow, vanquishing the Cocoon Party magic card! Janus's eyes narrowed as he witnessed this. "Okay, fine, but how about this? I summon my Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later Sparkman appeared on the field, electricity crackling around his body. "Now, finally I can get the opportunity to use this!" Janus added. "I'll equip Sparkman with his trademark Spark Blaster! While he's equipped with this, during my Main Phase I can change the battle position of one face-up monster, and this effect can be used up to three times!"

"Sorry, but I'll have to negate that effect again with my Ancient City's power—and this time Amber Mammoth will go to the Graveyard in order to invoke that effect!" the Jewel Duelist answered…and as Amber Mammoth and the Premature Burial it'd been equipped with disappeared, an orange beam shot down from the rainbow, destroying the Spark Blaster card.

"Huh." Janus sighed. "Well…so much for all of that. I guess I'll end my turn, then."

"Wait a minute…that dragon's got 4000 ATK! It'll cream Sparkman!" Cassara cried.

"An astute observation," the Jewel Duelist agreed, even as she drew her next card to give her two in hand. "Still…Janus…what you did just now was quite clever."

"Clever? But how can that be possible?" Natasha asked in disbelief. "She was negating his card effects with that Ancient City card of hers, wasn't she? And now Sparkman's a sitting duck right there!"

"That's all true…however…" Jiro smirked. "In order for the Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins to negate any of Janus's Magic or Trap cards, the Jewel Duelist needed to send one of her Crystal Beast monsters to the Graveyard. And now, the only monster left on the field is Rainbow Dragon itself, which technically isn't a Crystal Beast monster."

"And furthermore," Janus picked up the narrative, "those three Crystal Beasts that are currently Continuous Magic cards via their effect are just that—Magic cards, NOT Monster cards—so they can't be tributed for the Ancient City's third effect. Basically, unless you find some way to either revive one of the Crystal Beasts from the Graveyard, or find some way to return one of your three Crystal Beasts in your Magic/Trap zone to being a monster again, any Magic or Trap card that I use from here on out will be safe from your card's effect."

"Bravo." The Jewel Duelist applauded a little. "Even so, your life points are _still_ not safe! Rainbow Dragon, obliterate his Sparkman!" And Rainbow Dragon did just that, blasting Sparkman to ashes!

**JANUS: 400; JEWEL DUELIST: 5800**

Reeling from the intense loss of life points, Janus nonetheless managed to stay on his feet. "Whoa…sorry, Sparkman…but at least I still have life points left…!"

"Not for much longer, you won't," the Jewel Duelist countered. "I'll end my turn now."

Janus then looked down at his deck. _All right…it's all riding on this next draw! Okay…Heart of the cards…give me a little help here…!_

Then, closing his eyes, he drew.

Everyone looked at Janus expectantly. "So?" the Jewel Duelist asked him.

Janus then opened his eyes and looked at the card he'd drawn…and at once a smile spread out over his face. "Okay…looks like I'll be in this game a little while longer!" he announced. "Because now…I'll Special Summon my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200) from my hand, in Defense Mode!"

"What…!" Jiro exclaimed.

"No way!" Cassara breathed.

"All right!" Natasha cheered.

A moment later Bubbleman emerged on the field, in a defensive position. "Now, here's how his effect works," said Janus. "If Bubbleman is the only card in my hand, I can Special Summon him…plus, if there aren't any other cards in my hand or on my side of the field when I summon him, I can draw two cards!"

Quickly he drew his two cards; then, examining them, an even bigger grin appeared on his face. "And now, I've got something else to show you—my Magic card, Soul Exchange!" he announced. "This allows me to select one of your monsters, and if I would have to tribute one of my monsters this turn, I can just tribute yours that I picked instead! And it just so happens that you only have one monster on the field…"

The Jewel Duelist took the situation in at a glance. "My Rainbow Dragon…!"

"Got that right!" Janus said triumphantly. "So now, I'll offer both your Rainbow Dragon and my Elemental Hero Bubbleman to summon another monster…Elemental Hero Bladedge (ATK 2600, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode!"

As the Jewel Duelist watched with dismay in her eyes, both Rainbow Dragon and Bubbleman vanished from the field…and then, in their place stood Bladedge, his golden armor shining brightly, his blades at the ready. "Unfortunately, thanks to the effect of my Soul Exchange card, Bladedge won't be able to attack you this turn," Janus admitted, somewhat sheepishly. "So, I guess I'll just end my turn for the time being."

"All right! Go, Janus!" Natasha kept on cheering.

"He…he actually found a way around that dragon…" Cassara blinked.

Jiro nodded with approval. _Well done, Janus…just when we thought you were a dead-on target for this girl's next attack, you were able to bounce right back with a strong monster of your own, while getting rid of hers at the same time…_ He smirked. _I wonder…could this be the "heart of the cards" that you were telling me about before…?_

The Jewel Duelist, meanwhile, kept on looking in astonishment at the field…then she sighed, composing herself. "Congrats, Janus…you managed to find a way to deal with my Rainbow Dragon," she remarked. "Nobody has ever managed to do that before. I salute you for being the first," and she did a brief salute with two fingers.

"Well, gee, thanks," Janus chuckled.

The Jewel Duelist then lowered her arm from her salute. "But now, it's my turn again…and as long as I can still draw a card, I can still beat you!" she declared. "Don't start your celebrations just yet, Janus Yuki, because you haven't won yet…"

----------

_**neomage:**_ Yes, people, it's just as the Jewel Duelist says…the duel is still on, in spite of Janus's comeback! What will happen next, now that the Rainbow Dragon has been dealt with? Stay tuned to find out!


	28. Senshuken

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Sigh…)

**CHAPTER 28 - Senshuken**

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM

**JANUS: 400; JEWEL DUELIST: 5800**

Janus was now holding on with 400 life points, while the Jewel Duelist had 5800. Janus no longer held any cards in his hand; the Jewel Duelist held two. On the field Janus had his Elemental Hero Bladedge in Attack Mode; meanwhile, the Jewel Duelist had three of her Crystal Beasts—Sapphire Pegasus, Emerald Tortoise, and Amethyst Cat—in her Magic/Trap zone as Continuous Magic cards due to their effect, and she also had the Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins field magic card active.

Now it was the Jewel Duelist's turn again, and she drew her next card…and when she saw what it was, her eyes narrowed. "All right, Janus…the decisive moment is here at last!" she announced. "I activate the Magic card, Magical Stone Excavation! By discarding two cards from my hand, I can add one Magic card from my Graveyard to my hand…and the one I choose is my Monster Reborn!"

Swiftly she discarded her two cards; then, a giant pink gemstone emerged and shattered, allowing her to retrieve her Monster Reborn card. Watching this, Janus cocked an eyebrow. "Uh…oh, great, just wonderful…you're going to revive Rainbow Dragon, aren't you…?"

"Oh, if only I could," the Jewel Duelist admitted, "but Rainbow Dragon can't be Special Summoned except by the method through which I'd summoned him earlier. But what I'm about to do will ensure your defeat just as easily! Just watch!"

Then she held up the Monster Reborn card. "Now, I'll use the Monster Reborn that I just retrieved from my Graveyard, and use it to bring back…Crystal Beast – Ruby Carbuncle, in Defense Mode!"

A bright shimmer of red light emerged on the field, followed a second later by a ruby—and then that ruby broke apart, revealing Ruby Carbuncle curled up in a defensive position. "Now, here's Ruby Carbuncle's effect," the Jewel Duelist continued. "When it's Special Summoned, it allows me to Special Summon as many of my Crystal Beasts as possible that were in my Magic/Trap zone…and since there are three there, I can Special Summon all of them! So, come on out, Sapphire Pegasus, Emerald Tortoise, and Amethyst Cat!"

The sapphire, emerald and amethyst were swiftly moved from the Magic/Trap zone to the Monster zone…then all three gemstones broke apart, revealing the winged horse, the gemstone-studded tortoise, and a beautiful feline with an amethyst gem on her chest. "And sorry to say, but this is where the duel will truly end!" the Jewel Duelist continued.

"How, exactly?" Janus interrupted. "I mean, it's great and all that you have four monsters on the field now, but none of them can match muscle with my Bladedge in a fight!" And Bladedge flexed his muscles as if to emphasize the point.

"That much is true…but with what I'm about to do next, that won't matter," the Jewel Duelist responded. "Take a good look at my Amethyst Cat…she has an effect that allows me to use her to attack you directly, even though the battle damage you'll take will be halved…but half of her current ATK is 600, and exactly how much do you have left in life points…?"

Janus's eyes widened. "Uh-oh…!"

"Oh, dear…if she attacks now, Janus will be wiped out!" Natasha exclaimed.

"And then not even Bladedge will be able to save him!" Cassara added.

"Go, Amethyst Cat! Bypass his Bladedge and attack him directly!" the Jewel Duelist cried. And in turn, Amethyst Cat sprinted forward, dived in between the surprised Bladedge's legs and pounced on Janus, knocking him down with her attack.

**JANUS: 0; JEWEL DUELIST: 5800**

"Janus! Janus, are you okay?" Natasha cried, running to where Janus had fallen.

"Ow…" Janus sat up a little, rubbing the back of his head. "Damn it…I lost…"

Jiro sighed. _So in the end, even though the Rainbow Dragon was defeated, the Jewel Duelist still drew upon the power of her other monsters to claim victory…but at least you did put up a fight, Janus…_

The Jewel Duelist switched off her Duel-Disk, and the holographic images vanished from the field. Looking up, she observed as Janus, aided by Natasha, stood to his feet again. "You sure you're okay, Janus?" Natasha was saying.

"Yeah, I'm good," Janus assured her.

Cassara, meanwhile, cocked an eyebrow as she watched the Jewel Duelist. "Okay, seriously…who are you, really?" she blurted out.

Jiro walked up. "That, Cassara, is the Jewel Duelist—you know, the one who's been going around fighting crime with Duel Monsters."

"Huh?" Cassara looked from the girl to Jiro and back again. _"That's_ her? Are you serious?"

"Well, if you had noticed the type of monsters she was wielding, you'd have gotten a clue," Jiro pointed out.

"The Jewel Duelist? Wow! So she really does exist!" Natasha exclaimed eagerly, stars in her eyes.

The Jewel Duelist, meanwhile, reached a hand into her jacket and pulled out a small black box. "Janus," she called to him, grabbing his attention again. "You may have lost this duel, but let me say this: Both you and your deck have the potential to improve and become better. You made that clear with your tactics throughout this duel just now. Take this, and consider it your first step to jumpstarting your deck's full potential."

She tossed the box to him, and Janus caught it with one hand. Curious, he quickly opened the box…and, his eyes widened in surprise, even as he reached a hand inside and pulled out three cards. "Whoa…Neos Alius? Is there really such a thing…?"

"There's no need to ask that—you're holding the proof in your hands," the Jewel Duelist told him. "Neos Alius is one of the many Gemini monster cards that Industrial Illusions recently released…and those three cards are the only three copies of Neos Alius that exist in the world. Learn to harness their power, and use them in your future duels to give yourself an edge. And don't stop there—find other cards that can give your deck an even greater boost, whether they directly support your particular deck strategy or not."

"Wait—why are you helping Janus, right after he just lost to you?" Cassara asked.

"Hey, you shouldn't be telling me to look a gift horse in the mouth, here!" Janus scolded her.

"She said that Drake Phoenix is up to something…so this is just a way for Janus to be prepared for whatever it is," Jiro said coolly.

"But that's not all I'm here to give you, Janus," the Jewel Duelist continued, grabbing the group's attention again. "There is also something else…something that I personally would like you to have…something that I believe will be of tremendous assistance to you in the future, not only in your duels, but in the rest of your life as well."

Again she reached into her jacket and pulled something out, though this time the object in question appeared to be made of gold. She tossed it to Janus, and again he caught it with one hand. Immediately he and the other three were spellbound. "Whoa…it's pretty…" Natasha breathed.

The object was a flat, round trinket, with what appeared to be a design shaped like an eye in its center, and a solid red jewel in the middle of the eye. "That is an item known as the Shadow Charm Pendant," the Jewel Duelist explained. "You have untapped power deep within you, Janus, power that goes even beyond your dueling abilities, but for a long time it has been dormant within you…that item will unlock that power for you. Once you have that power in your grasp, learn to harness it…for it will come handy to you in the times that are ahead."

"Wow…um…okay, I guess," Janus replied, scratching his head.

"Hey, it's a pendant, right? Put it on, Janus—let's see what it looks like on you!" Natasha urged.

"If it's a pendant, I'll bet it'll make you all girly and stuff," Cassara needled him.

"Yeah, right!" Janus snapped. "And how am I supposed to put it on now, anyway? There's no string or anything on it that'll let me wear it!"

"Then we'll just have to find some string, won't we now?" Jiro chuckled.

"But, hey, what did you mean by 'times that are ahead'…?" Janus looked up—and only then noticed that the Jewel Duelist was no longer there! "Hey, uh, where'd she go?"

"Huh? She's gone? But…" Natasha looked around. "Wasn't she here just a moment ago?"

"And we only took our eyes off her for a little bit…" Cassara looked just as confused.

Jiro frowned a little. "Hm…that's one mysterious girl, indeed…"

----------

At the edge of the nearby forest, from behind one of the trees, the Jewel Duelist watched as Janus and his friends continued their discussions. "Wield that power well, Janus…" she whispered.

"There's no doubt that he will, my dear."

Taken by surprise, the girl spun around—and there was Principal Yuki, leaning against a tree right behind her, arms folded and eyes closed, even as he smirked. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you…you've really grown up," he continued. "And you don't have to worry…if you don't want anyone to know who you really are under that mask of yours, then I'll keep quiet about it. The revelation of your identity is something only you should do, anyhow."

The Jewel Duelist just looked at him.

"Still…" Principal Yuki opened his eyes, and his smirk vanished altogether. "Something really is about to happen soon, am I right? That's why you gave that pendant to him, isn't it?"

At that, the Jewel Duelist sighed. "I'm just following my gut, Mr. Yuki. My gut told me to get that Shadow Charm Item and those cards to Janus, and I have."

"What does your gut tell you about the other Shadow Charms?" Principal Yuki continued.

"Well, I still have one, and I know to whom that one will have to go in due time," the Jewel Duelist answered. "As for the others…you'll have to ask the ones to whom Duel Academy entrusted them. Even my information-gathering can only go so deep."

"I understand. In spite of your reputation, in the end you're still just one human." Principal Yuki waited. "Is there anything else that I may need to know about, that might affect Duel Academy or anyone in my family?"

"Who knows…" The Jewel Duelist then looked directly at him. "But then again, even if anything of great significance should occur, you'll be able to deal with it, right? After all, it may have been fifteen years by now, Mr. Yuki…but you do still possess _those powers_ within you, right?"

At that, Principal Yuki's eyes briefly turned amber…then one of those eyes changed color again, this time to emerald green…and then both of his eyes returned to their natural brown color. "What do you think?" he returned.

"Fair enough." The Jewel Duelist nodded.

Principal Yuki nodded back, then briefly turned his gaze toward the Osiris Red dorm grounds, where by now Janus and his friends had returned to their own rooms…and then when he looked again, the Jewel Duelist had mysteriously disappeared. He sighed and chuckled in amusement. "What a way for you to stay under wraps…hiding even within the spotlight…but oh well, whatever works for you, I suppose," he whispered. "I only have to wonder if _he_ would be proud to see how much you've grown up, if he were still alive now…"

----------

KAIBACORP, DOMINO CITY, 8:00 p.m.

The limousine pulled up outside the front steps to the Kaibacorp building, the chauffer swiftly alighted, went to the back door, and opened it for his passenger. And then out stepped Drake Phoenix, looking very important. "Well, now…" he chuckled.

At the top of the steps was Jillian Uriah, looking quite stern and formal. "Drake Phoenix?" she addressed him. "Sir Kaiba has been expecting you. Please, follow me."

She turned and headed for the front entrance. Wasting no time, Drake followed after her…and a few minutes later the two were passing through the lobby and entering the elevator. Then, it seemed like mere seconds later before they were alighting from the elevator, walking down a hallway, and stopping before a huge pair of doors. "He's inside," Jillian informed Drake, then stepped to one side, arms folded.

Nodding, Drake pulled the door open and stepped in. And there, seated at his desk with a grave air surrounding him, was Seto Kaiba. "Welcome, Drake," he greeted the teenager. "Come on in and have a seat."

Drake complied, stepping quickly toward Kaiba's desk. As he took a seat, he spoke, "It's been such a long time since last we met, Mr. Kaiba. It's a real honor to see you again."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been long enough." Kaiba's voice was devoid of any humor or pleasantry. "You know what I see when I look at you, Drake Phoenix? I see the same snotty-nosed brat that I met all those years ago, the same little punk who wouldn't know how to be polite if the rulebook hit him in the ass. Between then and now, the only thing that's changed about you is your age."

"Things do change, Mr. Kaiba," Drake said smoothly.

"Yet I'm convinced that you aren't one of them." Kaiba leaned forward and gave Drake a straight look in the eye. "I've been hearing a lot of things about you as of late that I doubt your father is pleased about. And today, I heard a few things more that would have him hitting the roof if he ever found out about them."

"Such as?" Drake asked.

"Well, first and foremost, how about the fact that you've somehow managed to acquire an ex-convict into the little army you seem to be gathering?" Kaiba replied.

Drake's eyes narrowed, even as he grinned. "Says the man whose own family history always seems to be quite checkered."

_"What did you say?"_ Kaiba's tone was poisonous.

"Come now, Mr. Kaiba…it's no big secret that your marriage to Ishizu Ishtar was at the time quite controversial to some, considering that her brother Marik—_your_ brother-in-law—was well-known by then as the leader of the infamous Rare Hunters who plagued Battle City so long ago," Drake answered. "And even now, almost two weeks after the end of the Dueltropolis tournament, your son Seta is still under fire from quite a few quarters for having been part of the Zodiacs who commandeered Tokyo Dome and nearly caused a massacre of the people there—and let's not forget that the Zodiacs' leader, Gozaburo Kaiba, your adopted father and the president of Kaiba Corporation before you, sold weapons to many countries years ago, causing the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands or millions. You live in a very fragile glass house, sir, so you shouldn't even think of throwing a grain of sand, much less a stone."

The look on Kaiba's face spoke volumes.

"But we're not here to discuss your family or my reasons for my choices, are we now?" Drake continued, putting on a reasonable air. "No, we're here to discuss the proposal I have for the use of your Kaiba Land theme park in America this weekend. So let's get into that right away, shall we?"

"Yes, let's…anything to get you out of my office quicker before I fling you out the window," Kaiba muttered through clenched teeth.

Drake pretended he hadn't heard that. "This is what I have planned, sir. I wish to host a Duel Monsters tournament at your East Japan branch of Kaiba Land, with some of the world's finest duelists in attendance—including a few who were unable to attend Dueltropolis due to prior commitments. Since its announcement will be short-notice, and therefore it would be understandable that no-one would be able to come and watch the duels up close, I am prepared to host a live television feed that will broadcast the play-by-play to every corner of the globe. It will, in a fashion, be like your Kaibacorp Grand Prix tournament that you held so long ago, except the Phoenix family will be the hosts and will therefore pay all expenses, and the only major connection and contribution of Kaibacorp's will be in the tournament location itself."

"Uh-huh," Kaiba said gruffly.

"In addition, to minimize the chances of this tournament being sabotaged by anyone, the duelist invitations will be kept to a bare minimum, limited to the most well-known duelists to ever grace the tournament circuit," Drake continued. "Of course, your son Seta and the new World Champion, Yugo Muto, will be given special invitations as dueling guests of honor, to appease the fanbase. As for the format of the tournament itself…I'd rather keep that to myself until when I actually announce the tournament, if it's fine by you."

"Hmph. Whatever." Kaiba shrugged. "Do you at least have a list of those duelists you intend to invite to this event of yours?"

"Why, certainly. Here you go." Drake reached into a pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Kaiba. "The names that you see there, ticked off in red ink, are the ones who I intend to send invitations to."

Kaiba looked intently at the list. "Hmm…these are some pretty big names you're thinking of bringing into your tournament, aren't they now?" he remarked.

"The bigger, the better," said Drake. "But know this, Mr. Kaiba: even though the invitee list won't be quite as big as Dueltropolis's list of participants was, this tournament is set to be just as big as Dueltropolis…if not bigger. Minus the whole 'evil organization infiltrating to take over the world' thing, of course."

"I'm sure," Kaiba said dryly. "How soon do you intend to announce this competition?"

"By tomorrow morning," said Drake. "This will give the participants enough time to come to Kaiba Land, where accommodations will be made for their comfortable visit. The actual tournament itself is set to last up to 48 hours…the whole weekend, following tomorrow night."

"I see." Kaiba nodded. "Well, permit me to make one small addition to this roster, would you? If you allow that, then I'll agree to let you use Kaiba Land for the venue."

"And what addition would that be, now?" Drake asked.

Kaiba looked directly at him. "My son's bodyguard, Jillian Uriah, the girl who escorted you up here…she's a very skilled duelist. I want her to be added to your tournament as a competitor. Grant me that, and I'll grant you access to Kaiba Land."

Drake considered this for a moment. Then he nodded. "Very well, Mr. Kaiba. It's not such a big deal to add one more person at the request of the owner of the Kaiba Land facilities, anyhow."

Kaiba nodded. "All right, then, kid. Kaiba Land is yours for the weekend."

----------

A SHOR WHILE LATER, 8:35 p.m.

A little over half an hour later, Drake emerged from Kaibacorp's front entrance, looking very pleased with himself. "Wonderful…everything's coming together, just as I'd hoped," he chuckled. "Now, just another twenty-four or so hours, and then…"

As Drake descended the front steps toward the waiting limousine, his chauffer quickly opened the back door for him, and he stepped inside—and just as he was making himself comfortable in his seat, his cell-phone rang. Without missing a beat, he flipped it out and answered it. "Yes?"

"It's me, Master Drake," Jasmine's voice came over the line. "Have you still not finished your appointment with Mr. Kaiba yet? Jan Shimizu and I got back here to the house a little while ago, and your mother isn't very pleased."

"Mom worries too much about other people," Drake grunted. "You can let her know that I'm on my way back now. More importantly, those three Duel Academy students I'd instructed Shimizu to find…what's the report on that?"

"Unfortunately, Master Drake, those three duelists were not at Duel Academy when we got there," Jasmine admitted. "However, we did find two other duelists there who want to meet with you tomorrow."

"A couple of second-stringers?" Drake said in a tone of disapproval. "Like I'd waste my time on trash like that."

"Actually, Shimizu seems convinced that you should give them a chance, Master Drake," said Jasmine.

"Oh, is he, now?" Drake queried. "Is he nearby? Put him on the phone."

"I'm right here, Phoenix," Jan's voice came over the line mere seconds later. "And what your little maid just said is true—those two duelists I found, they're worth considering for your plans."

"And what gave you that idea?" Drake wondered sarcastically.

"They claim to know your motive for this whole plan of yours—a motive they apparently share," Jan revealed. "They both want revenge against a certain other Duel Academy student…Janus Yuki."

Drake's eyes narrowed at that—but he kept up a nonchalant air as he spoke again. "They want to meet me tomorrow, you said? Well…if they're so desperate, then I guess I could spare fifteen minutes out of my schedule for them."

"Will there be anything else, Master Drake?" Jasmine's voice came back on the line.

"Just a few other things," said Drake. "I've just confirmed the lease of Kaiba Land for the weekend…what you can do for me now is to call my tournament circuit and television network connections and let them know they can start setting everything up for my announcement tomorrow. And while you're at it, make sure my dinner's hot for when I reach back. What did they cook, by the way? Do you know?"

"Stuffed pheasant with boiled potatoes and a Greek salad," Jasmine replied promptly.

"Goody." Drake smirked again. "All right, then. That'll be all."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 8:45 p.m.

"Hey, Lexi!" Principal Yuki burst into the vice-principal's office.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki had been standing at a filing cabinet, deeply engrossed in work; at the sound of the principal's entrance she spun around, clearly startled. "Oh! Jaden! Don't do that, you know I hate being surprised like that!" she scolded him.

"Sorry. Bad habit." Principal Yuki grinned, then crossed over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So…miss me?" he teased, planting a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Save the lovey-dovey for when we're in our own house, Jaden—we ARE still in my office, you know," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki reminded him. "Luckily for you, I was just about finished with this filing. Sometimes I wonder what my secretary is smoking—she filed all the fourth-year students in reverse alphabetical order!"

"Ha!" Principal Yuki burst out laughing. "That's classic!"

"It's sloppy, is what it is," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki rebuked him. "One of these days I just _know_ I'm going to fire that woman for something…"

Then she paused. "Jaden…"

"Hmm?" Principal Yuki noticed immediately the change in her tone.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked unusually somber. "For the last hour…something's been nagging at me…it's like, I realize something is about to happen…something big…"

"Something big?" Principal Yuki wondered.

"Mmm-hmm." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "And…I haven't felt like that since…" Here she gently put a hand over her abdomen.

Giving his wife a tender look, Principal Yuki placed his own hand on top of hers. "Do you regret the decision you made that night?" he asked softly.

She looked right into his eyes. "No…I mean, I still feel a little embarrassed every time I remember it, but…I've never regretted it. I was given a choice…and I made that choice, without anyone else influencing me. I did what I felt was the right thing."

"I know." Principal Yuki nodded. "I also know that we'll have to tell Janus about it, sooner or later. He's our son, Alexis…he deserves to know…especially now."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked at him, a little puzzled. "Why especially now?" she asked.

Principal Yuki moved away from her and crossed to the window, looking out at the night sky. He took a deep breath, then released it slowly. "Tonight…the Osiris Red dorm had a visitor. The Jewel Duelist…the bearer of the Crystal Beasts…"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked at him as he said this. Slowly, a wave of understanding crossed her face. "She gave _it_ to him, didn't she?" she asked, slowly.

"Just as we were told would eventually have to happen." Principal Yuki nodded. "The torch has been passed on…but will he be able to bear it? That's the only question now."

From behind him, he heard Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's footsteps approaching…then he felt her arms wrapping around his torso, and felt her warm lips press briefly on the back of his neck. "Like you said, Jaden…he's our son," she whispered in his ear.

Principal Yuki nodded once. "Mmm-hmm."

----------

OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THAT MOMENT

Janus was lying on his bed once again, one arm behind his head and one leg propped over the other. In his free hand he held the Shadow Charm Pendant, even as he looked at it over and over. Close by, dressing in his pajamas, Jiro glanced over at him. "You know, Janus, you've been staring at that thing for the last half an hour now," he remarked. "Still thinking about what that Jewel Duelist said?"

"I guess," Janus admitted, continuing to look at the Pendant. "She said that I have a power inside me, and that this would help me unlock it…but I'm still trying to figure out what she could have meant by that…"

Jiro shrugged. "Well, who knows…I guess you'll figure it out eventually. After all, she probably could've given it to anybody else, but she chose you for a reason, right?"

Janus shrugged back, in return. "Probably."

Jiro then reached for his toothbrush. "Anyway, I'm going to brush my teeth and then go to my bed. I signed up for Coach Hassleberry's camping club, and they'll be meeting to do basic training early every Friday morning…and I don't want to be late on the first day."

"Yeah, whatever," Janus waved him off.

That said, Jiro hurried over to the bathroom door and locked himself inside. Watching the door for a moment even as it slammed shut, Janus turned his attention back to the Pendant. "All right…maybe Jiro's right…I can figure you out a little later…for now, I guess I'd better find a string or something that I can hang you from."

Getting out of bed, he headed over to the nearby chest-of-drawers and opened one of the smaller drawers. Rummaging through it, he soon found a small, somewhat thick length of string; this he strung the Pendant onto. "All right…now to see what this'll look like," he said, tying the ends of the string into a secure knot.

Holding the Pendant by its newly-acquired string, Janus stepped toward the bathroom door. "Hey, Jiro! You done in there?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming out now," Jiro called, as the sound of running water could now be heard. "What's up, you need to use the toilet or something?"

"I just need to use the mirror or something—just to see how this Pendant will look on me," Janus explained.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Jiro laughed out loud. The bathroom door then swung open, and there Jiro stood, convulsed even as he continued laughing. "Sure thing, Janus, go on in and put your make-up and jewelry on!"

"Shut the hell up!" Janus snarled at him, pouncing on him.

The two boys were swiftly lost in a cloud of dust as they fought with each other…then Jiro casually emerged from the cloud, chuckling. "Anyway, I can't waste any more time on you…I'm going to bed now, so just go and do your thing."

The cloud dissipated, leaving Janus panting. "Damn it…" he grumbled, stomping into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. Then, sighing, he went over to the sink, above which a mirror had been fastened onto the wall.

"All right, here goes…" And with that, he slung the string over his head, the Pendant hanging from his neck a moment later. "Hmm…well, it doesn't look too bad, actually…I actually look kinda pimpish…" And he chuckled as he admired himself in the mirror.

Then—

All at once, without warning, the Pendant's gold surface began to shine brightly, as its red jewel glowed bright crimson! "Whoa! What the hell—" Janus exclaimed.

But he never finished the phrase.

Out of nowhere, a dark shadow seemed to cover the walls, ceiling and floor of the bathroom, obscuring even the fluorescent bulb that was shining over Janus's head. "Crap!" he exclaimed, looking wildly around him. "What's going on all of a sudden? Jiro, help!" He turned around toward the bathroom door—but to his shock, the door had disappeared from existence!

The silhouetted form of Elemental Hero Neos suddenly appeared next to Janus. _"Janus…I sense intense magic enveloping this place,"_ he said warily. _"As well as something else…"_

"But what the hell's going on all of a sudden?" Janus asked fretfully. "And what do you mean 'something else'?"

**"Janus."**

Janus and Neos looked up at that. "H-h-huh? Who…who's there?" Janus called.

**"Look in the mirror, Janus."**

And there, right before Janus's eyes, the bathroom mirror seemed to re-materialize out of the mysterious darkness. Cautiously, the duo approached the mirror…and Janus stared in astonishment at what he was now seeing. "No…way…"

Staring back at him from the mirror's reflection was his own face. Only, this reflection wasn't quite the same, for the face appeared to be four years older, with more serious-looking eyes that seemed to burn with determination. "Whoa…is it just me, or did I age in the space of a few seconds?" Janus wondered—and only then noticed that the mirror image's mouth hadn't moved in sync with his own while he was talking.

_"What are you?"_ Neos asked.

Then the mirror image spoke, startling Janus some more. **"I am Janus…and Janus is me."**

"What the…? What're you talking about? _I'm _Janus!" Janus exclaimed.

**"That is true,"** the mirror image answered…and then, astonishing Janus even more, he seemed to slide out of the mirror, taking physical form as he did so, until he was standing right in front of Janus and Neos. **"However, I am also a part of you, a part that has been dormant these last fourteen years."** He pointed to the Shadow Charm Pendant. **"When you put that Shadow Charm Pendant on just now, its magic awakened me from my slumber. Now, you and I are two beings that inhabit one body, share one personality, and wield one set of memories."**

Janus blinked. "Okay…this is kinda creepy…"

Neos, meanwhile, had been scrutinizing the other Janus. Now he said, _"Hmm…I sense something…familiar…about you."_ His eyes narrowed. _"You were…part of THAT BEING, at one time…weren't you…?"_

**"Indeed," **the other Janus answered, glancing at Neos. **"And THAT BEING made it possible for me to exist. I exist to protect Janus…as is your purpose as well now, I believe."**

_"You believe correctly,"_ Neos nodded in agreement.

"Okay, seriously! You know who or what this look-alike of me is, Neos?" Janus exclaimed.

Neos nodded. _"It is not my place to say how he came to be sealed within you in the first place,"_ he remarked. _"But rest assured, Janus, he IS part of your whole being…as such, he will protect you. And he is equipped to do that very well."_

**"That I am,"** the other Janus nodded. **"Listen well. When the Jewel Duelist gave you the Shadow Charm Pendant, she told you that you must learn to harness its power. Due to the nature of my origin source, I have a fair idea of what sort of power the Pendant has, and how you can wield it. And you will need to fully master it in a matter of time, for much will be riding on your proficiency with its power in the days to come. I can sense that."**

"Master it…but how can I do that? I mean, I just got this thing—and I'm just finding out that I've got a really weird thing inside me that says it's me and I'm it!" Janus looked truly bewildered. "This is really going to take some getting used to…"

**"You will get accustomed to my existence over time,"** the other Janus told him. **"Through your eyes and ears, I will witness everything that you witness. I will sense every emotion you feel, every touch you experience. When you or anyone you care about is placed in harm's way, like a defense mechanism I will emerge and act on your instinct to protect them. And when I emerge and am in control, you will be aware of everything I do, everything I say, everything I experience. Since we share one consciousness, one mind and one body, we will be able to influence each other, to help each other where necessary, and to stand by each other. You can call upon me for strength at any time, and I, likewise, can relinquish control to you at any time."**

"Um…okay…" Janus was still trying to process everything that was happening.

_"Of course, you can't simply come and go in and out of Janus's conscious mind as you like, even though you're both technically the same person,"_ Neos reasoned.

**"No, it would be crass to do such a thing, indeed, regardless of us being the same individual,"** the other Janus agreed. **"For even though we are one, Janus is his own personality as well, and I am…a blank slate, so to speak. So…"**

He reached a finger forward and touched the red jewel on the Shadow Charm Pendant's center. **"Whenever you need my help, Janus, you can think one word in your mind to summon me…Senshuken!"**

_"Senshuken?"_ Neos seemed amused. _"Well…sounds acceptable. What say you, Janus?"_

"Senshuken…that's Japanese for 'champion,' isn't it?" Janus asked.

_"Indeed it is,"_ Neos affirmed. _"And since it would be somewhat awkward to refer to both of you as Janus when you're in separate forms like right now…"_ He turned to the other Janus. _"How would you like to adopt that as your name?"_

**"Senshuken…as my name…"** An impish grin then broke out over the other Janus's formerly serious face. **"Works for me!"**

"Well…congrats, I guess," Janus said a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

All at once, from out of nowhere, a light began to shine, swiftly enveloping the darkness that had been surrounding them up to then. **"I'm relinquishing control back to you now, Janus,"** Senshuken explained. **"Remember, just think my name in your mind when you need my aid! Till then, I'll be hanging out inside the Shadow Charm Pendant—after all, it's what awoke me from my slumber!"**

Neos vanished into thin air, chuckling as he did so. _"Things should be quite interesting from here on out," _he remarked.

And then—

Janus came back to himself with a start. Uncertainly, he glanced around. The fluorescent light was back in its place on the ceiling; the bathroom walls and floor were back to normal; the mirror displayed his own natural reflection. "Okay…that was weird," he muttered, hurriedly turning on the tap and splashing cold water on his face.

He ruffled his hair with one hand…then, glancing down, he caught sight of the Shadow Charm Pendant, still hanging from his neck. "So…Senshuken, huh…?" he whispered. "Yeah…this'll DEFINITELY take some getting used to…"

----------

_**neomage:**_ I'm sorry, folks, I just couldn't resist. Honest!

kRiZ: Cheapskate!

kriztrigun: You know you're just recycling the concept of Yugi and the Millennium Puzzle from way back when!

neomage: Well, it does involve the Shadow Charm Pendant and one of my original characters…

krizrampage: IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT'S THE SAME CONCEPT!

yamikriz: Well, at least the details behind this plot concept make sense…and they will make sense to the fans as well, once they're explained within the story… (chuckles evilly)

rampagerkriz: (looks suspiciously at yamikriz)

yamikriz: (notices the look and starts whistling innocently)


	29. Moral Event Horizon

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(fanfare trumpet) **neomage has no ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 29 – Moral Event Horizon**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_SETA_

_NAME: Seta Kaiba_

_AGE: 16_

_HAIR: Blue (dyed)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Silver jacket, white pants, black undershirt and gray boots_

DOMINO CITY, THE NEXT MORNING, 7:30 a.m.

It was early morning time in Domino City. Traffic on the roads was light, a far cry from the rush-hour traffic that would soon emerge. Store owners that hadn't already opened their business-places for the day, were in the process of doing so. Civilians were walking along the sidewalks, either leisurely or at a swifter pace to get where they were going; meanwhile, the occasional police officer strolled along on the beat. There were quite a few people passing through or lounging around in the city square, where the huge clock now ticked off 7:30.

Suddenly, several big-screen TVs on the sides of some buildings lit up, and a dark-haired teenage boy's face appeared on them, smirking. "Good morning, everyone," he announced his presence. "My name is Drake Phoenix, and for those of you who don't know me—which should be pitifully few—I am the son of the legendary pro duelist, Aster Phoenix. And I have a message for all of you."

Several people paused and looked up at the big-screens nearest their respective locations as Drake continued to talk. "For this weekend, I will be hosting a Duel Monsters tournament here in Japan. Many Duel Monsters tournaments have had some very catchy names in the past: Duelist Kingdom…Battle City…Kaiba Corporation's Grand Prix…the Kaibacorp Challenge Cup…and, most recently, the Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. This competition that I'll be hosting will be no different in that regard…for this is my tournament: the Phoenix Herald Crown!"

Grinning a little more, he went on, "Now, I know that a lot of you Duel Monsters fans are asking, 'What is this Phoenix Herald Crown tournament? And where can we see it?' Well, listen up. This is going to be a tournament that'll be on par with Dueltropolis in terms of pure dueling quality. Where will it be held? It'll be in a place where everybody loves…one of the Kaiba Land Amusement Parks, twenty miles south of Sendai in the Honshu province!"

The viewers of this announcement immediately began chattering excitedly amongst themselves. Drake continued, "This venue was made possible by the generosity of Kaibacorp's owner, Seto Kaiba. After all, who doesn't love to visit a Kaiba Land amusement park, no matter where it's located in the world? Now, unfortunately, I know that many of you watching this broadcast won't be able to make it to this location in time to catch this tournament live and in living color, so for those of you who won't be able to travel there for one reason or another, I'll be providing you with the next best option…every major television network in the world will have representatives from their studios in Honshu, carrying the competition live for your benefit."

He lowered his voice a little as his eyes narrowed. "Now, I'm well aware that this tournament may not be on quite the same level as the World Championships were, but I'll tell you one thing…for those of you fans who were complaining about how your favorite dueling stars from the pro leagues weren't present at Dueltropolis—here's your chance to see them in action, showing off their stuff! And I have a very sweet roster right here for your viewing pleasure…"

A moment later Drake's face vanished from the screen, replaced by a grid featuring portraits of eight individuals. "Now, behold the faces of eight pro league duelists who were unable to attend Dueltropolis, but who have now been granted personal invitations from yours truly, to attend this event at Kaiba Land," Drake's voiceover could be heard even as the eight figures were portrayed. "And if any of their fans are watching…well, your idols are going to be showing everybody just _why_ they're all pro league material! So savor it from now!"

----------

Just fifteen minutes' away from Domino City's suburban housing scheme, there sat a massive mansion, surrounded by a grass hedge and partially overshadowed by a cherry blossom tree. Out in the yard, the gardener was busy at work keeping the lawn trimmed; nearby, in the driveway, two uniformed servants were busily polishing a beautiful white limousine, whose hood suspiciously resembled the face of a mystical dragon. This mansion and the land it stood on wouldn't have attracted too much attention—after all, every middle-class neighborhood was expected to have at least one upper-class resident living in a house of this magnitude—but for a few little things that gave away just whose property this was. First, there was the style and design of the aforementioned limousine; second, and more immediately, there was the fact that emblazoned on the front gate in bold bronze letters was one word: KAIBA.

Inside the mansion, its owner was sitting at the table, calmly munching away at breakfast. Sitting close by was a television, which even now was still carrying Drake Phoenix's announcement. "Hmph…they call those guys pro leaguers? They're nothing but a waste of space as far as I'm concerned," Kaiba grumbled through a mouth full of toast.

Seated to Kaiba's right was a teenager in a high school uniform; upon first glance he might have been mistaken as a younger duplicate of Kaiba himself were it not for the blue-dyed hair he sported. "Cut them some slack, Dad," he replied. "They're not all half bad, actually…they're pretty decent when you examine their deck strategies. If they'd been at Dueltropolis, they would've made waves in the competition."

"Well, there's a difference between being a member of the pro leagues, and being a contender for the World Championship, Seta," Kaiba snorted. "I can count on one hand the number of modern-generation duelists that I know who could be serious contenders for that title…and believe me, that number does not include any of those guys that that little punk Drake Phoenix wants to add to his tournament roster."

Seta chuckled, amused. "You really don't like Drake Phoenix much, do you, Dad?"

"What's there to like?" Kaiba answered stoutly. "He's just trying to compensate for the fact that he wasn't able to participate in Dueltropolis himself."

"…and furthermore," Drake was still speaking on the TV, "I've already extended special invitations to Raven and Honey Pegasus, the children of the esteemed Maximillion Pegasus, and to former Intercontinental champion Malachi Jordan, his sister Miriam Jordan, and their friends David and Luke Jericho, to participate in this tournament. And…I also wish to extend a very special invitation to the three top finalists of Dueltropolis—Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, and Janus Yuki—to attend the Phoenix Herald Crown tournament, as guests of honor on the tournament roster."

Kaiba smirked. "Okay, now those pro league jokers he's invited definitely won't stand a chance of winning this crummy little tournament of his, if he's inviting the three of you to take part."

"Still, this tournament will be good for me to test my deck against other deck strategies," Seta pointed out. "Yugo lives only a few blocks from here, and I can go challenge him to a duel any time. On the other hand…I haven't faced Janus Yuki in a duel before. Janus wields Elemental Heroes, I remember that much…it would be interesting to see how well I'd fare against him. At the very least, it would be good practice."

"True, true," Kaiba nodded, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "Janus Yuki's strategy is very unpredictable, even more so than Yugo's. Those two are probably the only real competition you'd be facing at that tournament." Then he eyed Seta keenly. "Question is…will you really accept that invitation, Seta?"

Seta smirked. "No doubt about it, Dad."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THE SAME TIME

"…and just to make sure that nobody misses this announcement, it will be repeated every three hours from now, for the rest of the day," Drake continued to speak on the television. "So, all Duel Monsters fans, make sure you're tuned in this weekend, for the Phoenix Herald Crown tournament promises to be an exciting and action-packed one!"

Janus, watching the TV from his bed, chuckled. "A tournament, huh, Drake? And you've even invited me, Yugo, and Seta Kaiba to take part…looks like some of the old gang will be getting back together soon…"

Just then, Neos appeared next to him in spirit form. _"Are you sure it's a good idea to skip the general assembly like this?"_ he asked uneasily. _"Won't you get scolded?"_

"Don't worry about it, it's not like anything bad's gonna happen," Janus said carelessly. "It's just one assembly, right? And I don't have any classes today, so…why bother getting out of bed just for one little assembly?"

All at once there was a loud knocking at the door. "Janus Yuki, wake up! I know you're in there!" a man's voice yelled.

"Oh, crap—it's Dean Burchell," Janus hissed, even as Neos vanished from sight. Jumping out of bed, he looked around wildly—and then dived under the bed. "Okay, maybe if I just keep quiet and stay hidden, he won't know I'm here…"

No sooner was he under the bed than the door burst open—and in stomped a broad-shouldered, bearded and mustachioed man, looking extremely aggravated. "You thought I wouldn't notice you were trying to ditch assembly, Janus?" he snapped. "Where are you? Come on out right now!"

Under the bed, Janus held one hand over his mouth and nose, desperately trying to keep his breathing muted. Standing in the middle of the room, Dean Burchell looked around, then shrugged. "Hmph…guess nobody's here after all…" He turned and walked back toward the door.

Still keeping his breathing as low as he could, Janus presently heard the door closing shut. At once he released a loud sigh of relief. "Whew…for a minute there I was sure he might've found me," he chuckled as he pulled himself out from under the bed—

—but all of a sudden he felt a thick, muscular arm wrap around his neck, cutting off his breath! "Like I'd fall for that kind of trick just so!" Dean Burchell exploded, fire in his eyes. "Who do you think you are, ditching assembly like this?"

"Lemme go, you old fart! As if I'm the only one who ditches assembly!" Janus raged at the man, fangs in his mouth.

"Who're you calling 'old fart,' you impertinent brat?" Dean Burchell yelled, tightening his stranglehold around Janus's neck while clenching his free hand into a fist and grinding it into the top of the boy's head. "I'm the dean of the boys' dorm of Osiris Red, in case you've forgotten—that gives me at least a hundred years' more authority over you than you have over yourself! Apologize right now!"

"NEVAAAAAAAAAH!" Janus retorted, flailing about in a failed attempt to break free from Dean Burchell's clutches. "I'll tell my dad about this, just you wait!"

"Oh, yeah?" Dean Burchell shot back. "For your information, Principal Yuki explicitly told me not to go easy on you just because you're his kid! So don't think he'll show you any sympathy even if you _do_ complain to him!"

"I'll sue you for this!" Janus vowed. "And then they'll send you to prison for harassment!"

"Considering you're the so-called victim, I think they'd make an exception!" Dean Burchell raged at him. Then, quite suddenly, he released his hold on Janus. "Now hurry up and get dressed! At the very least, you can go catch the last fifteen minutes of assembly, slacker!"

Rubbing his neck, Janus reached for his Osiris Red jacket. "Slave-driver…" he muttered.

"I HEARD THAT!" Dean Burchell bellowed, scaring Janus out of his wits and prompting the boy to quicken his pace.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, A SHORT WHILE LATER

"Huff…huff…huff…man, one of these days I swear I'm gonna kill that taskmaster they call a dean…" Janus swore under his breath even as he ran toward the auditorium. "Lots of students skip assembly, yet who does he choose to pick on? Me, of all people!"

He got closer to the auditorium…closer…and the closer he got, the more clearly he could hear a loud voice speaking on the microphone. And as he entered the building and made his way through the huge throng of students who were already seated, a quick glance around showed him that the students were all looking unnaturally serious, worried or scared…and the voice could now be properly identified as belonging to Principal Yuki. And Principal Yuki sounded furious—a far cry from his usual jovial self.

"The person or persons responsible for this will be made to suffer the full penalty of our school's rules!" Principal Yuki was saying. "If it's a student, no matter what year they are or what dorm they're in, they'll be immediately expelled—if it's someone else, they'll be dealt with accordingly! But regardless, such a disgusting, dishonorable act will not be overlooked! Whoever's responsible, if you're here in this auditorium right now, or if you can hear this from outside, then know one thing—the school's administration will not stop until justice has been duly served!"

Raising an eyebrow at his father's display of rage, Janus hurried to his usual seat, where Ricardo and Natasha were already waiting for him. "Oh, Janus, about time you got here," Ricardo hissed at him with disapproval. "If you hadn't decided to sleep in this morning, you'd know already what's going on…"

"Yeah, well, I already figured it must be something big to piss off my old man," Janus replied. "So, give me the 4-1-1. What's going on?"

"Somebody pulled off something really bad this morning—the kind of thing that they'd have to have guts to even think of," Natasha replied. "Your mom was attacked when she was opening up her office this morning…"

Janus blinked. "Say what? Could you…run that by me…one more time?" he asked, very slowly.

"Yes, Janus—it was bad enough for her to have been knocked out and to go to the infirmary," Ricardo replied. "And that's not all—whoever did that also did a number on her office. Um…you'd have to actually see it to believe it."

"I've already dispatched campus security to scour the entire island for whoever was responsible for this attack," Principal Yuki was still speaking, the heat of his rage still in his voice. "In addition, any students who may've gotten passes to leave the island for the day will have those passes suspended until further notice! Nobody will be allowed to leave Duel Academy until the perpetrator has been caught!"

This drew a series of groans from the student body. Calhoun and Vasha, in the crowd, looked especially displeased to hear this. "Wonderful…just frickin' wonderful…some psycho attacks the Vice-Principal, and we have to suffer for it," Vasha growled.

"We'll just have to hope they find the creep who did this before the day is over," Calhoun replied. "Let's just be glad we didn't pick a specific time to meet with Drake Phoenix."

"Now, to ensure everyone's safety and so as not to impede the work of campus security, I want all students to return to their dorm rooms and stay there until further notice," Principal Yuki went on. "I also want all the dorm deans to make a complete list of all the students in the respective boys' and girls' dorms for each of the three dorms—"

Suddenly, Principal Yuki's voice seemed to have gotten muted—the speaker system connected to the microphone had gone out. Realizing this, Principal Yuki swiftly tapped the mike with one finger, his frustration clear on his face. "Hello? What happened? Can somebody go check the connection for my microphone, please?" he bellowed.

Just then, a brief but extremely loud feedback could be heard from the speaker system, prompting nearly the entire student body and the teachers present to wince and cover their ears. Several screams of "OW!" could be heard here and there. "Damn it…what the hell's going on in the control room?" Principal Yuki exclaimed.

_"Good morning, Duel Academy."_

A low, ominous voice suddenly started speaking, heard very clearly over the speaker system. As everyone looked up at the speakers in confusion, the voice continued, _"I imagine that by this time, your whole school body should be in a tizzy about the attack on that little whore you call your Vice-Principal. Well, guess what? She had it coming."_

Where the teachers were all sitting, there was clear outrage at the comments just made. "That creep…how dare he call our Vice-Principal such a rude name!" Professor Takamura exclaimed.

_"In case some of you are too slow to realize it, yes, I AM claiming responsibility for the attack on Alexis Rhodes this morning,"_ the voice went on. _"And there will be more attacks as well, from here on out, not just on faculty or staff, but also on students—for the whole lot of you are guilty of the same crime. What crime could that be? I'll tell you. That crime…is the crime of stripping Obelisk Blue of her former glory and status as ruler of the three dorms of this school, by making all three dorms equal with each other."_

Professor Flannigan scowled darkly. "Just wonderful…another anti-dorm-equality nutcase. As if we don't have enough of those on our teaching staff and in our student body already."

"Shut up! Let's at least hear what this guy has to say!" Professor Crosskill hissed at her.

_"Alexis Rhodes was only the first one to be convicted by my administration of justice, of course,"_ the voice went on. _"Besides the fact that she betrayed her own Obelisk Blue roots by marrying a former patriot of the filthy Osiris Red dorm, she took that betrayal further and helped to sign into extinction the ruling power of Obelisk Blue altogether. That betrayal was further aided by the hypocrisy of instructors such as your esteemed Professor Miles Crosskill and Dr. Vellian Crowler, and the lack of backbone by former Obelisk Blue students who were made to go to the other two dorms when Jaden Yuki came to power as principal. And in the years since then, even students who managed to retain their places in Obelisk Blue failed to protest against Yuki's actions in that regard. All of you, both students past and present, have been tried by me, and all of you have been found guilty…now all that remains is the completion of sentencing."_

Janus scowled. "Who does this guy think he is, a magistrate?"

_"And before you start getting any ideas, Mr. Yuki,"_ the voice continued, _"I've already taken your little campus security force into account. Well, I have news for you: They won't be catching me so easily, and neither will you. However, I am willing to negotiate a trade-off with you…and my demands are quite simple, when you stop to think about it—assuming, of course, that you're even capable of such a complex action as thinking."_

There was a small pause; then the voice went on. _"All I ask is that you restore the balance of power to the dorms, with Obelisk Blue at the top, your former Osiris Red at the bottom, and Ra Yellow in the middle. In addition to that, you are also to write a letter to Seto Kaiba, the founder of Duel Academy, stating your intention to resign from the post of Principal, and you will also disown any awards and commendations that have been given to you during the past five years since you were made Principal. It is now 7:55…I will give you until 10:00 today to follow through with my demands. If, however, you do not do as I say, then here's what you can expect to happen next…"_

Another slight pause. _"If, by the deadline of 10:00, you have not met my demands, then I will repeat my performance that I pulled with Alexis Rhodes this morning—only this time around, I'll increase my victim count by three every half-hour until you comply. So, from 10:00 till 10:30, I'll pick three more victims…then from 10:30 till 11:00, six victims…then from 11:00 till 11:30, nine victims…I think you get the idea. And I won't discriminate between victims, either—only you will be spared, since it's your actions, or lack thereof as I may expect from you, that will determine how this all plays out. Oh, and one more thing…I've got eyes and ears in a lot of places on this island, and even now I'm watching you…if you try to run away and leave this island, or you try to call for outside help to resist me, then a whole lot worse will happen than what I did to your Vice-Principal! Now, remember—the deadline for meeting my demands is 10:00! Comply…or lose your staff and students one by one!"_

Principal Yuki gritted his teeth. "Bastard…!"

----------

SOMEWHERE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Deep in the shadows of a mysterious room, a man sat at a desk, chuckling to himself. His face was mostly obscured by a combination of the darkness and his own glasses. Two figures stood behind him, one male, the other female. In front of the seated man, several display screens showed various points around Duel Academy…and one of those screens gave a clear display of Principal Yuki, still wielding the angry look on his face.

"Now, Jaden Yuki…you will be made to pay for your transgression against us…" the spectacled man whispered in a menacing undertone.

"Oy, do you really think he'll give in?" the second man asked.

"Well, legitimate protesting didn't work the first time around…if this doesn't make him change his mind, then trust me, _nothing_ will," the woman declared.

"Either way, it won't matter," the spectacled man addressed them. "Because if Jaden Yuki does persist in being stubborn, then I know _exactly_ what'll have to be done to get the point across to him." And he smirked knowingly…

----------

The students were now filing out of the auditorium, nearly all of them chattering loudly about what had just transpired. Watching them leave, Dr. Crowler shook his head. "This is certainly a troublesome affair, now…whoever it was that was speaking over the intercom just now seems to mean business."

"Of course they mean business, Dr. Crowler," Principal Yuki said frostily. "Or why else would they attack the Vice-Principal like they did?"

"But still, who _did_ that voice belong to?" Professor Crosskill wondered. "It sounded…familiar, somehow…"

"Any names come to mind, Crosskill?" Professor Flannigan inquired.

"We can debate that later—right now, the students must come first!" said Professor Takamura. "Principal Yuki, what do you want us to do?"

"Search all the classrooms—all students are supposed to be in the dorms, so make sure they get there!" Principal Yuki ordered. "And while you're at it, see if any of you can get a hold of Coach Hassleberry—he and his camping club went out into the woods from early this morning, and they're still not back yet. They need to know what's happening here, pronto!"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST, IN THE MEANTIME

"All right, campers! Next week I'll show you what sorts of food you can eat out in the wild while you're in the great outdoors!" Coach Hassleberry said cheerfully. "Now let's hurry back to the dorms and freshen up, what do you say?"

"Yes, sir, Coach!" the students answered enthusiastically.

With that, the group picked up their knapsacks and began to head back in the direction of the school buildings—and then Coach Hassleberry paused. "Hmm?"

Approaching them were several uniformed personnel, all bearing grim expressions on their faces. "Campus security? What brings them out here, now?" Coach Hassleberry wondered. "Howdy, soldiers! Out for a training exercise, are you?"

The leader of the group stepped up to him. "We have trouble back at the Academy, Coach," she reported. "Vice-Principal Rhodes-Yuki was assaulted by a person or persons unknown this morning."

"Say _what?"_ Coach Hassleberry barked, instantly all business. "Then we gotta get back to base, stat! Come on, troopers, let's get back on the double!" he instructed the students behind him.

As the other students began whispering speculatively, amongst them, Jiro frowned. "The Vice-Principal was attacked…? But who…?"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY INFIRMARY, 8:15 a.m.

The gray-haired nurse stood over Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's bed, wielding a clip-board in hand, looking down sadly at the unconscious younger woman. "You poor girl," she whispered. "Why would anyone do this to you…?"

"Nurse Fontaine!"

Turning at the sound of her name being called, the nurse saw Janus, Ricardo and Natasha entering the infirmary. "How's my mom? Is she okay?" Janus blurted out.

Nurse Fontaine swiftly put a finger to her lips, signaling the need for silence. "She's still unconscious, and she's got some nasty bruises…maybe it's best if you didn't look…"

That last bit came a few seconds too late, though, as Janus was already pushing past her and bending down by his mother's side. He flinched as he looked at Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, sporting a bandaged brow and a very black right eye and left cheekbone. "Damn it…" he whispered softly.

"Janus…" Natasha said sympathetically.

A set of footsteps behind them caused them all, save Janus, to turn. "Nurse Fontaine…any change?" Principal Yuki asked softly.

Nurse Fontaine shook her head. "No change. She's still out of it."

Principal Yuki nodded, accepting the news. "Okay, kids…I want you to go straight back to your dorm rooms for the time being," he addressed them. "We'll handle this whole thing."

"Principal Yuki…that threat that that man gave…" Natasha looked worried.

"Don't worry about it—nothing's going to happen to any of my students on my watch," Principal Yuki assured her.

"Uhh…"

At once all heads turned to look at Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "Mom…!" Janus's breath caught in his throat.

"Ow…Janus, baby…is that you…?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's eyes cracked open just a little, even as a pained flinch spread over her face. "Argh…head hurts…"

In a moment Principal Yuki was by her side. "Lexi, don't try to move," he urged her. "They turned you into a punching bag, you know…"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki managed a small smile. "I thought…you knew me better than that, Jaden. Since when have I ever allowed anybody to keep me down for the count? And anyway…even punching bags fight back sometimes."

Principal Yuki smiled in spite of himself. "Well, Ms. Punching Bag, you did good."

Nurse Fontaine stepped forward. "Sorry, guys, but I'll have to ask you all to leave now," she said to the group. "Now that my patient's awake, I have to see to her."

"Wait—wait, Nurse," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki spoke up, her voice a little stronger now. "They have to know…who did it…who it was that attacked me."

"What?" Principal Yuki looked down at her. "You can identify the person?"

"Yeah…and it's somebody you ought to remember well, Jaden…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked directly at him now. "Does the name Fletcher ring any bells?"

Principal Yuki's eyes widened for a moment…then a dark shadow crossed his face. "Fletcher…I should've known…"

The three kids looked at him. "Um, who's Fletcher?" Ricardo asked.

"Park Fletcher…he was the head of Duel Academy's physics department, five years ago," Principal Yuki explained. "Only those students who are in Obelisk Blue now would remember him. He was also the dean of Obelisk Blue's boys' dorm back then, before Dr. Crowler took over the job…and he was the one member of faculty and staff who was most vocal about his opposition to my becoming principal of Duel Academy."

Nurse Fontaine nodded. "It's true," she said. "Professor Fletcher was also the one who led the faculty protest when Principal Yuki changed the dorm structure to give all three dorms equality. He threatened to boycott the entire school board if the decision to equalize the power of the dorms wasn't repealed, and when that failed, he resigned. A real shame, too…he was one of the finest professors ever to grace Duel Academy's halls…"

"Well, he's not a teacher here anymore…and yet, he's had the audacity to set foot back on this island after he turned his back on the ethos a teacher is supposed to uphold," Principal Yuki said darkly. "And like that wasn't bad enough, now he's threatening the safety of innocent people here at Duel Academy…well, he's made one mistake too many today!"

"What…what're you going to do?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki asked.

Principal Yuki gently placed his palm on her un-bruised cheek. "Don't you worry about that, sweetheart," he said quietly. "You just concentrate on getting well. I'll take care of everything."

With that, he stood up and walked out, motioning for the kids to follow him. Janus, Ricardo and Natasha went off after him, casting a backward glance toward Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki even as Nurse Fontaine moved to tend to her. "She'll be okay…right?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah…" Janus nodded slowly.

At length the group reached out in the hallway; here Principal Yuki turned to the kids. "Guys, listen to me very carefully," he said firmly. "Like I said before, you should go back to your dorm rooms until this whole thing blows over. I don't want to compromise your safety, nor the safety of any of the other students, as long as that Fletcher is at large."

"Pardon me, Principal Yuki, but even if we do that, would it make a difference?" Ricardo asked. "You heard what Fletcher said over the intercom, after all. If the deadline he gave you comes and you haven't submitted to him, he'll continue his attack on Duel Academy—and he won't care _who_ gets hurt, whether teachers or students."

"Yeah, and he was able to take out the Vice-Principal so easily, too," Natasha said fretfully.

"I understand where you're coming from, kids, but even so I still have to do what I can to resolve this issue before it comes down to the deadline," said Principal Yuki. "And besides that, too, the campus security's going to do its best to ensure that everything is kept under control. So all I ask is that you trust us to get the job done right. Can you do that for me?"

Janus sighed. "Well, if there's nothing we can do to help out…then I guess we've got no choice but to comply with your wishes, right?" He turned and started to walk away. "C'mon, Ricardo, Natasha, let's go back to our rooms."

"H-hey, Janus! Wait for us!" Natasha cried, as she and Ricardo hurried after Janus.

Principal Yuki stood there a moment, watching them go. Then, sighing, he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

----------

OSIRIS RED DORM, A SHORT WHILE LATER

Janus entered his dorm room, slamming the door behind him. Jiro was there, just unpacking his knapsack. "Way to make an entrance, man," Jiro said without looking up.

"Oh? Back already, I see," Janus remarked.

"Yep," Jiro nodded. "And I heard what happened to the Vice-Principal. Dean Burchell is ordering all of us to stay in our rooms until further notice is given."

"Oh, so—what, we're supposed to just sit around and do nothing?" Janus asked angrily. "My _mom_ is in the infirmary because of that Fletcher guy! And it's all because of some stupid grudge he's got against my dad!"

"Fletcher?" Jiro raised an eyebrow. "Is that the name of the person responsible for the attack?"

"Yeah—Mom regained consciousness, and she remembered the guy pretty well," Janus admitted. "From what Dad and Nurse Fontaine said, Fletcher was opposed to Dad becoming Principal five years ago, and quit when he couldn't have his way. Had to do with the whole 'making the dorms equal' thing."

"I see," said Jiro. "So Fletcher was opposed to changing the dorm regulations, then? But even if that's so, for him to attack the Vice-Principal…it seems he's overdoing it just to get his point of view across."

"And now he's out there, somewhere, waiting on the 10:00 deadline before either he strikes again or Dad breaks," said Janus. "Meanwhile, we have to be cooped up in our rooms, waiting…for what?"

"At least give Principal Yuki some credit, Janus—he wouldn't have become Principal if he wasn't up for the responsibility, after all, right?" Jiro reasoned. "And we have campus security, the dorm deans, and the other teachers doing their part, too. Let's at least give them a chance to do their jobs."

"…I guess…" Janus sighed and sat down reluctantly.

----------

Elsewhere on the compound…

Principal Yuki was walking along the corridor, deeply lost in thought. Then: "Hey, General!"

Turning, Principal Yuki saw Coach Hassleberry running up to him. "I just got the news about Commander Lexi, so I came back as quick as I could," Coach Hassleberry panted. "Is she gonna be all right?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Principal Yuki nodded. "But now we've got a more serious problem on our hands—finding the guy responsible. Fortunately, Alexis was able to tell me who attacked her…Park Fletcher."

A wave of displeasure crossed Coach Hassleberry's face. "Fletcher? That deserter?" he asked. "What the hell's he doing back here, after all this time?"

"The answer's pretty obvious, Hassleberry—revenge is what he's after," Principal Yuki said stoutly. "Plus, the fact that it's taken him five years before he made a move…he's had enough time to plan his little strategy right down to the T. He made an announcement to the general assembly over the intercom—either I restore Obelisk Blue's power and then step down as Principal, or he'll attack more people like he did Alexis—including students, regardless of their dorm."

Coach Hassleberry's eyes narrowed—and his irises momentarily turned reptilian. "That son-of-a-bitch! We can't let him get away with this!" he roared.

"And I, for one, don't intend to," said Principal Yuki. "I've already sent out campus security to sweep the entire island…now, it's just for them to call in with their reports…"

No sooner had he said that than his cell-phone started to buzz; without missing a beat, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Principal Yuki, sir, this is Campus Security Squad 3 reporting in," a female voice spoke up. "We've just detected some suspicious activity near the old abandoned dorm…shall we move in?"

"The abandoned dorm, you said?" Principal Yuki asked. "Go right ahead, but watch yourselves when you're going in there—that building's decades old by now, and you might lose your footing in there."

"Understood, sir," the other speaker answered. "We'll contact you again once our investigation is comple—hey, what the hell is tha—AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"What?" Principal Yuki became alarmed. "Hello? Hello? What's going on there? Somebody talk to me, dammit!"

Then a reply came—but this time it was a man's voice. "Now, now, dear Mr. Yuki, that wasn't very smart…you defied us in spite of the warning that was given to you before, and now your precious campus security has paid for your stubbornness."

"You're…Fletcher!" Principal Yuki snarled.

"Ah, so it seems you know who I am now," Fletcher continued, a grin in his voice. "But just knowing that fact will not help you. My associates and I have a lot more power at our disposal than you realize…it's amazing how much you can get done when you've been planning revenge for five years, after all."

"So, you've got people working with you, then?" Principal Yuki asked. "I could've figured even you wouldn't have been ballsy enough to pull off this kind of stunt by yourself."

"I'd be very careful of my choice of words if I were you, Yuki," Fletcher told him, now speaking in a serious undertone. "After all, you may have the greater numbers where your staff and probably your students are concerned, but _we_ are holding all the cards right now. And at this moment, I've got a particular one that I'm going to play as a punishment for your rebellion." He chuckled again. "Remember the 10:00 deadline I gave you before? Well, I've decided to move it up…to 9:00!"

"Moving the deadline to 9:00? You can't do that!" Principal Yuki cried.

"Hmm…well, you know, you're almost right, except for one little thing—I just did," Fletcher said coldly. "And that being the case, you don't have a lot of time left to comply with my demands. So, either you get to it now…or everyone there will suffer."

The next thing Principal Yuki heard was a slight _click_ as the other end of the call was disconnected. "For the love of…!" he sputtered.

"Hey, General, what're you gonna do?" Coach Hassleberry asked uneasily. "That guy just said 9:00 is your deadline, didn't he? And it's now…" He checked his watch. "8:30."

Principal Yuki's expression was grim. "Hassleberry…get together as many of the teachers who aren't doubling as dorm deans, and meet me at the front of the main building in ten minutes. There's only one real way we'll be able to stop Fletcher at this point, for the sake of the Academy…and we have to do it now, before anybody else gets hurt."

----------

ABANDONED DORM, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Pocketing his cell-phone, Fletcher turned to face an extremely run-down building, surrounded by a large iron fence with a gate. He headed toward the gate, casually kicking one of the bodies of the unconscious campus security out of his way. "Worthless trash…and THIS is what they have playing security for Duel Academy now? This school has truly become run-down since that Osiris Red pest took over the job as Principal," he muttered in disgust.

Standing by the entrance to the building were a burly man and a woman wearing a tad too much make-up, waiting as Fletcher approached them. "Oy, Fletcher, aren't you a tad bit worried? Yuki knows where we are now, doesn't he?" the man asked warily.

"Beaumont, dear, you worry too much," the woman said saucily. "Even if our dear friend Jaden Yuki knows our location, what can he possibly do about it? The more he resists, the greater the penalty he'll be made to pay. It's as plain as that."

"Well said, McKenzie," said Fletcher, adjusting his cuff-links. "If Yuki decides to come here, then let him come. It'll just mean our objective will be completed all the more quickly." And he smiled deviously, his eyes obscured by the glare from his glasses.

----------

_**neomage:**_ All right, folks! The abandoned dorm is portrayed…what'll happen here, I wonder? (Of course, those of you who've read the old version of this story should already know.) Stay tuned!


	30. The Hunter's Wolves

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Well, I'll say it the way it's always been said…I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 30 – The Hunter's Wolves**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_FLETCHER_

_NAME: Park Fletcher_

_AGE: 34_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Blue (wears glasses)_

_CLOTHES: Long-sleeved gray shirt, black pants, black shoes_

_McKENZIE_

_NAME: Yanique McKenzie_

_AGE: 36_

_HAIR: Green (dyed)_

_EYES: Green (wears too much makeup)_

_CLOTHES: Brown blouse, white jeans pants, black high-heeled boots_

_BEAUMONT_

_NAME: Miguel Beaumont_

_AGE: 30_

_HAIR: Bald_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Black merino, blue jeans, brown boots_

DUEL ACADEMY, 8:40 a.m.

Outside the main entrance to the halls of Duel Academy, Principal Yuki waited, arms folded and a stern expression on his face. Even when the noise of approaching footsteps caught his ear, he still didn't move.

"Okay, we're here—as many of the teachers as I could get," Coach Hassleberry addressed him. "What do you want to do now?"

Finally, Principal Yuki turned and beheld the group standing before him. Besides Coach Hassleberry, there were Professors Crosskill, Takamura and Flannigan, as well as several other members of the teaching staff. "All right—listen up, everyone," Principal Yuki announced. "I've just made contact with the other squads for campus security and have given them the necessary instructions. While we're waiting for them to regroup, let me give you all the heads-up on what we're faced with."

Everyone looked expectantly at him.

"The man responsible for the attack on the Vice-Principal has identified himself," said Principal Yuki. "Many of you should remember him…Park Fletcher, the former head of the physics department."

That prompted some furious mouth-corner whispering from the teachers. "Park Fletcher? I _knew_ I'd recognized his voice from somewhere…" Professor Crosskill muttered.

"That's not all," Principal Yuki continued. "As you should already be aware, Fletcher has called for the reinstatement of Obelisk Blue's former reign over Osiris Red and Ra Yellow, as well as my resignation. But just a little while ago, he made things a little more difficult…he upped the deadline to 9:00."

"9:00? But—that's just under twenty minutes from now!" Professor Flannigan protested.

"I know," said Principal Yuki. "And to make it worse, he's already dispatched one of the campus security squads. He's confirmed that he's not working alone on this—what we don't know is how many allies or subordinates he's got, or who they may be. However, we do know a few other things that will give us an advantage in responding to his threats."

"We do?" Professor Takamura asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Principal Yuki nodded. "For instance, we know that Fletcher and his cohorts are hiding out at the old abandoned dorm. From what I've been able to figure, they must've rigged the island's power supply so as to tap into our intercom and security systems; plus, they've been plotting this for five years, and were able to do it without being detected—but I have a way to flush him out."

"So, share with us!" Coach Hassleberry said eagerly.

Principal Yuki nodded. "It's going to be a little risky, but…I want to shut off all power from our main generator system for a few minutes. Besides cutting off Fletcher's source of power, it'll give campus security a chance to storm the abandoned dorm and take down him and whoever else he's got with him."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Professor Crosskill held up a hand. "Let me ask you something. How, exactly, was Fletcher able to take out an entire squad of the campus security? And assuming he _did_ do that, how is your plan going to make a difference?"

"Well, if you have another solution, let's hear it, Crosskill," said Principal Yuki.

Crosskill opened his mouth to reply—but the noise of a cell-phone ringing cut him off. As everyone looked at each other, Principal Yuki pulled out his phone and answered it. "Hello?" he said, just a tad bit annoyed.

"Hello again, Jaden Yuki," Fletcher's voice came on.

"Fletcher!" Principal Yuki snarled.

"Now, now, that's no way to talk to somebody on the phone," Fletcher said smoothly. "I just thought I'd call you back again, on the same phone I confiscated from your pathetic campus security's squad leader a short while ago, and wouldn't you know it—they actually have you on speed-dial! You're moving up in the world, congratulations!"

"Stop jerking around, Fletcher. What do you want now?" Principal Yuki demanded. "Isn't it enough that you took down one of my campus security squads and bumped up the deadline time?"

"Well, you know, it would have been all, but…" Then the humor faded from Fletcher's voice. "Let me be straight with you. You seem to forget, I've got access to all your security camera feeds across the entire length and width of Duel Academy Island, and that includes where you and your members of staff are standing right now."

"What…!" Principal Yuki flinched.

"Oh, come now—don't tell me you'd actually forgotten that you had video-cameras installed?" Fletcher asked mockingly. "In any case, my colleagues here think you may be planning something other than what I specifically instructed you to do, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. It _could_ be, after all, that you're merely holding an out-of-doors meeting with your staff to discuss the most amicable way for you to tender your resignation…right?"

"Bite me," Principal Yuki said stoutly.

"Chomp, chomp, chew, chew, chew," Fletcher said tauntingly. "Sorry, you just keep setting yourself up for those little comebacks. But…let's see how you respond to THIS: No less than three minutes ago, one of my associates caught two other groups of your security detail wandering around…needless to say, he made short work of them, but kept one of the group leaders conscious especially for this call that I've made. Would you like to talk to the man? He seems especially anxious to say a few words to you."

Suddenly, Principal Yuki heard a man's frantic voice speaking. "Principal Yuki, sir? This is Squad 1's leader! Please, sir, for God's sake, do something about these lunatics! They took us all out—us and Squad 2 in one shot! They—GYAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Hey—hey!" Principal Yuki cried. "What the hell are you doing to them, damn you?"

"Exactly what my other associate is on her way to do to the good folks at Duel Academy right now," Fletcher spoke up again. "Oh, don't worry—yet. I'm not so violent that I'd deprive people of their lives without just cause. Only thing is…your being in power is just cause for my being violent, wouldn't you say?"

"Quit it now, Fletcher! These people have nothing to do with this!" Principal Yuki yelled.

"Ah-ah-ah—I think you've forgotten already what I told you and everyone else this morning," Fletcher said sternly. "All of you, right down to the last individual, have been tried and found guilty by me…I'm merely handing out the sentencing. And now, because of your bone-headed stubbornness and your refusal to comply with my demands from earlier…the deadline is revoked. Now, teachers and students all around you are going to drop like flies. Starting right about…"

"AAAAAAHHH!"

All at once there was a multitude of screams from the group as something whooshed past them, the sounds of slicing being heard in the process! "NO!" Principal Yuki yelled.

"Oh, you shouldn't be so upset—my associate has orders to not target you specifically," said Fletcher. "After all, I can't really fulfill my objectives if you're unconscious or dead too early, now can I?"

Gritting his teeth, Principal Yuki turned to look at the teachers' assailant—only to see a blur vanishing around the side of the school building. The teachers themselves, meanwhile, were now all on the ground, groaning in pain. "Damn it…couldn't do anything…" Coach Hassleberry lamented aloud, holding his suddenly-bleeding arm.

"Sounds like your little pseudo-rebellion is still alive," Fletcher noted. "Oh, well, it doesn't matter."

"You…!" Principal Yuki flared.

"Oh, not to worry—this whole craziness can be stopped, after all," said Fletcher. "But whether it stops or continues depends rather heavily on you, at this point. All you have to do is say that you are the worst thing to have ever happened to Duel Academy, and just like that—poof! The attacks will stop."

Principal Yuki's eyes were overshadowed. "You know something…? You're right. All this craziness can be stopped…and it's going to stop now."

Abruptly, he hung up. Then he turned to look at Coach Hassleberry, who by now was on his feet. "How's your arm, Coach?" he asked.

"Stings like a bitch, General…but I'll live, I guess," Coach Hassleberry answered, even as he held the place where his arm had been slashed in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Get yourself to the infirmary and get that arm looked at," Principal Yuki advised him. "And get the medics out here, too, on the double. The other teachers might need them," and he looked down at the other teachers, still on the ground.

"Okay, but…what're you going to do?" Coach Hassleberry asked.

"Me?" Principal Yuki's eyes were overshadowed again. "I'm going to do my duty as Principal of Duel Academy." And he walked off, leaving Coach Hassleberry standing there with a puzzled expression.

----------

OSIRIS RED DORM, IN THE MEANTIME

_Pop._

Janus was popping air out from his puckered lips, even as he lay on his back on his bed. _Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop._

Finally Jiro, sitting nearby, could take no more. "QUIT IT!" he snapped.

"But I can't help it, I'm bored!" Janus whined.

"Then go look at yourself in the mirror with your Shadow Charm Pendant or something, I don't care," Jiro growled. "Just stop making that noise! It's annoying the crap out of me!"

Sighing, Janus jumped out of bed and went over to his dresser; pulling the drawer open, he reached inside and pulled out the Shadow Charm Pendant. "Come to think of it, I haven't worn this since I tried it on last night," he remarked as he put it on. "Oh, well…"

"Look at the big bad pimp," Jiro said mockingly. "As if."

"Oh, whatever!" Janus snapped.

Suddenly a wild scream caught their ears. "SOMEBODY HELP! AAAAAAAHHH!"

"It came from outside…!" Jiro jumped up.

The two boys rushed out the door, following a few other Osiris Red students who were also on the way down the corridor…only, upon reaching outside, they weren't prepared for what they saw. "Oh…my God…" Janus whispered.

There, on the ground, was Dean Burchell, a large gaping slash wound on his chest. "Is he…dead?" some of the students were whispering, though none of them would go near the man.

Pushing his way through the crowd, Jiro knelt down and felt the dean's pulse. "He's alive, but…his pulse is pretty weak," he reported. "Guys, let's get him to the infirmary, pronto!"

Immediately some of the bigger boys stepped forward, carefully lifting Dean Burchell. Janus, hanging behind the crowd, scowled. "Oh, great…now what?"

Suddenly, the Shadow Charm Pendant glowed a little…then Elemental Hero Neos appeared in his semi-transparent form. _"Janus, I sense something nearby…something bearing a great deal of hatred and malice,"_ he reported.

"No kidding," Janus whispered. He then looked toward Jiro. "Yo, Jiro, over here…"

"Huh?" Jiro looked up and saw Janus beckoning to him. "Okay, you guys go ahead…make sure the dean gets to the infirmary okay."

While the other boys went off with Dean Burchell and those that remained hung around worriedly, Jiro approached Janus. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Could be," said Janus. "Neos sensed—"

All at once, from out of nowhere, a black blur emerged and hit one of the other students in the back, knocking him down! "Hey! Hey, man, you all right? What happened?" several of the other students immediately milled around the fallen boy.

A sudden movement caught Jiro's eye; he swiftly turned his head toward the roof of the dorm. "There it is…!"

The mysterious thing that had just attacked the hapless student now lingered on the building's rooftop…and both Janus and Jiro stared in astonishment. It appeared to be an anthropomorphic wolf, wearing torn jeans that were shredded at the knees, with what appeared to be wires protruding from its chest! "What IS that?" Janus whispered.

Then, just as suddenly, the mysterious monster disappeared. "Shit—it's gone," Jiro cursed.

Neos, still present in semi-transparent form, shook his head. _"The monster may be gone, but I still sense that malicious presence…it's very close by…"_

"Shien, come on out here," said Jiro. "That evil presence—can you sense it, as well? And can you locate it for me?"

Shien appeared next to Neos. _"Just follow me!"_ he said, and with that he hurried off, Neos following behind him.

"Okay! Let's go snuff this creep out!" Janus announced, even as he and Jiro followed after.

----------

Around the girls' section of the Osiris Red dorm…

"Something seems to be happening around the boys' dorm," Natasha said fretfully, looking out the window. "I hope everything will be okay…"

Cassara, on the other side of the room, nodded her head. "Me, too, Natasha. I really hope this whole thing blows over quickly."

Natasha then noticed something. "Hmm? Hey, isn't that Janus and Jiro down there? Where are they running to?"

"Janus and Jiro?" Cassara quickly crossed to the window, just in time to see the two boys run around a corner and disappear into some bushes. "Okay, Janus acting random I could understand…but why's Jiro with him?"

"Wanna go check it out?" Natasha suggested.

Cassara gave her a look. "In case you forgot, the dean told all of us to stay put in our rooms. And besides, we're not those boys' babysitters, now are we?"

Natasha returned the look. "But you're editor-in-chief of the school paper now. This could be your first big story, don't you think?"

"Ah! That's right! A reporter never sleeps!" Cassara swiftly ran to her desk and grabbed a notepad and a pen. "C'mon, Natasha, we haven't a moment to waste!"

----------

McKenzie was sitting in an isolated spot surrounded by bushes and a few trees, chuckling to herself. "I'm so glad Fletcher let me go out and dish out my little degree of destruction to these Osiris Red pansies," she chuckled. "And they were so easy, too…and those teachers back there as well, what a bunch of saps…"

"HEY! You there—who are you?"

McKenzie jumped up, startled at the sound of the shout. Looking up, she saw two boys in Osiris Red jackets standing there, glaring at her. "Who are _you?"_ she returned the question. "How'd you find me here?"

"Let's just say we had a hunch," one of the boys replied.

McKenzie took a look at the boy that had just spoken—and suddenly she smirked. "I know you," she said. "You're Jaden and Alexis's little brat, Janus, aren't you? My, my, my…Fletcher will be sure to reward me if I bring you back to him. You'll do well as collateral in our plans for this school."

"Like hell!" Janus snapped. "You're the one behind the attacks on our dorm just now, aren't you? The one controlling that weird monster…"

"Oh, so you saw my Lycanthrope, then?" McKenzie asked. "Interesting. You know, he's been hungry for a little blood, but all those folks he's been attacking so far have been nothing but simple prey. He loves prey that struggles, you see…the feistier the prey, the sweeter their flesh and blood."

"You are one sick, sick lady," said Janus. "But then again, with all that makeup you're wearing, why wouldn't you be?"

"What did you say about my makeup?" McKenzie snapped.

All this time the other boy hadn't said a word. Now he stepped forward. "Hey, Janus," he said, "why don't you let me deal with this woman, eh? After all, it _was_ Shien who found her. And besides, I got some new cards pretty recently that I've been dying to try out in my deck. I want you to see just how much stronger I've become since you and I dueled that time."

Janus seemed to debate the matter with himself for a moment…then he shrugged. "Eh, sure, why not, Jiro? Your monsters ought to be strong enough to deal with this woman, after all, right?"

"Definitely!" Jiro nodded. Then he turned to face McKenzie. "All right, lady! Bring out that Lycanthrope of yours—I'll slice it apart with my monsters!"

McKenzie spat to the side. "You little Osiris Red moron…you've no idea who you're messing with!" she snarled. "I am Yanique McKenzie, a former teacher of Duel Academy! It's been years since I taught any lessons here…but I suppose I can at least school you on the subject of why Osiris Red will always be inferior to everyone else!"

"Then it's obvious you've never met _me,"_ Jiro returned. "I am Jiro Burger, first-year student and member of Osiris Red! And somehow I don't think that getting beaten by an Osiris Red student, and a first-year student at that, will exactly be your glory moment, but I don't care."

"Watch your tongue, boy, or I'll rip it out of your insolent mouth!" McKenzie grated. "If it's a duel you want, then I'll be more than happy to oblige you…and then I'll show you why I'm not a lady to be messed with!"

"Yap, yap, yap—let's just get it going already," said Jiro, pulling out his Duel-Disk, even as McKenzie did likewise.

----------

ABANDONED DORM, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Fletcher was watching the impending duel between Jiro and McKenzie on one of his monitors, chuckling in amusement. Behind him, Beaumont was also watching, but with a frown on his face. "Should McKenzie even be wasting time on those two brats?" he asked.

"Why not? It's always so spiriting to see an Osiris Red punk's hopes and dreams come crashing down around him when reality kicks the foundation apart," Fletcher replied. "Besides, you see the other boy there? That's Jaden Yuki's son…and he may well be a worthy asset to my plans. McKenzie will deal with his little friend, then she'll deal with him good and proper."

"But what about Jaden? The security cameras show he's coming this way," Beaumont pointed out.

"Then let him come," said Fletcher. "I've been wanting to have a face-to-face meeting with him, anyway. Once he gets here…nothing will save him. Absolutely nothing."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST

"I'll be kind and allow you to call it," said McKenzie.

"I'll call tails, then!" said Jiro.

The holographic coin appeared on the field and was flipped. By and by it landed on the ground again, and it was…heads. "Ha! Too bad, Osiris Red weakling! I'll go first, then!" McKenzie trumpeted.

**JIRO: 8000; McKENZIE: 8000**

"You're a real piece of work," Jiro grumbled even as he and McKenzie drew their first five cards. "But I'll soon show you what an Osiris Red student can really do!"

"Assuming you can do _anything_ at all," said McKenzie, drawing her sixth card to begin. "And, hmm, I've got quite a powerful hand here, it seems! Now, I'll open up this duel by summoning the incredible Ryu-Kishin Powered (ATK 1600, DEF 1200)!" And a moment later a pink-skinned gargoyle emerged on her side of the field. "Then," she continued, "I'll activate the Continuous Magic card, Heart of the Underdog! From now on, each time I draw a card from my deck, if the card I draw is a Normal Monster card, then by showing that card to you I can draw another card!"

"Hmm…" Jiro frowned. "Your deck strategy seems to revolve around Normal monsters somehow, for you to have that kind of card at your disposal…but how is that going to be of any help to you?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you, rookie?" said McKenzie. "For now, I'll just end my turn."

Whereupon Jiro took his turn and drew his card. "All right…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode," he announced, "and set one card facedown. Then, I'll activate a Continuous Magic card of my own…Six Samurai United!"

"Six Samurai United? What is that supposed to be?" McKenzie asked, confused.

"My deck revolves around the legendary Six Samurai monsters," Jiro explained. "And this card, Six Samurai United, works in tandem with these monsters. Now, every time a Six Samurai monster is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, this card will get what's known as a Bushido Counter. It can take a maximum of two Bushido counters…and then I can send this card to the Graveyard to draw one card from my deck for every Bushido Counter that was on this card."

"Hmph. I'm not impressed," McKenzie said flatly.

"I wasn't expecting you to be," Jiro countered. "I'll just end my turn here, for now."

McKenzie then took her turn and drew again. "And now, the effect of my Heart of the Underdog activates!" she announced. "I've drawn a Normal monster, so I'll show it to you…and that way, I can draw another card!" And she held up the card she'd just drawn for Jiro to see—it was Swordstalker (ATK 2000, DEF 1600).

"Okay, then…" Janus, watching from the sidelines, cocked an eyebrow.

Again McKenzie drew a card. "And this one's another Normal monster, so…" She held it up, revealing it to be Swordsman of Landstar (ATK 500, DEF 1200). "Now I draw once again!" And that she did. "And what do you know – another Normal Monster card!" And this one proved to be the Earl of Demise (ATK 2000, DEF 700).

"Wait—is that ALL you have in your deck?" Jiro wondered aloud. "You'll deck yourself out if you keep drawing like this!"

"Goes to prove that Osiris Red students are nothing but amateurs," McKenzie said mockingly as she drew yet again, giving her a total of eight cards in her hand. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes—yet another Normal monster, so again Heart of the Underdog activates!" And she revealed the card she'd just drawn to be Water Magician (ATK 1400, DEF 1000).

"Geez…this looks like it could take a while," Janus commented.

Again and again and yet again McKenzie drew from her deck, and each time Heart of the Underdog activated its effect for her. Following the Water Magician she'd drawn, she also drew Wow Warrior (ATK 1250, DEF 900), Tri-Horned Dragon (ATK 2850, DEF 2350), Spirit of the Books (ATK 1400, DEF 1200), Spherous Lady (ATK 400, DEF 1400), The Statue of Easter Island (ATK 1100, DEF 1400), and Temple of Skulls (ATK 900, DEF 1300). Then she drew one more card, so now she held a grand total of fifteen cards in her hand—and only then did she stop drawing, not revealing the fifteenth card. "I believe that'll be enough drawing from me for now," she declared.

"About time," Jiro scowled.

"And now, I'll offer my Ryu-Kishin Powered as a tribute to summon…Cyber-Tech Alligator (ATK 2500, DEF 1600)!" said McKenzie. And, true to her word, Ryu-Kishin Powered disappeared from the field…and in its place stood a green-skinned alligator with red cybernetic parts, including a pair of crimson wings. "Now, destroy his facedown monster!"

Cyber-Tech Alligator flew forward, bellowing as it did so, and sliced the facedown monster apart…revealing it to be Shien's Footsoldier (ATK 700, DEF 300). "You just destroyed Shien's Footsoldier, and he's got a very useful effect," said Jiro. "When he's destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Level 3 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck…and I know just the one I want: The Six Samurai – Kamon (ATK 1500, DEF 1000), in Defense Mode!"

A moment later, Jiro's dynamite-laden warrior appeared on the field, crouched on his knees with his hands crossed before his torso—and, instantly, a Bushido Counter appeared on the Six Samurai United card, in the form of a yin-yang symbol. "But that's not all," Jiro continued. "Next, I'll activate my Trap card, Swiftstrike Armor! As long as this card remains on the field, if I draw a 'Six Samurai' monster during my Draw Phase, I can Special Summon that monster to the field!"

"Whatever," said McKenzie. "I'll just end my turn and let you have a go, now." And she carefully counted six of the cards in her hand, discarding the rest to the Graveyard.

But now Jiro had a puzzled expression on his face. _I don't get it…WHY would she draw that many cards, nearly all of them being Normal monsters, and then just send them to the Graveyard afterwards? Is she up to something? I can't say for sure yet, but…I have to stay on guard! There's no telling what kind of trick she might try to pull against me! _He then drew his next card, so now he held four in hand. "Okay—the monster I just drew is a 'Six Samurai' monster, so I'll use my Swiftstrike Armor's effect and Special Summon it!" he told McKenzie. "My Six Samurai – Zanji (ATK 1800, DEF 1300) in Attack Mode!" And a moment later Zanji appeared on the field, ready to do battle…and a second Bushido Counter appeared on the Six Samurai United card.

"Oh, please. Neither of your puny Samurai monsters can hold a candle to my Cyber-Tech Alligator!" McKenzie scoffed.

"Really?" said Jiro. "Then maybe I should show you just what they're capable of, shouldn't I? Now…my Six Samurai United card has the maximum number of Bushido Counters, so I'll send it to the Graveyard and draw two cards." And that he did; now he held five cards in hand. "Oh, and Janus, before I forget…"

"Huh?" Janus looked at him.

Jiro chuckled. "Last time around, you only got to see five of the Six Samurai, right? Well, I'll show you the sixth one now! I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth the Six Samurai – Yaichi (ATK 1300, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"

Right next to Kamon and Zanji, there appeared a gray-armored Samurai with a bow and arrow in hand. "Wow! That one's so cool, Jiro!" Janus exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

"And the others aren't?" Jiro quipped.

"Hello, boy! Can you get on with it already?" McKenzie said irritably.

"I'm taking THAT from a woman who was practically drawing out her whole deck just now?" Jiro shot back. "Well, fine, then, if that's how you want to be…Kamon, activate your effect!"

"Huh? He actually has an effect?" McKenzie asked, surprised.

"All of my Six Samurai possess effects, lady," said Jiro. "However, a 'Six Samurai' monster cannot activate its effect unless I have at least one other 'Six Samurai' monster with a different name on the field—they work in sync with each other, after all. Now, in Kamon's case…in exchange for him not being able to attack this turn, I can destroy one face-up Magic or Trap card on the field! And I have my sights set on your Heart of the Underdog!"

Kamon swiftly stood up, pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit its fuse, and flung the dynamite toward McKenzie's side of the field. "Yipe!" McKenzie yelped, jumping out of the way…and then KA-BOOM! The dynamite exploded, taking the Heart of the Underdog with it!

"One annoyance down," said Jiro. "Now, time to attack with Zanji! And get this—any monster that Zanji attacks is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step!"

"Damn…!" McKenzie scowled. "But even so, Cyber-Tech Dragon is still stronger! Your Zanji will be wiped out regardless!"

Nonetheless, Zanji raised his weapon and jumped forward, ready to strike. In retaliation, Cyber-Tech Alligator flew forward, intent on cutting the Samurai down—but all at once, from seemingly out of nowhere, Kamon jumped in the way to intercept the attack, and he was cut down instead of Zanji! "WHOA! What the hell just happened?" McKenzie shouted.

**JIRO: 7300; McKENZIE: 8000**

"All 'Six Samurai' monsters share the same effect," Jiro explained. "If any one 'Six Samurai' monster would be destroyed, then I can offer up another 'Six Samurai' monster on the field to be destroyed instead. So, even though Zanji and I got the battle damage from that fight just now, it was Kamon that paid the price…" And at the mention of that point, both Yaichi and Zanji seemed to hang their heads a little.

Janus, observing this, narrowed his eyes. _The Six Samurai really do treat each other as true comrades, after all…_

"Now—Zanji's effect kicks in!" Jiro announced—and again Zanji leaped forward, this time slicing the Cyber-Tech Alligator cleanly in two. "And now that he's out of the way, Yaichi can attack directly!" And Yaichi did just that, firing off his arrow from his bow and hitting McKenzie in the chest.

**JIRO: 7300; McKENZIE: 6700**

"Ow…how DARE you strike me! You, a filthy Osiris Red student!" McKenzie raged.

"What's it to you? I mean, it's not like you have any say in what happens with the students or the dorms now," Jiro pointed out.

"Well, I used to," McKenzie glowered. "Back when I was still teaching here, a whole lot of Osiris Red students flunked my courses…why, then, should I believe that Osiris Red students are capable of learning anything? And then, five years ago, Principal Yuki decided to imply with his little change of regulations that Osiris Red students were capable of being up there with Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue students…preposterous!"

"What's preposterous is your style of play right now…you insult Osiris Red students' potential, yet your own strategy is practically nonexistent," said Jiro.

"Oh, just watch me, then," said McKenzie. "Every deck strategy serves a purpose…as does mine!"

"We'll see about that," said Jiro. Then he examined the cards in his hand. "Okay…just to be safe, I'll throw one card facedown…then activate the Field Magic card, Shien's Castle of Mist!" Immediately, the mysterious castle emerged, shrouded in fog. "Now, as long as Shien's Castle of Mist is on the field, every time one of my 'Six Samurai' monsters is attacked, the attacking monster loses 500 ATK during that damage calculation only. All right, I feel fortified enough in case of an emergency…I'll end my turn now."

Scoffing, McKenzie drew her next card, so that now she held seven cards in hand, and then she examined her hand carefully. "And now, my dear boy, time for you to be schooled by an expert!" she announced. "First things first…I'll activate a Ritual Magic card, one known as the Advanced Ritual Art!"

All at once, a beam of light erupted from McKenzie's side of the field and shot skyward! "Here's how it works, and try to pay attention," she said. "First, I select one Ritual Monster card in my hand. Then I send, from my deck to the Graveyard, Normal Monster cards whose total levels are equal to the selected Ritual monster's level. After that, I Ritual Summon one Ritual monster from my hand who has the same name as the Ritual monster I selected. So, then…allow me to show you this Ritual monster in my hand—Lycanthrope (ATK 2400, DEF 1800)!"

She held up one of her six remaining hand-cards. "Now, Lycanthrope is a Level 6 monster, so from my deck, as per Advanced Ritual Art's effect, I'll send to the Graveyard two Level 3 monsters—Bio-Mage (ATK 1150, DEF 1000) and the 13th Grave (ATK 1200, DEF 900)!" Swiftly thumbing through her deck, she found the two named cards and shuttled them into the Graveyard. "And now, to finish Advanced Ritual Art's effect," she closed, "I have to summon from my hand a Ritual monster who has the same name as the one I picked—and since I picked Lycanthrope, I'll summon a second one that I happen to have right here!"

Then, from out of the green pillar, a massive werewolf emerged—the same monster that Janus and Jiro had sighted earlier. "Whoa…that's a pretty big canine right there," Janus said nervously.

"And it's about to get worse!" said McKenzie. "I do still have my other copy of Lycanthrope in my hand, after all…and for this one, I have the actual Ritual Magic card that goes with him! Now, I'll activate it…Synthesis Spell!"

All at once, there appeared a man in a stasis tank, tubes connected to his body. "Synthesis Spell allows me to Ritual Summon my Lycanthrope, but I have to offer as tributes from the field or my hand monsters whose total levels equal 6 or more," said McKenzie. "So, I'll offer two monsters from my hand for the ritual…and…"

At that moment, the man in the stasis tank seemed to change form…turning into another werewolf! Then, his eyes popped open—and, snarling, he burst forth, joining his fellow Lycanthrope that was already on the field. Then, both werewolves threw their heads back and howled loud and long. "See these two beautiful beasts? They're ready to tear you apart, at my command!" said McKenzie triumphantly.

"Uh, okay…Jiro, do your Six Samurai guys happen to have Frisbees or something?" Janus asked.

The two Lycanthropes turned in Janus's direction and growled menacingly at him. "Uh, Janus, I don't think it's a good idea to be taunting these things right now…" said Jiro. "And hey, looks like we've got company…"

"Hmm?" Looking behind him, Janus's eyes widened. "Cassara! Natasha! What're you guys doing here?"

Indeed, standing there were Cassara and Natasha. "Wonderful…more Osiris Red garbage comes along…" McKenzie muttered under her breath.

"We saw you guys running this way, so we decided to follow after you," said Cassara. "It was quite a job, getting past our dean just to come out here, but we managed to slip by her. But still…who _is_ this woman, anyway?"

"And what's up with those creepy monsters she's got on the field?" Natasha added.

"She's a former teacher from this school, it looks like," Janus told them. "And she's got a serious grudge against Osiris Red students."

"More Osiris Red hatred? Gee, why does that not surprise me?" Cassara asked with distaste.

"Think whatever you like, little girl; it doesn't change the fact that Osiris Red has been and will always be inferior when it comes to true dueling strength such as what I have here!" McKenzie bragged. "And I'll show you what I mean right now, as well! But first, let me summon the one monster left in my hand…the Spirit of the Books, in Attack Mode!" A second later, next to the two Lycanthropes, there appeared a bird-headed mystic wielding a spell-book.

"Now, then," continued McKenzie, "let's have a look through my Graveyard…" Touching a button on her Duel-Disk, a moment later she was rummaging through her Graveyard information. "Now, let's see here," she mused, looking at all the Monster cards that were there. "Ryu-Kishin Powered…Swordstalker…Swordsman of Landstar…Earl of Demise…Tri-Horned Dragon…Spherous Lady…The Statue of Easter Island…Temple of Skulls…Wow Warrior…Cyber-Tech Alligator…Bio-Mage…The 13th Grave…Water Magician…Amazon of the Seas…that's a grand total of fourteen Normal Monster cards in my Graveyard…and that goes rather well with the effect of my two Lycanthropes!"

"What's that?" Jiro asked.

"Let me demonstrate it for you, and then you'll see for yourself!" McKenzie answered. "Now, then…your little Shien's Castle of Mist will reduce my monsters' ATK by 500 if I attack any of your Samurai…but that won't matter in a moment! Now, Lycanthrope #1, attack his Yaichi now! Feral Fang!"

Snarling even as his ATK went down to 1900 via the effect of Shien's Castle of Mist, the first Lycanthrope charged forward; he ripped Yaichi to shreds and lowered Jiro's life points, tying him with McKenzie.

**JIRO: 6700; McKENIE: 6700**

"And now, Lycanthrope's effect activates," McKenzie spoke up. "When he inflicts battle damage to my opponent, he then inflicts 200 more points of damage to the opponent—200 points for every Normal Monster card in my Graveyard, that is!"

Cassara's eyes widened at this. "But—didn't she just say she's got fourteen of those in her Graveyard? And fourteen times 200 is 2800…!"

Jiro's eyes widened at the realization. "Shi—!"

But the word never got to escape his mouth fully, for Lycanthrope was slashing at him with blinding speed…!

----------

_**neomage:**_ Um…yeah…how about I just let y'all give your opinion of what just transpired, eh? Review soon, please!


	31. Determination

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Let the battle resume! Let the violence commence! Let it be known that neomage doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 31 - Determination**

DUEL ACADEMY FOREST, 9:15 a.m.

Screaming in agony, Jiro got flung back by the force of Lycanthrope's assault even as his life points went down sharply!

**JIRO: 3900; McKENZIE: 6700**

"But I'm not done yet!" McKenzie continued. "Lycanthrope #2, take out his Zanji!" And the second Lycanthrope, even as Shien's Castle of Mist lowered his ATK to 1900, rushed forward and sank his fangs into Zanji's throat, ripping the Samurai's head off and lowering Jiro's life points slightly…

**JIRO: 3800; McKENZIE: 6700**

…then, as per his effect, this Lycanthrope went on a slashing and biting rampage on Jiro's defenseless body, causing him to scream out more from pain!

**JIRO: 1000; McKENZIE: 6700**

His jacket suddenly quite torn from the dual assault he'd just endured, Jiro sank to his knees. "Jiro, no!" Natasha wailed. "Janus, can't we do something? She's gonna kill him!"

Janus's eyes narrowed.

"Now, one more attack, and you're dead!" McKenzie crowed. "Go, Spirit of the Books, attack him directly and end this pathetic duel!"

"NOT YET, YOU DON'T!" Jiro shouted suddenly. "Now I activate my Trap card—Backs to the Wall!" Then, inexplicably, his life points dropped to a very flat 100!

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 6700**

"This card requires me to pay life points until I only have 100 left," Jiro explained. "Now…now I can Special Summon from my Graveyard as many 'Six Samurai' monsters as possible, as long as they don't all have the same name and they don't share the same name with any monster I might already control…and I've got three in my Graveyard right now! Come back to the field in Attack Mode, Zanji, Yaichi, and Kamon!"

Mere moments later, the three Samurai reappeared on the field, their weapons at the ready. "Crud…and your Shien's Castle of Mist will weaken the Spirit of the Books by 500 ATK if I continue to attack with him…" McKenzie relented. "Spirit of the Books, stand down. I'll end my turn now." And, rather reluctantly, the Spirit of the Books backed off.

"Well, Jiro's saved for now, but…he's in pretty bad shape, after that series of attacks he just took," Cassara noted.

"I can't just let him continue! He's hurt—who knows just how badly!" Natasha started forward—

—but suddenly Janus moved one arm to block her path. "Don't. Move."

"Huh?" Natasha stared at Janus in bewilderment. "Janus, what're you saying?"

"Think, Natasha." Janus looked at her, his eyes stern. "Jiro is a duelist. A duelist shouldn't have to receive help from anybody else unless he knows he needs it. Has Jiro asked any of us to help him yet? No, he hasn't. So we shouldn't impose ourselves on him, no matter how well-intentioned we may be. And, besides…Jiro's fighting for two kinds of pride right now: His own pride as a duelist…and also for the pride of the Osiris Red dorm."

Cassara's eyes widened a little. _Just like my duel with Vasha…and Janus's own duel with Calhoun, back then…_

"So…just watch Jiro for now, Natasha," Janus continued. "Watch how he duels…watch his movements…watch his determination. Because even if we've got nothing else, that's one thing that a duelist of Osiris Red will always have: determination."

"Pfft!" McKenzie interrupted. "I can hear your little pep talk, kid, and it's not worth the price of dust!"

"Actually…I beg to differ."

Everyone turned to look at Jiro, who by now was holding his torso as best he could with one arm, but he was standing nonetheless. "Only a real duelist could say what Janus has just said," Jiro continued, his gaze hardening. "Now…it's up to me to make sure those words aren't just empty speech. So…lady…even if you doubt Osiris Red's potential…allow me to show you our determination!"

Wincing a little from his just-gotten injuries, Jiro drew his next card, giving him a total of three in hand. He examined the drawn card carefully…then looked at the field…and nodded. "Fine then…so that's what I'll have to do? Then that's what I'll do."

"Hmm? What're you on about, all of a sudden?" McKenzie asked suspiciously.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but…I'll be taking back this duel from you now!" Jiro announced. "I'll offer Yaichi and Kamon as tributes to summon my deck's ace monster: Great Shogun Shien (ATK 2500, DEF 2400)!"

At once Yaichi and Kamon vanished from the field—then in their place stood Shien, his sword at the ready and his eyes glaring daggers at McKenzie. Janus cocked an eyebrow on seeing this. "Hey, Jiro, not to be intrusive or anything, but…couldn't you have just used his effect to Special Summon him instead of tributing your monsters? You had enough of the Six Samurai monsters on the field to do that, you know."

"Yes, I realize that," said Jiro. "But had I done that, I wouldn't be able to do _this:_ by removing Yaichi and Kamon in my Graveyard from play, I'll Special Summon a new monster from my hand…Enishi, Shien's Chancellor (ATK 2200, DEF 1200)!"

The spirits of Yaichi and Kamon floated over the field and then vanished—then, in a blaze of light, there appeared a man bearing a goatee, clad in green and white robes, and armed with a katana and a wakizashi. As he appeared on the field, he and Shien glanced at each other and nodded briefly. But McKenzie scoffed on seeing this. "So you managed to get onto the field one monster strong enough to beat one of my Lycanthropes a little while ago," she said, "but all you did just now was to sacrifice two useless monsters to summon a monster that's weaker than either of my Lycanthropes! And besides that, you still have one other useless Samurai on the field as well!"

Jiro clenched his fist at that. "I'd advise you not to insult my monsters again," he said dangerously. "Because they really don't appreciate it when they or their comrades are insulted. No monster in my deck is without a purpose…and these monsters of mine will demonstrate that for you right now!" He then indicated Enishi. "See this monster that I've Special Summoned—Enishi, Shien's Chancellor? Well, he's got an effect that is quite impressive…once per turn, he can destroy one monster on the field in exchange for being unable to attack that same turn."

McKenzie blanched at that information. "No—!" But there was little else she could do as Enishi dashed forward, briefly unsheathed his sword and then sheathed it again—and then one of the Lycanthropes suddenly wound up being dismembered, decapitated, and sliced in half all at the same time!

"Whoa…I didn't even see him move…" Cassara breathed.

"Now, time for my other monsters to attack!" Jiro declared. "And I'll start with my Six Samurai – Zanji! Go chop up the Spirit of the Books!" And in response, Zanji rushed forward and cut the Spirit of the Books in half at the waist.

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 6300**

Then: "Great Shogun Shien, butcher that overgrown canine!" And Shien rushed forward and slashed relentlessly, reducing the second Lycanthrope to ribbons.

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 6200**

"He…he's actually making a comeback now…" Natasha grinned. "Go, Jiro! I knew you could do it!"

"Yeah, right!" Cassara grabbed Natasha around the neck and began to give her a noogie.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey, quit it!" Natasha cried, flailing her arms about in a feeble attempt to break loose.

But McKenzie wasn't smiling. "Why, you…this isn't supposed to happen! An Osiris Red student, besting _me?"_

"Deal with it," said Jiro. "For now, I end my turn…but what will you do?"

In turn, McKenzie turned a now-worried glance toward the field. _I'm in trouble…if I don't get something decent on this turn, I'm dead! So… _Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she drew her next card to replenish her hand—and blinked when she saw what it was. _This…hmm…at the very least, it could buy me some time…_ "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

Cocking an eyebrow, Jiro drew again. "Stalling for time? Sorry, but your time is just about up," he said coldly. "Because now I summon the Six Samurai – Irou (ATK 1700, DEF 1200) to the field!" And then Irou appeared, his katana at the ready.

"Hmph…so you have one more Samurai on the field now…but so what?" McKenzie needled him. "You don't have any way of knowing what my facedown monster is. For all you know, in a change of pace it could be an Effect monster with an ability that'll give me a decided advantage…or, sure, it could be a Normal monster, but one with a DEF high enough to repel your weaker monsters and take out that last bit of life points you've got if you're not careful. Do you understand, boy? Take a chance that my monster is a high-DEF monster, attack it with either your Enishi or your Shien, and have it turn out to really be an Effect monster that'll throw the advantage back to me, in a twist of my strategy up to this point…or attack it with one of your two weaker monsters, and risk it turning out to be a monster with high DEF after all. Either way, I've got you in quite a puzzler now!"

"Actually…no, you don't," said Jiro coolly.

"What?" McKenzie barked.

Jiro smirked. "You see, lady…it's in situations such as this that Irou's effect becomes very useful. For if I have another 'Six Samurai' monster on the field alongside Irou, then when Irou attacks a facedown Defense Mode monster, that monster is automatically destroyed without being flipped face-up or damage calculation being applied. So, bluff or no bluff…you lose."

"…for God's sake…!" McKenzie whispered, horror evident in her eyes at this development.

"Irou, strike now!" Jiro commanded. In response, Irou seemed to glide forward, drawing his blade—and the facedown monster was cut cleanly in two, without it being flipped face-up at all. "Now, I don't know what that monster was, but at this point, it doesn't matter…because my other three monsters have more than enough power amongst them to take you down! Now…feel the red-hot rage of a student of the Osiris Red dorm!"

"What?" McKenzie started to shake her arms wildly in a negative gesture. "N-n-no, wait! Hang on!"

But there was no stopping Zanji as he jumped forward, slicing at McKenzie with his halberd.

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 4400**

Then Enishi rushed at her, slashing her with his katana.

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 2200**

Finally, Shien readied his blade to attack. "Go, Shien! Samurai's Legend Slash!" Jiro commanded—and, in a blur of red, Shien seemed to dash _through_ McKenzie…but merely re-sheathed his sword. Turning to look at the warrior in confusion, McKenzie's eyes widened abruptly—and then she found herself sailing airborne, her eyes rolled back in her head even as a deep gash suddenly made itself apparent on her torso from top to bottom!

_Im…possible…_ The though fleeted across McKenzie's mind, just as the ground rushed to meet her. _Is this…what the potential…of Osiris Red…is really like…?_ And then she knew no more as she landed heavily on the ground, her cards scattering from the impact.

**JIRO: 100; McKENZIE: 0**

Jiro breathed deeply, then released a long, loud sigh. "Those who act with dishonor will fall with dishonor." He then looked at the four warriors on his side of the field. "Well done, everyone." And in response, the four warriors turned and nodded to him, before vanishing from sight.

"Good job, Jiro! You really won!" Natasha cried gleefully.

"Yeah…I sure did…" All at once Jiro's knees buckled and he fell down!

"Hey, Jiro! You all right?" Cassara cried frantically, running to his side.

"Ow…" Jiro winced. "Guess those Lycanthropes' attacks…are taking their toll about now…this bites…"

Easing Jiro into a sitting position, only then did Cassara notice something. "You're bleeding…"

"Oh, no! This is bad! We have to get him to the infirmary, now!" Natasha said frantically. "Jiro, you idiot, you should've said something earlier!"

"Heh…I guess I should have…" Jiro put a hand to his chest, where he was bleeding through his shirt. He looked up at Janus. "Hey…can I leave the rest to you? I don't feel so hot right about now."

Janus chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "It's all good, Jiro. You did great."

"Did great? In case you haven't noticed, Jiro's still bleeding, you jerk!" Cassara flung at him.

"Hey, he won the duel, didn't he?" said Janus. "Anyway, if you've got time to be cussing me out, get him to the infirmary. Oh, and make sure to tell the folks around that end about what happened here…they'll need to come pick up that lady," and he indicated the unconscious McKenzie.

"Okay," said Natasha. "All right, Jiro, just try to stand…"

----------

ABANDONED DORM, AT THAT MOMENT

"Hmm." Fletcher cocked an eyebrow as he watched the monitor. "I would not have expected that…Yanique McKenzie, a dueling genius, defeated by a lowly Osiris Red child…"

"It's not too much of a shock to me, if you'll forgive me saying so," Beaumont said stonily. "I always told that damn woman that her deck strategy's weakness was too obvious, but she was never one to take advice from anybody."

"Too true. Oh, well." Fletcher shrugged, then turned his attention to another monitor. "Well, now…looks like we've got company."

Beaumont looked at the monitor, too. "So…Jaden Yuki has finally gotten here. Shall I deal with him, Fletcher, or do you want that honor for yourself?"

"Now, now, I'm not that stingy," Fletcher chuckled. "Let's both go and greet him, what do you say? Besides…he's always been known to be a little unpredictable…I'd rather not take any unnecessary chances by going out there unprepared."

"Well said." Beaumont nodded.

----------

Principal Yuki walked up to the gates of the abandoned dorm, his face set like granite. "So…he's here…" he whispered.

He leaned his head back a little, taking in a deep breath. Then: _**"PARK FLETCHER, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH! GET YOUR COWARDLY ASS OUT HERE, NOW!"**_

A flock of birds flew off wildly as Principal Yuki's shout echoed through the surrounding forest. Then, from the doorway of the building, a voice called back, "No need to get so obscene, Mr. Yuki. I'm already on my way." And then, out came Fletcher, followed a moment later by Beaumont. "Ah, old friend! It's been such a long time! How have you been?" Fletcher hailed Principal Yuki. "You seem to be doing quite well. How're the wife and child, pray tell?"

Principal Yuki visibly bristled. "Don't insult me with your bullshit. I don't have time for this." Then he cast a glance at Beaumont. "So…Miguel Beaumont…you were in on this, too? Anybody else I should know about, pray tell?"

"Yanique McKenzie, too," Beaumont acknowledged. "And she was especially looking forward to seeing you again, Mr. Yuki. Unfortunately, she was just defeated by one of your Osiris Red kids."

"Was she, now? Good riddance," said Principal Yuki. "She was always a blight on the name of Duel Academy, with her cruelty toward the Osiris Red students."

Fletcher adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Don't start breathing a sigh of relief just yet," he warned Principal Yuki. "McKenzie may have fallen by the wayside, but you still have us to contend with. And as you should know, both Beaumont and I are several leagues higher than McKenzie in terms of strength."

Principal Yuki narrowed his eyes. "How did you do it, Fletcher? How did you manage to keep under the island security's radar all this time?"

"Now, that's a reasonable question," said Fletcher thoughtfully. "How did I do it? Well, after I left Duel Academy five years ago, I didn't go too far…I was determined to ensure that, no matter how long it took, I'd restore Duel Academy to its rightful status—out of your clutches. So I decided to dedicate time to studying the school's security system, top to bottom. I spent months learning the schedule for your campus security…then, little by little, I spent the next four years sneaking on and off the island, rigging a little headquarters of sorts here at the abandoned dorm, the one place where I knew by this point you wouldn't have bothered to check for intruders. By the way, that was rather careless of you, Jaden…not demolishing this place out of sentiment for all those students who disappeared here so many years ago…"

"Just the fact that you say that goes to show how much loyalty or respect you really have for any of Duel Academy's students, past or present, living or dead," said Principal Yuki.

"Say whatever you want—I don't really give a damn," Fletcher countered. "Anyway, by and by I located Beaumont and McKenzie; naturally, when they learned what I was planning, they were rather eager to help me get revenge on you. With their help, I was able to hack into your security system incognito, as well as keep track of all your student records and your monthly and yearly finances. I was operating right under your filthy nose all this time…doesn't it burn you up?"

"And all this, just to force me out of office." Principal Yuki smiled nastily now. "You're a real sore loser, you know that, Fletcher? You voted against me getting the position of principal; then, when I got it, you protested and threatened to boycott the school board if the decision wasn't reversed; and when _that_ didn't work, you left altogether. I'll allow, you're persistent…but a sore loser nonetheless."

"And as I said, you can say whatever you want," Fletcher countered—but Principal Yuki did not fail to notice that the man's eyebrow was twitching. "But it doesn't change the fact that you, good sir, completely wrecked the way things should have stayed. You stripped Obelisk Blue of its pride and reduced it to the level of livestock. And everyone else stood by and watched you do it. Well, I am here to correct that—and to make you pay for your transgressions against Obelisk Blue's honor."

"Really? You and what army?" said Principal Yuki. "One of your little lackeys has already been taken down, as you've admitted, and you only have Beaumont to back you up. And…" Here his eyes suddenly shifted from brown to amber and green. "You won't be bringing me down just like that. I'll take you both on if I have to."

But suddenly Fletcher began to chuckle. "What's so funny?" demanded Principal Yuki.

"Heh…for someone who's supposed to be running a school, you're not very insightful," said Fletcher. "Did you honestly think that instigating a few skirmishes using Duel Monsters as the attackers was all I had in mind? No…while I was planning over the last five years, I realized that at some point I've have to use more logical, more practical, more hands-on means to defeat you. And when I thought about it, I realized that the best way to do that would be to hit you where I knew it would do the most damage."

"You already did that much—when you attacked my wife this morning," Principal Yuki glowered.

"Oh—her? I only attacked her because I knew doing so would get your attention," said Fletcher. "But what I'm referring to now is on a much wider scale than just one attack on a few individuals at a time. This is something major…something worthy of commendation from the best tacticians."

"Come out with it, already!" Principal Yuki snapped, the amber in one eye and the green in the other shining murderously.

Again Fletcher chuckled. "It's too good for me to say it…Beaumont, it was your idea originally. Would you do the honors…?"

Beaumont nodded. "Mr. Yuki…during the last five years, in addition to hacking into your security system and working undercover, we also made quite a few friends." Then he raised his head. "People, you can come out now…say hello to Mr. Yuki."

Then—from several nearby bushes and from behind a number of trees, several individuals popped out, cocking and aiming rifles and handguns at Principal Yuki! At once his eyes shifted back to their natural brown color, as he stared in shock at the new arrivals. "What…? This can't be…!"

"Oh, it _be_," Fletcher said mockingly. "I'm sure you recognize these individuals—members of your own campus security, sympathetic to my cause. Relying on surveillance cameras to tell you everything you want to know can only get you so much information, after all…and, as it turns out, not all of your present employees are happy with the way you're running things…something you should have seen coming, you fool."

Principal Yuki looked around at the campus security guards, even as they slowly closed in on him, guns still aimed at him. His mouth curled into a bitter grimace. "This was rather shitty…so all those attacks on the campus security were staged, after all…"

"Oh, don't feel too badly about it," said Fletcher. "Quite a few members of the security detail were truly loyal to you…but we dealt with them accordingly, as we will soon deal with you." He shook his head. "You were such a fool, walking into my clutches like this…but then again, what else could I expect from an Osiris Red rat? All right, people—bring him!"

One of the guards nudged Principal Yuki in the back with the muzzle of his rifle. "Fine, fine, I get it…" Principal Yuki grumbled, and he took a step forward…moments before the same guard gun-butted him hard, causing him to catapult forward and slip into darkness…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 9:35 a.m.

"Sigh…" Janus sat down on the grass outside Duel Academy's main building. "Man, I really wish this whole thing would just be over…"

"Janus!"

Looking up, Janus caught sight of Ricardo running toward him. "Ricky? What're you doing here?" he asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ricardo threw the question back to him. "I thought everyone was supposed to stay in their dorms till this situation was dealt with. And…" He eyed the Shadow Charm Pendant that Janus was still wearing. "Since when did you take up wearing jewelry, man?"

"Oh, shut up!" Janus snapped at him, fangs in his mouth. Then, calming down, he explained, "Dean Burchell was attacked, so he had to be sent to the infirmary…gave me an opportunity to slip out." He chuckled. "What about you? I would've thought you'd obey instructions and stay put."

"Maybe I'm hanging out with you too much," Ricardo quipped. "Seriously, though, you forget, my dad's the boys' dean for Ra Yellow. I was able to convince him to let me come and check on Vice-Principal Rhodes-Yuki; that way he wouldn't have to leave the dorm unattended." He gave Janus a searching glance. "How is she, by the way?"

"She'll be fine," Janus answered. "Right now, though, the infirmary's got its hands full. A bunch of teachers were attacked and sent there…and besides Dean Burchell, another Osiris Red student was attacked as well. Jiro and I managed to find the person responsible, and Jiro beat her, but…now he's in there as well. Natasha's in there with him; I'm waiting on her to come out now."

"Hmm…" Ricardo looked thoughtful. "This person that was responsible for the attacks…what happened to her?"

"Cassara's gone to find that out," said Janus.

"Hey, guys!"

Turning, Ricardo and Janus saw Cassara running toward them. "Hey, Janus, that woman Jiro dueled…she's being detained inside the girls' dorm in Osiris Red," she reported. "Any news on Jiro or any of the other attack victims yet?"

"Not yet, but Natasha should be out pretty soon," said Janus.

"Guys, good news!" Natasha's voice called out to them, and they turned to see her hurrying down the front steps towards them. "The teachers are all getting medical treatment right now, and that Osiris Red student that was attacked—he'll be just fine. Dean Burchell's still out of it, though…Coach Hassleberry's probably going to need a cast for his arm…and they're still treating Jiro, too."

"Nice job, Natasha," Janus said appreciatively, patting her on the shoulder.

"But I still don't quite understand…why would anybody want to do any of this in the first place?" Cassara wondered.

"Principal Yuki explained that part to us," said Ricardo. "Apparently, the man who's behind all of this used to be a teacher here, but he opposed the change in dorm regulations that made the three dorms equal. Now he's here to take out his grudge on all of us."

"Hmm…an ex-teacher with a grudge, huh?" Cassara grinned. "This would make a perfect front-page story for the _Duel Academy Revealer!_ A natural exposé!"

"You really think so—EEEEEEK!" Natasha suddenly shrieked, her eyes wide with horror.

"What? What? What happened?" Ricardo asked, instantly concerned.

"Over there…" Numbly, Natasha pointed toward the nearby tree-line.

Puzzled, the other three turned to look—and turned pale. "Good heavens…" Ricardo whispered.

Approaching them from the tree-line was a security guard, her clothes and face bloodstained! "…help…me…" she managed to force out in a hoarsely loud whisper, before falling to her knees.

"Hey, hey, hang on!" Janus was at her side in a moment's notice. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Ungh…" The guard coughed. "…we were betrayed…some of the other members of our security detail, they…they turned on us…Park Fletcher has control of them now…"

"Park Fletcher again? This is getting worse by the second, isn't it?" Ricardo said crossly.

"Park Fletcher…?" Cassara looked puzzled.

"He's the teacher Ricardo was just telling you about," Natasha explained.

The guard continued, in a weak voice. "They…tried to make us shift our allegiance…to Fletcher…when we refused, they…" Here she flinched and automatically raised a hand to her bloody shoulder. "They had it all set up…Fletcher…he infiltrated campus security all this time…managed to trick us into thinking he had more reinforcements on his side already, but…all along, it was our own people…"

"Easy now, easy…don't try to talk, save your strength," Janus urged her.

"No…!" The guard roughly grabbed the front of Janus's jacket. "You have to listen to me…they have him…they have Principal Yuki…"

Janus's eyes widened. "What did you say?" he hissed.

"They're…at the…abandoned dorm…in the forest…" The guard groaned. "Those traitors…they're guarding the entrance to that place now…the ones who're still loyal, they…they've been imprisoned inside the dorm…I managed to escape, but…wasn't so lucky…" Tears were in her eyes now. "Please…save my comrades…save our Principal…save Duel Academy from those monsters…!"

Janus nodded solemnly. "I got it." He looked up at the others. "Guys…get this woman into the infirmary, now. Surely they've got enough room for one more, right?"

"What're you going to do?" Cassara asked suspiciously.

A grim resolve etched itself on Janus's face. "I'm going to go find that abandoned dorm…and deal with those guys over there, good and proper."

"Janus, you can't! At this point, it's gotten too dangerous!" Natasha exclaimed.

But Ricardo shook his head. "We faced greater danger than this when we were involved in Dueltropolis. Back then, they had crazy militants intent on taking over the world…how bad can this bunch of guys be?" He nodded at Janus. "If you're going to go there, Janus, then at least let me come with you. You'll need someone to watch your back, after all."

"Fine," said Janus. "Cassara, Natasha, I'll leave things here to you. Ricardo, let's go."

That said, Janus relinquished the injured guard to the girls; then, standing up, he turned and headed for the forest, Ricardo walking next to him. Watching them go, Natasha swallowed a little. "Will they really be all right?"

"I doubt we would've been able to prevent Janus from going, anyway," Cassara sighed. "At least since Ricardo's with him, he won't do anything rash…I hope."

----------

ABANDONED DORM, 9:45 a.m.

"Ungh!"

Principal Yuki grunted as Fletcher's kick connected squarely with his stomach. He flinched as the pain rocked his body—but the chains binding his limbs prevented him from doing much other movement. "Urk…you must really get a boner from this, don't you?" he rasped.

"Oh, trust me, you have _no_ idea how I've longed to do this," Fletcher replied—and followed up the statement with a backhand punch to Principal Yuki's face. Immediately the other man's mouth started to bleed, from the force of the hit.

Taking a step back, Fletcher appraised his prisoner: Principal Yuki was currently chained hand and foot to the inside of a large, upright iron coffin. His jacket and shirt were partially torn and dirty now, and some ugly bruises were showing up on his face and what could be seen of his torso. "I'll give you this much—you know how to take punishment," Fletcher chuckled. "So did your wife—but then again, I _did_ go a little easier on her."

For answer Principal Yuki threw his head forward—rather difficult to do, considering his bound status—and spat blood from his mouth onto Fletcher's face. Grimacing, Fletcher wiped the blood off with the palm of his hand…then curled that hand into a fist and shot it straight into Principal Yuki's midsection. Principal Yuki grunted again as more pain shot through his body. Fletcher then gripped him by the throat. "It really puzzles me, you know, what the school board could've ever seen in you," he growled. "I look at you right now, and all I see is a puny Osiris Red maggot who just happened to get lucky. But lucky or not, you're still an Osiris Red maggot. And maggots are not supposed to defy the natural order of things!"

"Then I'm the exception to the rule, and more besides," Principal Yuki growled back—and then, once again, one eye glowed amber, while the other glowed green.

But Fletcher simply scoffed at this display. "You think your little eye-trick is going to frighten me?" he demanded. "Please—it'll take a whole lot more than that to intimidate ME, you Osiris Red vermin."

All this time, off to the side, Beaumont had been quietly observing the discourse between the two men. Now he cast a casual glance toward the monitors—then he looked again. "Oy, Fletcher, it seems we have visitors," he announced.

"Do we, now?" Fletcher turned to face Beaumont, his usual calm demeanor returning. "Let's see who it is, eh?"

They watched the screens for a moment—then two boys appeared. Principal Yuki, able to see the screens from his vantage point, stared in shock. _Janus…Ricardo…!_

"Say…that kid in the Osiris Red jacket…" Fletcher grinned. "I know him—that's your boy, isn't it, Jaden?" and he turned sent a sneer toward Principal Yuki, who simply glared back with his altered eyes.

"But who's the other kid—the one in the Ra Yellow jacket?" Beaumont inquired.

"Him?" said Fletcher. "Hmm…that looks like Bastion Misawa's son. I met him very briefly, back when I was still a teacher here…who'd have thought he'd be a student of this tarnished school now…"

"Shall I go and deal with them?" Beaumont asked.

"No, that won't be necessary…let's allow our friends in 'campus security' to take care of them…" Fletcher grinned.

----------

"So, here we are," Ricardo remarked. He and Janus were now standing just outside the entrance to the abandoned dorm. "Now what?" Ricardo continued.

"We go in and find my dad and those members of campus security who were locked up," said Janus.

"That _is_ the objective, but…" Ricardo glanced around. "That guard back there—didn't she say a bunch of our security guards turned traitor and are now working for Fletcher? You'd think they were around here someplace…"

"Freeze!"

The next thing Janus and Ricardo knew, they were surrounded on all sides by guards with guns drawn! "You HAD to jinx us, didn't you, Ricardo?" Janus asked crossly.

"All right, you two, hands in the air!" one guard demanded. "Our boss is going to want to have a few words with you!"

Janus's eyes were now overshadowed. "I'll bet…but I have a feeling a certain friend of mine is gonna want to have a word with _you_ guys also," he answered.

"Huh?" The guards stared at him in confusion.

Janus then looked sideways at Ricardo. "Hey…Ricardo…you see this pendant I'm wearing here?" He motioned with a slight tilt of his head to the Shadow Charm Pendant. "Last night, I got it from a certain visitor to the Osiris Red dorm. She told me that it would come in handy…time to find out if she was right."

"All right, what're you talking about over there?" another guard demanded. "Keep your traps shut! You're coming with us!" and he waved his pistol threateningly at the two boys.

Janus closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Then… _**"SENSHUKEN!"**_

And then—All at once, the Shadow Charm Pendant began to glow with a blinding light! "Yow!" Ricardo yelled, dropping to the ground and swiftly shielding his eyes.

"Whoa! Hey! What the hell's going on?" several of the guards shouted in astonishment, also shielding their eyes.

A moment later, though, the glare died down a little. Ricardo, sensing this, decided to chance it and take a peek at what was happening—and when he did, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "J…Janus…?"

Standing in the middle of the glare was Janus—only, he seemed to be somehow altered. He now appeared a few years older, more serious and stern; his jacket had inexplicably gotten longer, the edges reaching down to his ankles; and three long strands of hair hung down over his brow in a dagger-like fashion. Then he spoke—and, Ricardo noticed, his voice definitely sounded older, more staid. "You guys betrayed the trust that was placed in you," he addressed the guards. "You should understand the folly of your actions…and I will be the one to teach you."

"This kid's a nutcase!" one of the guards shouted. "Take him down already!"

But in that moment—seemingly faster than the eye could accurately follow—Janus raised a hand into the air and spoke one word: _"Rejection!"_

The Shadow Charm Pendant's red jewel glowed brightly and briefly—and suddenly, all the guards got knocked off their feet and several meters back by some invisible force! They all landed here and there, their weapons flying out of their hands, and all of them knocked out! Ricardo stared at all of this open-mouthed; a few seconds passed before he turned his head to look at Janus again. "Hey, man…what the hell was that…? How'd you _do_ that…?"

"We'll talk about that later," Janus said curtly. "Right now, we've got a job to do." And he strode forward boldly, toward the abandoned dorm's front door.

"Uh…okay…but you definitely owe me an explanation, you hear me?" Ricardo called after him, getting up from the ground and following Janus's rapidly departing form.

----------

Both Beaumont and Fletcher stared at the screen in shock. "All right…could somebody please explain to me what the hell just happened out there?" Fletcher demanded.

Principal Yuki was just as astonished. _Incredible…has Janus learned to harness the power of that Shadow Charm Pendant already…?_

"This is bad, Fletcher," Beaumont noted. "Just like that, those security guards were swatted aside like mosquitoes. If something isn't done soon, our plans will be ruined."

"Agreed," said Fletcher. "All right, then, Beaumont—go ahead and deal with those little pests. I'm sure you'll be able to do what those numbskulls out there couldn't."

"I'm on it, then," said Beaumont. And, turning quickly, he hurried out of the room.

Watching Beaumont depart for a moment, Fletcher turned his attention back to Principal Yuki. "You saw that, too, didn't you?" he asked. "He's your son—what did he just do?"

In response, Principal Yuki chuckled. "I'd explain it to you, Fletcher, but I doubt such an _intelligent_ man like yourself would be able to understand a word of it," he answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Fletcher scowled now. "Well, whatever it was he just did, it doesn't matter," he said harshly. "He and his friend won't make it two steps past Beaumont. And as for _you,_ you won't get the chance to have a reunion, because I've got something very special prepared especially for you."

"Uh-huh…will it be any more interesting than the so-called beatings you were giving me a while ago?" Principal Yuki taunted him.

"Oh, just you wait. Just you wait." And Fletcher's eyes narrowed…

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Some time ago I wrote up a Word document outlining the TV Tropes present in the prequel fic, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Forever." Well, I'd like to know which tropes you've seen in that story and this one. What say you? Review soon!


	32. Clash of Opinions

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Nope, I still don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise in any way.)

**CHAPTER 32 – Clash of Opinions**

DUEL ACADEMY ABANDONED DORM, 9:53 a.m.

Janus and Ricardo, the former still in altered form, walked through the corridors of the abandoned dorm, glancing around as they did. "I've heard a lot of stories about this place, but I've never actually been inside here…Mom always told me never to come here," Janus remarked. "Who'd think I'd be disobeying her now to save Dad…"

"Yeah, Dad always told me about this place as well…he said a bunch of students disappeared here, many years ago," said Ricardo. "Only two of those students are known to have ever returned alive…"

"And my Uncle Atticus was one of them. That's what Mom told me." Janus nodded. "You really suppose that Fletcher was using this place as a cover all this time?"

"Could be," said Ricardo. "But anyway, we have to save your dad and the campus security guards who're still loyal to him, right? Let's not waste any more time."

"But even if we hurry, will it make a difference?" Janus asked gravely. "This place seems a lot bigger inside than it looked outside."

By and by they came across a large hallway—and paused. "Hmm…perhaps this will answer your question, Janus," Ricardo answered.

Several meters ahead of them, there were two flights of stairs, one going up and the other going down—and standing before them was a huge man, a Duel-Disk on his arm. "Welcome, children," he greeted them. "My name is Miguel Beaumont. And neither of you will pass by me."

"Where's my father? And where's Fletcher?" Janus asked guardedly.

Beaumont indicated the flight of stairs going down. "Both of them are in the basement of this abandoned dorm," he replied. "This flight of stairs will take you directly down to them. This flight of stairs over here…" and he indicated the other set of stairs that went up. "…will take you to where we have some of the campus security guards captive—not all of them were against Mr. Yuki, after all, so we had to lock them away."

"Pretty convenient that you're giving us directions so easily," Ricardo remarked.

"Fletcher never said I wasn't supposed to," Beaumont shrugged. "But then again, he wouldn't have to. As I said a while ago, neither of you will be getting past me—whether to go upstairs or downstairs."

"Look, man, I'll ask you very politely to move out of our way," said Janus. "We don't have time to play around with you."

"If you're concerned about Mr. Yuki's safety or that of the guards, you can relax," Beaumont answered. "Fletcher won't kill Mr. Yuki—not yet, anyway. And, sure, some of the guards are injured, but not to the point that they'll need lifesaving medical treatment. They can wait a little while longer."

"You…!" Janus grated.

"Wait, Janus." Ricardo put a hand in front of Janus, then looked at Beaumont again. "So, if we want to advance, we have to beat you first?"

"Yes," Beaumont nodded. "If you can defeat me, I'll allow you to go past without further struggle…but I warn you, that's a pretty big _if._ Because no duelist I've ever faced has defeated me, and neither of you will be the first." His eyes narrowed a little. "So…how do you want to do this? One-on-one, perhaps? Or would you rather I face the both of you simultaneously?"

Janus and Ricardo looked at each other. "What do you think, Ricardo?" Janus asked.

"I think one of us should save his energy for Fletcher—he's the big boss behind all of this, after all," Ricardo noted. "And since it's your father that was captured, and your mother that was attacked earlier, I gather you'll want to take Fletcher down yourself."

Janus smirked. "And who says you're stupid?"

Ricardo then took a step forward. "All right, Mr. Beaumont. I'll take you on, alone." And he pulled out his Duel-Disk, strapped it on, and slotted his deck into place. "Bring it on!"

"Before this duel is over, you'll wish you boys _had_ double-teamed me—at least your chances of survival would've been marginal then," said Beaumont. "Right now, they're nil."

"We'll see about that," said Ricardo.

**RICARDO: 8000; BEAUMONT: 8000**

As the two activated their Duel-Disks, the holographic coin appeared on the field and was flipped. "I'll call it—and I call heads!" Beaumont announced.

Janus, standing on the sidelines, crossed his arms and looked on intently…even as the holographic coin landed on the ground again, showing its result to be heads.

"I will go first, then," Beaumont declared as he and Ricardo each drew the first five cards—then Beaumont himself drew the sixth to begin. "First, I'll activate the Magic card, Foolish Burial! This card will allow me to select one monster from my deck and send it to the Graveyard."

As Ricardo watched, Beaumont pulled out his deck and swiftly flipped through it. "And the monster I choose will be Skull Servant (ATK 300, DEF 200)," the older man declared, even as he sent the card in question to the Graveyard and then slotted the deck back into place.

"I don't understand…why would you deliberately send a monster from the deck to the Graveyard?" Ricardo wondered.

"You will soon see," said Beaumont. "For now, I'll place one card facedown, one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn now!" Ricardo promptly drew from his deck. "Okay…now I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode…then I'll activate the Magic card, Jam Breeding Machine!"

At once the Jam Breeding Machine emerged on the field. "Hmm…I know of that card," Beaumont commented. "During each of your Standby Phases, you will be able to Special Summon a Slime Token, treated as an Aqua-type, Water-attribute, Level 1 monster with an ATK and DEF of 500 each. Plus, as long as the Jam Breeding Machine is on the field, you won't be able to summon any other monsters except for your Slime Tokens."

"True, but at least I'll still be able to set monsters facedown if I need to," Ricardo answered. "Anyway, I'll call it a turn. Your go."

Shrugging, Beaumont drew another card. "All right…I'll set another monster facedown, and…that'll be all."

_What's this guy up to?_ Ricardo wondered to himself even as he drew his next card—then from out of the Jam Breeding Machine, a large bubble of water plopped onto the field. "That's my first Slime Token, and it's in Defense Mode," he announced aloud. "I'll take this opportunity to set another monster in Defense Mode, and then end my turn."

"A cautious player…just like me," Beaumont remarked. "As a student of Ra Yellow, you certainly do your dorm proud…yet, why you would give aid to an Osiris Red student puzzles me. Osiris Red is lower than Ra Yellow, after all."

"Is it? I hadn't noticed," Ricardo answered. "I always thought that anybody from any of the dorms could be your friend or ally. But evidently you think differently."

"The only friends a student can make at Duel Academy are anyone within his or her own dorm," said Beaumont. "To make friends with anyone in a dorm of higher standing than yours is a presumptuous impossibility, and to make friends with anyone in a dorm lower than yours is a betrayal of your status."

"And where did you learn that—from a bad box of cereal?" asked Ricardo.

"I see from your answer that words will not persuade you," said Beaumont. "Then I will just have to show you the error of siding with Osiris Red, the hard way." So saying, he drew again. "Now, I'll activate a second Foolish Burial card, to send another monster form my deck to the Graveyard…and I choose another Skull Servant from my deck!" And, with some quick movements, he sent the second Skull Servant from his deck to the Graveyard.

"Okay, no, really, what's up with you discarding monsters from your deck like that?" Ricardo wondered.

"As I told you, you'll soon find out," Beaumont said coolly. "Now…I summon my Armageddon Knight (ATK 1400, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" A moment later, there appeared on the field a wild-haired man wearing a red scarf that covered the lower half of his face, and armed with a spike-knuckled sword. "And furthermore, when Armageddon Knight is summoned, his effect allows me to send one Dark-attribute monster from my deck to the Graveyard." And again he pulled out his deck from its slot. "And the monster I choose is a third Skull Servant!" and he pulled the card from his deck and sent it off to the Graveyard.

"That's the third one, now," said Ricardo.

"Quite so," said Beaumont. "Now, I do believe I'll use my Armageddon Knight to destroy your Slime Token! Attack with Armageddon Chop!"

Armageddon Knight jumped forward, slashing through the Slime Token with his sword mere seconds later. "Now, every time you bring forth a Slime Token with your Jam Breeding Machine, I'll just destroy it," said Beaumont. "That way, I can prevent you from having any fodder to tribute for anything."

"Am I that transparent, now?" Ricardo chuckled. "Then I guess I'll just have to be more obscure, won't I?"

"There won't be a need for that in a few more turns," Beaumont warned him." I'll end my turn for now."

On the sidelines, Janus cocked an eyebrow. _Weird…why would this guy deliberately send three monsters from his deck to the Graveyard just like that? That alone would've been odd enough, but the monsters were three copies of Skull Servant, one of the weakest monsters in all of Duel Monsters…_

Meanwhile, Ricardo drew his next card, so he now held five in hand—and the Jam Breeding Machine spouted another Slime Token. "Sorry, but you won't get the chance to destroy this Slime Token," he told Beaumont. "Because I'll tribute it to set one monster in Defense Mode…" And then the holographic image of the facedown monster card appeared on the field, alongside the other two that were already there. "And that concludes my turn."

"I see…a decent move, I suppose," Beaumont remarked even as he drew his next card. "Then I will answer that by setting one card facedown…then I'll end my turn once again."

Again Ricardo drew from his deck, and again the Jam Breeding Machine spat out a Slime Token. "Well…I'll just set one more monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn. There's nothing else I can do for now."

"All right…so now you have a strong defensive line on your side of the field. Congratulations," said Beaumont. Then he drew his card, giving him a total of three in hand. "However…what if I told you that I had a way to completely bypass your defenses?"

"I'd say you should prove it," said Ricardo.

"Then that is exactly what I will do," said Beaumont. "And I'll start by activating my Trap card, Spirit Barrier!"

All at once, a huge orange barrier emerged over Beaumont's side of the field. "Now, while this card is active, as long as I have at least one monster on the field, all battle damage that I receive becomes zero," he explained. "And then I'll follow it up with my other Trap card, Astral Barrier!"

Instantly a green barrier emerged within the Spirit Barrier, surrounding Beaumont himself! "As long as this one remains active," he explained, "each time one of my monsters is attacked, I can turn that attack into a direct attack on my life points. So…" He smiled a little. "My ultimate defense is complete."

"Hmm." Ricardo cocked an eyebrow. "Looks like a good setup."

"But that was only for my defense—now to fortify my attack!" Beaumont added. "And to do that, I'll summon a new monster: King of the Skull Servants (ATK ? DEF 0)!"

All at once, a massive mound of bones shot up from the ground—then, from that pile a huge skeleton emerged, clad in a ragged dark blue robe. "King of the Skull Servants has an effect," Beaumont informed Ricardo. "If I have any other copies of King of the Skull Servants, or any copies of Skull Servant, in my Graveyard, then this monster's ATK becomes equal to the number of those cards in my Graveyard times 1000 points! And since I've already sent three Skull Servant cards to the Graveyard, his ATK will be 3000!"

True to Beaumont's word, all at once the King of the Skull Servants' ATK shot up to 3000, even as numerous spirits surrounded his ghoulish body! Ricardo took this in at a glance. "Crap…a monster with 3000 ATK, as easily as that…!"

Janus scowled on seeing this. _I see…so that's why…_

"But that is not all, boy," Beaumont continued. "Next, I'll equip King of the Skull Servants with this Magic card…Opti-Camouflage Armor!"

Suddenly, a bright aqua-colored light covered the Skull Servant King's body…and then, over his blue robe he now wore a semi-transparent suit of armor! "Opti-Camouflage Armor can only be equipped on a Level 1 monster, which my King of the Skull Servants happens to be," Beaumont explained. "However…a monster that's equipped with this card can attack my opponent's life points directly!"

"And your King of the Skull Servants has 3000 ATK…oh, hell, no!" Ricardo shouted.

"Go, my Skull Servant King! Attack him directly with Graveyard Requiem!" Beaumont commanded. In turn, the Skull Servant King raised his head and let out a loud, mournful howl—one that jarred Ricardo's nerves badly, causing him to cover his ears and scream in pain.

**RICARDO: 5000; BEAUMONT: 8000**

Janus was also covering his ears in an attempt to drown out the Skull Servant King's noisy attack. "Hey, Ricky! You all right?" he yelled.

"My ears hurt! What do YOU think?" Ricardo cried back.

A moment later, however, the song subsided; out of relief, Ricardo let his arms fall limp as he dropped to his knees. "Ungh…somehow, I can still hear myself think after what that creep-show just pulled off," he sighed.

"You should be grateful," Beaumont told him. "Normally, I use this combo strictly for a one-turn-kill strategy. However, I didn't have enough fodder at hand to send to the Graveyard this time around…but my King of the Skull Servants has a high enough ATK as it is to deal with you and your life points. And on top of that, even if you do manage to bring forth a monster that can destroy it or anything else that I have here, my Spirit Barrier and Astral Barrier trap cards will prevent you from destroying my monsters or inflicting any battle damage to me. So…right now I don't have to attack you with my Armageddon Knight, or with any other monster I might choose to summon later, and at the same time I don't have to worry about you doing any harm to me or to my monsters. My offense and defense are unbreakable and impenetrable."

Slowly Ricardo rose to his feet. "All right…I'll admit right off the bat; your strategy is very remarkable. I've never met an opponent who could deal damage like this, without needing to worry about protecting their own life points or having to deal with their monsters' safety every moment. You've got all of that down pat, and then some."

"Thank you," said Beaumont. "And, in turn, I must commend you, young man. Up to now I have yet to find out just what sort of strategy your deck supports; the only thing I can confirm so far is that you have one notable Magic card, the Jam Breeding Machine that you currently have on the field. But whatever your deck strategy is, you certainly seem confident that it will work for you."

"Yeah, well…" Ricardo's face turned more serious. "Can I just tell you something else? I've made a mental note of how your little combo works…and I've figured out its weakness."

"Have you, now?" asked Beaumont.

Ricardo nodded. "The way you have it set up right now, your card combo protects you from battle damage, and at the same time gives you leeway to attack me directly without having to worry about my monsters. However…it doesn't protect you from damage caused by card effects, nor does it protect your monsters from card effects that could destroy or otherwise impede them. So, if I can get a card that can bypass your defenses and counter your offensive line…"

For the first time, Beaumont smiled a little. "Very impressive. Of all the opponents I've had over the years, you're the first one I've ever faced who figured out my strategy's weakness so easily, and in such a short space of time." Then the smile vanished and he was all business again. "Even so, just knowing that fact will not win you this duel. All I have to do is attack you twice more with my King of the Skull Servants, and then that'll be it for you. So, unless you can get a card or cards that will actually help you…this duel will have already been mine to win."

"I agree," said Ricardo. "But I'll have to disagree on one thing."

"And that is?" said Beaumont.

Ricardo chuckled. "Earlier, you said my chances of winning this duel were nil. But…as long as I still have life points left to play with, then there's still a chance that I can pull through."

"Really?" Beaumont seemed impressed. "You truly seem spirited, boy…it's such a shame I'll have to put you down here. Perhaps, had we met under better circumstances, I might've taken you under my wing and taught you my dueling secrets."

"Too bad for that, I guess," said Ricardo. "Anyway, it's my turn now…I draw!"

Now he took his turn again and drew, so now he held five cards in his hand. "All right, Mr. Beaumont," he announced. "I'll set one card facedown, and call it a turn. Go ahead."

"Indeed," Beaumont replied as he drew his next card. "And now, I'll attack you directly once again with my King of the Skull Servants!"

The Skull Servant King opened his mouth, ready to perform his Graveyard Requiem attack again—but suddenly Ricardo shouted, "Not this time! I activate my Trap card, Two-Pronged Attack!"

"Two-Pronged Attack…!" Beaumont's eyebrows rose.

"That's right!" said Ricardo. "This is a Trap card that allows me to select and destroy three monsters on the field—two of my own, and one of yours! So, I'll destroy my Slime Token and one of my facedown monsters, and _your_ Skull Servant King as well!"

As Ricardo said that, three ghostly hands appeared on the field—one grasped the Slime Token, one grasped one of Ricardo's facedown monsters, and the third grasped the Skull Servant King, and then all three hands dragged the three monsters down into the ground, effectively destroying them. "So now, your King of the Skull Servants no longer poses a threat to me!" Ricardo declared.

Janus, on the sidelines, grinned. "Nice one, Ricardo!" he cheered.

Beaumont nodded. "Indeed, that was a good card to play against me," he admitted. "But you still have yet to touch my life points."

"All in good time," Ricardo replied. "Anyway, you gonna do anything else right now?"

"Hmm…well, why not? It's not as if I'm in any real danger now, anyway." Beaumont rubbed one eyebrow with his thumb. "A little while earlier, you Tribute Set a monster, didn't you? Well, now I think I'll find out what it is! Armageddon Knight, attack the monster that he Tribute Set earlier—the monster in the middle on his side!"

Raising his sword, Armageddon Knight charged forward, slashing down at the selected facedown monster—only, he ended up bouncing off as a huge backlash knocked him away! The attacked monster was then revealed to be Woodborg Inpachi (ATK 500, DEF 2500), steaming from its mechanical joints even as it stood up straight and tall.

"Your Spirit Barrier card prevented you from receiving any battle damage from that failed attack just now," Ricardo observed.

"Quite so," Beaumont answered. "Well, I'll end my turn for the moment."

Again Ricardo took his turn and drew his card—and once again Jam Breeding Machine's effect activated, spouting another Slime Token in Defense Mode. "All right, now…I can't have you attacking my Slime Token, and at the same time I don't want to have to bring up more of those Tokens for you to destroy later, so…" He held up one card. "I'll set this card facedown…" He then held up another card. "…and then I'll activate the magic of Gryphon's Feather Duster!"

"Hmm…that card lets you destroy all Magic and Trap cards on your side of the field, and then you'll get 500 life points for each one you destroy," said Beaumont thoughtfully. "And since you'll be destroying two cards by that effect, you'll receive 1000 life points."

"Got that right!" Ricardo confirmed, even as a black bird's wing emerged on his side of the field and swept away both the Jam Breeding Machine and his facedown card, and his life points increased.

**RICARDO: 6000; BEAUMONT: 8000**

"But that's not all," Ricardo went on.

"Hmm?" Beaumont looked at him.

"Now, I'll activate the effect of the facedown Magic card I just destroyed—Ojamagic!" Ricardo looked pleased as punch. "You see, when Ojamagic is sent from either my hand or the field to the Graveyard, I can then add one copy each of Ojama Yellow (ATK 0, DEF 1000), Ojama Black (ATK 0, DEF 1000) and Ojama Green (ATK 0, DEF 1000) from my deck to my hand!"

He quickly thumbed through his deck, rapidly adding the named cards from his deck to his hand, so now he held a total of six. "Ojamas…" Beaumont blinked. "That's a surprise. Why would you use such monsters that have so little card support?"

"It's true, the Ojamas don't have much card support," Ricardo admitted. "That's why I supplement them with other cards, even if those cards don't have anything to do with the Ojama strategy itself. You could say my deck is a mix-and-mash kind of deck."

"I see," said Beaumont. "Interesting. Let's find out just how long you will last against me with a deck like that, then."

"Yeah, let's," said Ricardo. "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah—I'll tribute my Slime Token to summon B.E.S. Crystal Core (ATK 2100, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

The Slime Token vanished from the field—replaced a moment later by a giant spaceship covered in ice and armed with two tentacle-like laser weapons, and three small ice-covered drones emerged alongside it. "I know of this monster—it's part of the Gradius series of cards," Beaumont remarked. "Just like you said, yours is a mix-and-mash deck."

"Yeah, and my Crystal Core's got an effect as well," said Ricardo. "When it's Normal Summoned, it gets three counters, represented by these three drones it's got beside it here…it can't be destroyed in battle…and, once per turn, I can change one of your Attack Mode monsters to Defense Mode."

"And how will that help you here?" Beaumont asked.

"Hmm, good point," Ricardo admitted. "Against you right now, this strategy's not really going to help. So, I'll just end my turn for the moment."

Shrugging, Beaumont drew another card. "Well, now…time for me to strike back," he said casually. "I'll summon another King of the Skull Servants to the field, in Attack Mode!"

"What!" Ricardo exclaimed.

But true to Beaumont's word, a second King of the Skull Servants appeared on the field moments later. "Isn't it just sad, young fellow, that you destroyed one Skull Servant King, only for another to take its place soon afterwards?" said Beaumont. "And don't forget, since I have three Skull Servant cards in the Graveyard already, plus the King of the Skull Servants that you sent there when you destroyed it earlier, this new Skull Servant King gets 4000 ATK!" And, to underscore the point, the new monster's ATK points rose sharply to 4000!

"Cripes…!" Janus cringed when he saw this.

"Go, King of the Skull Servants! Attack his Crystal Core with your Graveyard Requiem Attack!" Beaumont commanded. And in turn, the new King of the Skull Servants howled, the sound-waves from his voice battering against the Crystal Core.

**RICARDO: 4100; BEAUMONT: 8000**

"Ungh…" Ricardo winced, even as he watched one of the Crystal Core's drones shatter into pieces. "If Crystal Core attacks or is attacked, at the end of the damage step I must remove one of its counters, and if I can't, it'll be destroyed."

"Then all I need to do is continue building the pressure against your Crystal Core until I destroy it," said Beaumont. "But until that actually happens…Armageddon Knight, attack and destroy one of his facedown monsters! Attack the one on the right!"

Again Armageddon Knight rushed forward, slashing at the facedown monster—but suddenly, as the monster was revealed to be a large red orb with robotic pincer-like legs, it suddenly jumped up and latched itself onto the astonished warrior! "Eh?" Beaumont exclaimed, surprised at this.

"Say hello to my Blast Sphere (ATK 1400, DEF 1400)," Ricardo told him, a smug look on his face. "When it's attacked while facedown in Defense Mode, its effect turns it into an Equip Magic card, and it's equipped to the monster that attacked it. Then, during your next Standby Phase, both Blast Sphere and the equipped monster will be destroyed, and you will receive damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK."

"Grr…" Beaumont growled as this information sank in. "Not bad, kid—I definitely wasn't expecting that. But now that I know you have such a card, I'll have to assume you have at most two more copies of it on your person, so…I'll just have to take a precautionary measure!"

"Such as?" Ricardo wondered.

"Watch this!" Beaumont indicated one of his facedown monsters. "Let me Flip Summon this monster and show it to you now…The Lady in Wight (ATK 0, DEF 2200)!"

At once, one of his facedown monsters was finally flipped face-up, revealing a skeleton dressed in an aristocratic gown and sporting a white wig, wielding a cup and saucer in hand. "Now, listen to me very carefully," said Beaumont. "While my Lady in Wight is face-up on the field, all Level 3 or lower Zombie-type monsters—except for herself—cannot be destroyed in battle, and are unaffected by the effects of Magic and Trap cards. And furthermore, if you do somehow manage to destroy her, her effect will let her be treated as 'Skull Servant' while in the Graveyard—effectively powering up my King of the Skull Servants even further."

"Damn it…that's a really bothersome card…but at least your Armageddon Knight will still be destroyed by my Blast Sphere!" said Ricardo.

"Whatever reassures you, I suppose," said Beaumont. "Well, I end my turn now."

Again Ricardo drew his next card. "Okay…it won't make any sense to attack your Lady in Wight thanks to your two Trap cards over there…so I'll just shift my Crystal Core to Defense Mode, and end my turn."

Beaumont once more took his turn and drew—and almost immediately, the Blast Sphere exploded, tearing the Armageddon Knight into pieces in the process! Instinctively shielding himself with his arms, Beaumont watched as his life points, untouched up to this point, went down to 6600.

**RICARDO: 4100; BEAUMONT: 6600**

"So now you've managed to hit at my weak point," Beaumont observed, relaxing his stance. "But mark my words, it will not happen again."

"Confident in that, aren't you?" said Ricardo.

"Very much so," said Beaumont. "Allow me to show you why. Now I'll Flip Summon my other facedown monster…come forth, Spirit Reaper (ATK 300, DEF 200)!" And then, his one remaining facedown monster was revealed to be a purple-cloaked Grim Reaper!

"That monster…I know its effect," said Ricardo. "If it inflicts battle damage to me, I'll be forced to discard one card from my hand…plus, it cannot be destroyed as a result of battle…" His eyes narrowed. "This was your way of ensuring that your Spirit Barrier and Astral Barrier combo would always remain in effect, wasn't it?"

"Very observant," said Beaumont. "Allow me to reward that sharp eye of yours by lowering your defensive line! Lady in Wight, attack his Crystal Core!"

The Lady in Wight let out a loud screech, one that shook the Crystal Core and caused one of its drones to be destroyed. Then: "Now, Spirit Reaper, it's your turn! Attack the Crystal Core!" And the Spirit Reaper did just that, floating forward and slashing at the Crystal Core's last remaining drone, slicing it into pieces. "And now, King of the Skull Servants, destroy his Woodborg Inpachi!" And the Skull Servant King howled once again, the sound-waves from his voice shattering Woodborg Inpachi into a thousand pieces of scrap.

Beaumont crossed his arms. "Hmph. Now your Crystal Core is out of counters, so one more attack and it's done for. And besides that, you have only one other monster left to protect you…once your two monsters are out of the way, you'll be history."

"I think not." Ricardo eyed him. "I'm still in this game, after all. I'm not going to quit just so."

"As you say, boy." Beaumont shrugged. "Well, show me what else you've got to resist me…if you have anything worth playing, that is."

Nodding, Ricardo drew his next card, so he held seven in hand now. "It would seem, Mr. Beaumont, I do have something worth playing," he declared. "I activate the Magic card, Polymerization! This will now let me fuse my three Ojama monsters that I've got in my hand, to summon…Ojama King (ATK 0, DEF 3000)!"

The three ghostly images of the Ojamas appeared on the field and swirled together in a blinding blaze of green, black and yellow…before forming into a humongous white blob wearing red briefs and a crown, grinning down at Beaumont. "Now, Ojama King's effect activates," said Ricardo. "I can select up to three of your Monster card zones, and those selected zones cannot be used as long as he's on the field."

But Beaumont was unimpressed. "Like that's supposed to help you somehow…"

"Actually, no, it's not—not in this duel, anyway," said Ricardo. "But I do have something else that'll benefit me greatly! For now I activate the Magic card, De-Fusion, to return Ojama King to the fusion deck…and to Special Summon my three Ojama monsters that were used in the fusion to the field, all in Defense Mode!"

Ojama King suddenly split into three different sections, each section becoming a different color—and then the three Ojamas appeared, taking up the remaining three Monster slots on Ricardo's side of the field. "And now, I can activate this!" Ricardo held up another card. "I activate Ojama Delta Hurricane! When Ojama Green, Ojama Black and Ojama Yellow are all on my side of the field at the same time, this card destroys all cards on your side of the field—something even your Lady in Wight won't be able to protect your other monsters from!"

"No!" Beaumont hissed—but there was nothing he could do as the three Ojamas jumped up to form a triangle pattern—and from the middle of their triangle, an immense energy beam blasted away everything on his side of the field! The force of the blast was so immense, Beaumont himself was actually pushed back a little!

"And finally, I'll offer Ojama Yellow and Ojama Black as tributes to summon another monster…B.E.S. Covered Core (ATK 2500, DEF 800)!" Ricardo continued—and as the two Ojamas disappeared from the field, in their place hovered a massive disc-shaped spaceship, missiles ready to fire. Two drones appeared alongside it.

"When the Covered Core is Normal Summoned, it gets two counters placed upon it," Ricardo explained. "Now I'll shift my Crystal Core back into Attack Mode, and…my two battleships, attack directly!"

Crystal Core's tentacles fired two blue lasers at Beaumont; he casually sidestepped the attacks, but his life points still went down.

**RICARDO: 4100; BEAUMONT: 4500**

Then—all of a sudden—Crystal Core exploded, showering ice particles all over the field! "If I can't remove a counter from Crystal Core at the end of the damage step when it attacked or was attacked, it gets destroyed," said Ricardo. "Now, Covered Core, continue the assault!" And Covered Core did just that, firing a barrage of missiles all over Beaumont's side of the field.

**RICARDO: 4100; BEAUMONT: 2000**

"Now, at the end of this damage step, for Covered Core's effect I must toss a coin and call it," Ricardo explained. "And if I call it wrong, I have to remove one counter from the Covered Core. So…coin toss, go! And I call heads!"

A holographic coin immediately appeared and was flipped…and it flew up in the air…then came back down and landed on the ground…and its result, sure enough, was heads. "Good! Now my Covered Core's counters are safe!" Ricardo exulted. "All right…I end my turn, now."

Beaumont, standing up straight again, applauded a little. "Impressive…very impressive," he told Ricardo. "In spite of wielding two deck archetypes that have little to no support and that would impede on you, by combining the two together you're able to hold your own—and you were able to knock down my life points by this much. It's just such a shame that you're using such obvious skill in the service of a man like Jaden Yuki."

"What of it?" asked Ricardo. "Principal Yuki has done this school an incredible service!"

"You have the right to say that—you don't know how beneficial the previous school regulations were," said Beaumont. "Back then, the three dorms symbolized how advanced you were in your studies. If you were in Obelisk Blue, you were the cream of the crop; if you were in Ra Yellow, you wouldn't be so highly regarded, but you'd still be considered a good student nonetheless; and if you were in Osiris Red, that meant you'd have to work far harder than any of the other students in order to make the grade. In addition, students only had to spend three years at Duel Academy before graduating, and then they'd either move on to the dueling pro leagues, or to other ventures.

"But now, students have to spend six years here, three years longer than before, two years in each dorm. The first two years are spent in Osiris Red; then, regardless of how good a duelist you really are, you get bumped up to Ra Yellow for your third and fourth years of study, unless extenuating circumstances force you to repeat a year in Osiris Red; and then, after those two years in Ra Yellow, you move on for your final two years in Obelisk Blue. In effect, students are being moved up in rank, and it's mandatory—but at the same time, students don't truly earn their place in Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue. Where is the justice in that?"

Ricardo cocked an eyebrow at this. "Well, allow me to point out something to you, in case you never knew," he replied. "There was a time when Osiris Red students were victimized by the students of the other dorms, simply _because _they were Osiris Red students. But when Principal Yuki changed the dorm structure, it was with the intention of making all students equal so that nobody would need to victimize anybody based on what dorm they were part of. True, it's still taking a while to catch on, even among a lot of the Ra Yellow students, but progress doesn't come overnight, does it?

"And besides that, wasn't there also a time when Duel Academy was criticized for not being a 'real' school, in that the curriculum had to do with Duel Monsters? Critics charged that one didn't have to go to any school to learn how to play Duel Monsters—they could just learn in their own backyards or neighborhoods. But when Principal Yuki came to power, Duel Academy became accredited, a bona fide school licensed to carry legitimate courses—English, Math, the sciences, you name it. And every course that's featured here is tied in somehow with the school's main theme, dueling. So now, in addition to becoming duelists, students can become any manner of things—scientists, teachers, accountants, whatever. And yet you guys still think Principal Yuki should never have taken the helm?"

There was a moment of silence; then Beaumont shrugged again. "Both of us have valid points, it seems," he acknowledged. "Even so, my stance will not change just because you want it to. I still prefer the old days, whereas you are acquainted only with the new way of doing things. And, in all fairness, while I did not stick around to see firsthand the effects of Mr. Yuki's administration, you have never experienced the benefits of the old regime. Your points may be valid, but they are based only on hearsay—not on actual experience."

"But which would you, as a former teacher, prefer—to work under a school system that bullied students based on dorm allegiance, or to work under one that united the students?" Ricardo protested.

Again a moment of silence passed. "Well…it doesn't matter, I suppose," Beaumont said after a while. "Your opinion is your opinion; mine is mine. Let's see, then, whose experience will win out in this duel. My turn!"

He drew once again, so now he held four cards in his hand. "And now, the end begins," he said. "For now I summon my third King of the Skull Servants to the field!"

"WHAT?" Ricardo exclaimed.

But hardly had he gotten the word out of his mouth, than all of a sudden the third Skull Servant King appeared! "Now, let's do a count of some certain monsters in my Graveyard," said Beaumont. "Three Skull Servants…my earlier two Kings of the Skull Servants…and one Lady in Wight, whose effect lets me treat her as another Skull Servant when she's in the Graveyard…that's a grand total of 6000 ATK points for my new Skull Servant King!"

Immediately, the new Skull Servant King let out a howl as his ATK shot up to 6000! "All right, my monster—attack his Covered Core!" Beaumont commanded, and the robed zombie unleashed a shriek that badly shook up the spaceship, even as Ricardo's life points dropped right down to 600 from the assault.

**RICARDO: 600; BEAUMONT: 2000**

"Argh…it's the end of that damage step, so now I have to toss a coin for Covered Core's effect," grunted Ricardo, and then the holographic coin appeared again. "And I choose tails!"

The coin was then flipped—but when it landed, to Ricardo's consternation the result was heads! "You called it wrong, so one of your Covered Core's counters will now be removed," Beaumont pointed out—and just like that, one of the spaceship's drones vanished from existence.

"Jeez…now that guy's got a monster with 6000 ATK, as easy as that!" Janus grimaced. "Ricardo, you gonna be all right?"

"I'll do what I can," Ricardo answered.

"Which, at this point, is very little," Beaumont taunted him. "All you can really do now is defend…but for how long will that protect you? All I have to do is smash through your defensive line, and then that will be the end of you…and then you'll regret ever opposing us."

"I didn't come here to lose to you," Ricardo rebutted. "And I still have life points, as low as they might be right now, so…don't declare victory just yet!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ So, FINALLY, Ricardo's managed to damage Beaumont's life points…but in turn, his own life points have been heavily sacked…and it's come down to the last round! Will Ricardo be able to bounce back—or will Beaumont destroy him? Stay tuned to find out!


	33. The BFG Trio

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(awakening from yet another long nap)** Yawn…I don't really need to say it again, do I…? Okay, fine. Kazuki Takahashi is the one that owns Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 33 – The BFG Trio**

DUEL ACADEMY ABANDONED DORM, 10:20 a.m.

**RICARDO: 600; BEAUMONT: 2000**

As the duel between Ricardo and Beaumont continued, the scores were shown: Ricardo was hanging on with 600 life points, while Beaumont was still going strong with 2000. Ricardo held no cards in his hand; Beaumont held three. On the field Ricardo had B.E.S. Covered Core in Attack Mode and with one counter on it, and Ojama Yellow and one facedown monster in Defense Mode; meanwhile, Beaumont had his King of the Skull Servants in Attack Mode, its ATK increased to 6000 via its effect.

Now Ricardo took his turn and drew again, replenishing his hand. "Hmm…well, guess there's not much I can do about this now. So, I'll set this card facedown…shift my Covered Core into Defense Mode…and end my turn."

Beaumont nonchalantly took his turn again, drawing his card so that he now held four cards in hand. "Well, now…it seems I've got something here to power up my King of the Skull Servants even further," he commented. "I'll summon a second Armageddon Knight, in Attack Mode!"

A moment later a second Armageddon Knight appeared, his sword at the ready. "And I think you should remember what that means," said Beaumont. "When Armageddon Knight is summoned, I can send one Dark-attribute monster from my deck to the Graveyard—so I'll select another copy of the Lady in Wight from my deck, to power up my Skull Servant King even further!"

"Wait—isn't that overkill?" Janus exclaimed, even as Beaumont pulled the selected card from his deck and sent it off to the Graveyard—and the Skull Servant King's ATK rose even higher, to 7000!

"In a true duel, a duelist cannot afford to complain about the methods his opponent uses to win or to power up his monsters in order to win," said Beaumont. "Even if the opponent is a cheater, a duelist's first responsibility is to play the duel right to the end, until a victor is decided. No exceptions."

"Well, I'm not complaining," said Ricardo. "And you'd better not complain, either, because I'm going to activate my Trap card—Ojama Trio!"

All at once, as Ricardo's Trap card was flipped face-up, three weird-looking blobs resembling the Ojama monsters appeared on Beaumont's side of the field, crouched in a defensive stance! "What…!" Beaumont's eyes widened at this.

"My Trap card, Ojama Trio, allows me to Special Summon three Ojama Tokens to your side of the field in Defense Mode, and they are treated as Beast-type, Light-attribute, Level 2 monsters with 0 ATK and 1000 DEF," Ricardo explained. "The Ojama Tokens cannot be tributed for a Tribute Summon, and when one is destroyed, 300 points of damage will be inflicted to you."

"I see," said Beaumont. "Even so, that will not protect your defensive line from me! Armageddon Knight, destroy his Ojama Yellow!" And, in the blink of an eye, Armageddon Knight slashed Ojama Yellow into pieces.

"Man…" Ricardo winced as he watched Ojama Yellow's demise.

"Now, it's your Covered Core's turn! King of the Skull Servants, attack!" Beaumont commanded. In turn, the Skull Servant King unleashed his mournful song once again, the shockwaves battering against the defending Covered Core's force-field.

"Now I have to flip a coin for Covered Core's effect once again," muttered Ricardo, even as the coin in question appeared on the field once more. "I call heads!"

The coin was flipped quickly—but alas, when it landed, it showed tails…and the one remaining drone exploded into fragments. "Now, next time your Covered Core is involved in a battle, it'll be destroyed by its own effect," Beaumont pointed out. "I can wait a while longer to finish you off…for now, I'll end my turn."

"You can wait a while longer, huh? Well, just keep waiting!" Ricardo answered defiantly, even as he drew his next card to replenish his hand again. "Huh…so this is what I've gotten, hmm? Well…guess I can't do much else for now, so…I'll just bolster my defense by setting one monster in Defense Mode…and then that's it."

"That's it? So you weren't going to attack one of these annoying Ojama Tokens?" asked Beaumont. "As you said a moment ago, if one is destroyed then I get 300 points of damage to my life points. And besides that, if you had attacked with your Covered Core, then at the end of that damage step it would've been destroyed, so it would not have become a target for my King of the Skull Servants afterwards. In fact, you could've even used the Covered Core to destroy my Armageddon Knight and still have the same aftereffect."

"Yes…however…" Ricardo shook his head. "If I _had_ done that, you would've had one empty monster slot on your side at the end of my turn…and seeing as I would've only had two monsters to defend my life points by then, I couldn't risk you summoning a strong enough monster to wipe out the rest of my life points."

Beaumont nodded. "Very good…but it still won't change the fact that you're done for as of this round! Now…I draw!"

He immediately drew his next card, giving him a total of four in hand. "Now, time for your Covered Core to leave the field! Armageddon Knight, destroy that spaceship!" And in turn, Armageddon Knight dived forward and slashed vertically, cutting the Covered Core in two and blowing it up in the process.

"One down…two to go." Beaumont looked at Ricardo's facedown monsters. "Now, the question becomes…which of those two should I destroy…?"

His gaze shifted from one to the other and back again. _I haven't forgotten about that Blast Sphere he used earlier…assuming he has more than one, for all I know he might have two of them facedown right here…or, he might only have one other copy, and it could be one of these two monsters…if that's the case, then should I hit it with my King of the Skull Servants, I'll get damage equal to his ATK on my next turn, and lose the duel…but if I wait this kid out, he might eventually come up with a different means to defeat me…_

"Why are you hesitating, Mr. Beaumont?" Ricardo interrupted Beaumont's train of thought. "Are you going to end your turn without attacking either of my facedown monsters with your King of the Skull Servants? But if you do that, who's to say I might not find a way to strengthen my defenses further on my next turn? And if I succeed in doing that, it'll take you longer to get to my life points…considering especially that you've only got two monsters that can really attack, and you can't tribute any of the Ojama Tokens to make room for other monsters."

_Grr…_ Beaumont looked at the two facedown monsters again. _So, it's come to this…one of those facedown monsters has been on the field for a while, and I haven't attacked it ever since it was placed there…the other one, the one he just set, has only been on the field a minute or so…_ His eyes narrowed. _Maybe, just maybe, the one that's been on the field longer is a second Blast Sphere, and the other one is merely a decoy meant solely to protect his life points! So…if I take down the second one now, then…!_

"All right—I attack your facedown monster, the one you just set on your last turn, with my King of the Skull Servants! Go, my monster—use Graveyard Requiem!"

King of the Skull Servants unleashed his howling attack, and flipped the targeted monster face-up—and it was revealed to be…a second red orb with pincer-like legs! "…no…!" Beaumont's eyes widened at this revelation.

"Sorry, Mr. Beaumont, but you just attacked my second Blast Sphere," said Ricardo calmly. "Now it'll be attached to your Skull Servant King and destroy it on your next turn…and when it goes, the rest of your life points will go with it."

"…shit!" Beaumont whispered.

"I'll take my turn once again, if you please," said Ricardo, and he drew his next card. "If it'll make you feel any better, though, why don't I show you what my other facedown monster is? I'll Flip Summon…a third Blast Sphere!"

Beaumont's eyes widened some more, and he gritted his teeth, as the third red orb emerged. "Damn…so then it wouldn't have mattered which of them I attacked…!"

"Exactly," said Ricardo. "Sorry, sir, but you've been outmatched this time."

Beaumont sighed…and shrugged. "So it seems. Well…the only thing left for me to do is to accept my defeat, like a real duelist." So saying, he drew his next card…and the Blast Sphere attached to the Skull Servant King shone brightly and exploded, wiping out everything on Beaumont's side of the field.

**RICARDO: 600; BEAUMONT: 0**

"Whoa…now he went out with a bang!" Janus remarked dryly.

"Whew…" Ricardo slumped to the ground. "I don't think I've ever fought an opponent as difficult as he was…"

"Well, it's fine…you won, at least," said Janus. "Now, that's two down…one to go…" His expression suddenly darkened. "Fletcher…"

Across the floor from them, Beaumont was on the ground, smoke still rising off his body from the Blast Sphere's explosion. "Ungh…heh…to think…that I could've been outmatched…by a product of this school's new policy…"

Ricardo looked at him. "Well…you weren't a simple challenge, yourself," he admitted. "I really had to stay on my toes the whole time I was dueling you."

"It showed," Beaumont acknowledged, even as he began to sit up. "Well…you were able to defeat me, at least, so I won't try to stop you now. As I told you before, the guards who're still loyal to Mr. Yuki are being held upstairs, and Mr. Yuki himself is downstairs with Fletcher."

"Got it." Ricardo looked at Janus. "I'll leave that guy to you, Janus. You leave the guards upstairs to me."

"Yeah." Janus nodded solemnly, then hurried past Beaumont and went down the stairs.

Watching Janus leave for a moment, Beaumont chuckled. "You really believe that that boy is capable of defeating a man like Fletcher? After all, Fletcher was one of the stronger Obelisk Blue instructors back in the day."

"That may be so, but…Janus definitely has something that that Fletcher doesn't have—courage," Ricardo replied.

Beaumont couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I could certainly tell, just from the fact that he came here."

"So…what'll happen to you now?" Ricardo asked him. "I mean, I doubt you're going to stick around long enough for campus security to arrest you."

"And are you going to stop me if I try to escape?" Beaumont eyed him.

"I rightly should—you did assist in infiltrating this island, and attacking innocent people," Ricardo answered.

"Heh…well…" Beaumont shrugged. "My whole purpose was to overthrow your principal. Now that I've been beaten, all I can do is wait and see whether Fletcher will succeed where McKenzie and I failed. I don't have much else to do outside of Duel Academy, anyway."

"To throw everything else away for the sake of revenge…" Ricardo shook his head.

----------

"Dad?"

Janus hurried down the stairs, shouting for his father. "Dad? Hang on, I'm coming!" he cried.

By and by he reached the foot of the staircase…and beheld the room before him. "O…kay…"

The room before him was one huge, open space, with depressingly gray walls, ceiling and floor. Off to one side he could see numerous monitors, displaying various locations in and around Duel Academy's grounds. To another side he saw several large caskets, some of them tightly shut, some partially open. "Uh…okay…"

"I'm surprised you were able to make it here past Beaumont…seems he was a bit lacking in his duty as garbage-collector today," a voice spoke up from behind the coffins…and then, out came Fletcher, a smirk on his face.

"So…you're Fletcher…" Janus narrowed his eyes. "Where's my father?"

"Oh, looking for Daddy Dearest, are you?" Fletcher asked mockingly. "Well, why don't I show you just where he's at…?"

He reached a hand toward one of the partially-open caskets and pulled it open completely—and what Janus saw inside caused his eyes to widen in horror. There, tightly bound by chains and with a gag stuffed into his mouth was Principal Yuki, battered and bruised—and with several knives sticking out of various parts of his body! "DAD!" Janus screamed out.

"Oh, relax, you crybaby; he's not dead—at least, not just yet," Fletcher chuckled. "I figured, after all, that giving him a slow and painful death would be much more gratifying than simply ending his life right away. So, I made sure to stab him in places where I knew there'd be no vital organs, but where he'd bleed like hell anyway. And, as you can see, the knives are still stuck in his body; if he moves—which he really can't do much of, anyway, with those chains around him—he'll aggravate his injuries a whole lot more. And he's got plenty of them, what with the beating I gave him beforehand." He smiled. "I only wish I had some snacks so I could've sat down and watched him squirm like the worm he is."

"Bastard…" Janus's tone went to a threatening level.

"Even if McKenzie and Beaumont failed me, I can still take control of Duel Academy," said Fletcher. "I'll simply bury your dear old dad here, in this abandoned dorm, and then go and take my rightful place as Principal of this godforsaken school. I'll turn it back to what it was before, and restore the dorms to their rightful place. I couldn't do it legitimately five years ago…but now I can do whatever I want! Ha, ha, ha!"

Janus's hair overshadowed his eyes now. "You're insane," he said softly. "There's no way Duel Academy would be handed over to a damn lunatic like you, whether you killed my father or not."

"And who's going to be the judge of that—_you?"_ Fletcher scoffed. "I have enough power and influence at my disposal to wrest control from your pathetic father without a lot of effort, now that he's incapacitated here. And even the hypocritical fools who stayed here under his rule as Principal, in spite of their own objections, will be of some use to me—after all, there ARE still a lot of people here who oppose your father's being in power after five years. A great deal of them will rejoice at the idea of Obelisk Blue returning to power, and Osiris Red being thrown back into the dumpster where it belongs! They'll shower me with praises, as Duel Academy's messiah from this farce of a system your parents have set up!"

"And you have a serious messiah complex," Janus replied, still speaking softly.

"Think whatever you want—but what YOU think doesn't matter at this point," Fletcher replied scornfully. "I'll just make sure you'll never leave this place…you can spend eternity buried down here with your pops. This abandoned dorm doubles as a memorial site for those students who disappeared here all those years ago, after all…and both of you can join them!"

"Oh, really?" Janus asked—still in the same soft tone of voice. "Then…why don't we…put that theory to the test?"

"Huh?" Fletcher cocked an eyebrow.

Then—suddenly, the red jewel on the Shadow Charm Pendant glowed brightly…and all at once, a sinister black fog emerged all around the room! "Huh? What the—what's up with this fog all of a sudden?" Fletcher asked, looking around in bewilderment.

Then Janus finally looked up…and his eyes were psychotic white with his rage. "Sorry, Fletcher, but you're no longer in control here," he said darkly. "For now…you and I…we're going to play a little game…a Dark Game."

"Eh? Dark Game?" Fletcher blinked.

Inside the coffin, Principal Yuki weakly opened one eye. That eye instantly glowed amber, though faintly. _A…Dark Game…_ His eye roved, spying Janus. _Janus…are you doing this?_

"The rules are very simple," Janus explained—and the earlier, more mature change in his voice was much more apparent now. "You and I are going to have a duel right now…and if you win, you're free to do whatever you want to me, to my father and to Duel Academy. But if I win…I get to choose your fate."

"Choose my fate…?" Fletcher laughed aloud. "Ha! Sounds interesting. And I get to do whatever I want if I win, you said? No tricks, no strings attached, no anything of that sort?"

"No. No tricks. You win, you get away scot-free from here and can do whatever you please." Janus was firm.

"Well, now…if it's a duel, then I accept!" said Fletcher eagerly. "But I warn you, you little Osiris Red runt, I'm on a much higher level than McKenzie and Beaumont were! Against me and my deck strategy, you won't win so easily!"

"We'll let the cards decide that," said Janus. "Now…shall we begin?"

Principal Yuki, watching the two of them, fidgeted a little—and then flinched, as the movement made his stab-wounds ache. _Janus…how much have you managed to learn about the Shadow Charm Pendant, in such a short space of time? And…will you be able to wield it well?_

Fletcher hurriedly strapped on his Duel-Disk; Janus did likewise, though with much less haste. "Let's cut straight to the chase, shall we?" said Janus. "Since I'm the one challenging you, I'll flip the coin to decide which of us will go first. What will you call?"

"I call heads, naturally!" Fletcher replied.

The holographic coin appeared on the field and was flipped…and when it landed, the result was heads. "Good! I'll go first!" Fletcher said gleefully, as the two drew their first five cards and their respective life point scores rose to 8000.

_Keep gloating…you won't be gloating for too much longer…_ Janus's face was grim.

**JANUS: 8000; FLETCHER: 8000**

Fletcher drew his sixth card to start off. "Let's get this 'Dark Game' of yours underway!" he announced. "I'll start by illuminating this darkness a little…by summoning my Shining Angel (ATK 1400, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later a gold-winged angel with bright light shining from his clothes emerged on the field. "And…I believe that'll be all for now," Fletcher finished.

"A man such as you has no right to be wielding the power of angels," Janus growled, drawing his card. "That Shining Angel must feel dismayed to be part of _your_ deck—so let me ease his suffering! I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!"

Sparkman appeared on the field in a shower of electricity, assuming a battle stance. "Go, Sparkman! Attack with Shining Surge Flash!" Janus commanded, and Sparkman responded in kind—dashing forward and plunging his lightning-covered fist into Shining Angel's chest, electrocuting the other monster.

**JANUS: 8000; FLETCHER: 7800**

"Apparently you're not aware of Shining Angel's effect, or you wouldn't have attacked him so rashly—but what else is to be expected of Osiris Red scum?" Fletcher asked scornfully. "When Shining Angel is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I can Special Summon a monster from my deck as long as it's a Light-attribute monster with an ATK of 1500 or less, and it's Special Summoned in Attack Mode…and there's just one monster I need to go for…"

While Janus watched him, Fletcher pulled out his deck and thumbed through it. "Aha—here it is!" He pulled the card out and held it up for Janus to see. "Behold…my Satellite Cannon (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

All at once, hovering above the field was a gigantic satellite! "Meet the ace monster of my deck, brat," Fletcher said triumphantly. "This monster cannot be destroyed in battle by any monster that's Level 7 or lower…and, during each of my End Phases, it increases its ATK by 1000 points."

"Is that so?" said Janus. "Then I suppose a few precautions are in order. So, I'll set a card facedown, for later."

"For all the good that that will do you," Fletcher scoffed as he drew his next card. "I activate my Magic card, Machine Duplication! By selecting one Machine-type monster on my side of the field with an ATK of 500 or less, I can Special Summon up to two cards with the same name as the selected monster from my deck—and I'll call out two more Satellite Cannons using this effect!"

At once, two more Satellite Cannons materialized next to the one already on the field. "Then," Fletcher continued, fiddling with the cards in his hand, "I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth Blue Thunder T-45 (ATK 1700, DEF 1000), in Attack Mode!" And he brought out a shuttle-like spaceship with a blue windshield. "Now, obliterate his annoying little monster!"

Blue Thunder T-45 fired numerous lasers at Sparkman—but Janus suddenly shouted, "And I counter that with my Trap card, Hero Barrier! If an Elemental Hero monster is on my side of the field, this negates one of your attacks!" And as he said this, a force-field emerged to protect Sparkman from the assault.

"Hmph. You got lucky," said Fletcher. "All right, then. I'll set a card facedown, and call it a turn for now." And then…all of a sudden, the three Satellite Cannons began charging up with laser energy as each one's ATK rose to 1000. "Make your move, little boy."

"Indeed," Janus said dryly as he drew his next card. "I summon Neo Space Pathfinder (ATK 1800, DEF 800) to the field!" And a moment later, Pathfinder appeared in shimmering glory. "But that isn't all…"

"Oh, really?" said Fletcher.

"That's right—because now I activate the Magic card, H – Heated Heart!" Janus held up the card in question. "This allows me to select one monster that I control, and that monster gains 500 ATK! Also, if the selected monster attacks a Defense Mode monster and its ATK is higher than that monster's DEF, the difference is taken from your life points as battle damage—and these effects last until the end of the turn! So…I'll use this and increase my Sparkman's ATK by 500!"

Instantly, Sparkman's electricity sparked all around his body as his ATK shot up to 2100! "Even if they can't destroy your Satellite Cannons in battle, at least they'll still be able to inflict damage to your life points!" said Janus. "Go, Neo Space Pathfinder—attack and destroy his Blue Thunder monster!"

Pathfinder lunged forward, intent on delivering a spinning kick to Blue Thunder T-45—but all at once Fletcher shouted, "I think not! I activate my Trap card, Rare Metalmorph—and I'll use its effect to treat it as an Equip Magic card, increasing my Blue Thunder's ATK by 500 points!"

Without warning, Blue Thunder's ATK soared to 2200 even as its body was encased in solid iron, easily deflecting Pathfinder's kick! In retaliation, the spaceship fired several lasers at the warrior, blasting her to bits! "NO!" Janus yelled.

**JANUS: 7600; FLETCHER: 7800**

"And there's more where that came from," Fletcher sneered. "Only once, while Rare Metalmorph is equipped to a monster, it can negate the effect of any Magic card that targets the equipped monster. Therefore, you'd better be pretty careful what kind of cards you choose to activate later on."

"Pfft…so that was a bust…but still, I can attack any one of your Satellite Cannons with my Sparkman!" said Janus. "And even if they won't be destroyed in battle, they'll still receive damage from the battle! So…Sparkman, use your Shining Surge Flash on the middle satellite!" And in turn, Sparkman dived forward and slammed his electrified fist into the targeted Satellite Cannon.

**JANUS: 7600; FLETCHER: 6700**

"So you inflicted some damage to me. So what? My cannons are still going strong!" Fletcher boasted. "And besides that, my Blue Thunder T-45 has enough strength to take on any monster you can throw at it!"

"Let's see for how long that statement will be true," said Janus. "Anyway, I'll set a card facedown now, and end my turn." And as he said this, Sparkman's ATK reverted to its original 1600.

"Hmph! My turn!" Fletcher haughtily drew his next card, giving him a total of four in hand. "And what do you know—a nice little support card! All right…I summon the Heavy Mech Support Platform (ATK 500, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later, a red and gray jet-like machine appeared on the field. "Now, allow me to explain to you how this one works," said Fletcher. "It's a Union monster, whose effect allows me to equip it to one Machine-type monster on the field, or to change it back from an Equip card to a Monster card—even though I can only activate one of those effects once per turn. But…when I turn it into an Equip card by its effect, the monster it becomes equipped to gains 500 ATK and DEF points! Watch!"

Suddenly, Blue Thunder floated into the air a little…then came to rest on top of the Heavy Mech Support Platform, even as its ATK rose higher to 2700 and its DEF to 1500. "Now, feel the sting of my Blue Thunder!" Fletcher roared. "Show his Sparkman what real lightning's all about! Blue Thunder Laser Shower!"

Blue Thunder T-45, together with the Heavy Mech Support Platform equipped to it, began to charge its laser cannons—but Janus countered, "Not before I do this! I activate my Quick-play Magic card, Mirage Tube!"

"Huh?" Fletcher's eyes widened.

Suddenly, a large prism-cylinder materialized on Janus's side of the field! "This card could only be activated when you selected one of my face-up monsters as an attack target," Janus explained. "This card then inflicts 1000 points of damage to your life points." At once the cylinder exploded into beams of every color of the rainbow, all of them hitting Fletcher dead-on.

**JANUS: 7600; FLETCHER: 5700**

But the man merely shrugged off the assault. "As if a petty thing like that's gonna stop me!" he yelled. "Blue Thunder, continue the attack!" And then Blue Thunder and the Support Platform fired all of their lasers, obliterating Sparkman on the spot.

**JANUS: 6500; FLETCHER: 5700**

"Damn…Sparkman…" Janus snarled.

All at once, a smaller version of the Blue Thunder appeared on the field! "I guess I should explain that," said Fletcher. "When Blue Thunder T-45 destroys a monster as a result of battle, I get to Special Summon one Thunder Option Token, which is then treated as a Level 4, Machine-type, Light-attribute monster with 1500 ATK and 1500 DEF. Of course, that token cannot be tributed for a Tribute Summon, but what the hell…Thunder Option Token, attack directly!"

The drone immediately unleashed a burst of laser fire at Janus; he flinched as he dodged the lasers, but one or two still managed to snag his limbs, causing him to fall down.

**JANUS: 5000; FLETCHER: 5700**

"Ungh…" Janus winced from the heat of the attack he'd just sustained. "Okay, so now what? You gonna attack me with your three Satellite Cannons, I take it?"

"That _is_ a tempting offer…however…" Fletcher chuckled. "All of my Satellite Cannons share the same unfortunate effect: When a Satellite Cannon attacks, no matter how many ATK points it'd accumulated through its effect by that point, its ATK always returns to zero after the damage calculation. So, instead, what I'll do is wait a while longer and let them build up their ATK a little further first…meantime, my Blue Thunder T-45 is more than enough to deal with anything you can think to throw at me." He shook his head. "Honestly, this Dark Game is even easier to win than I thought. Well, whatever…I'll end my turn for now." And as he said that—each of the three Satellite Cannons increased its ATK further, to 2000 apiece.

Scowling, Janus drew his next card so he now held three cards in hand. Then he took a look at what he was holding. _I have to be careful…those three Satellite Cannons now have enough power between them to blast me away if they get to attack my life points directly! And…even if I summon or set a monster, he'll just use his Blue Thunder to destroy that monster and make way for his Satellite Cannons to finish me off! Unless…hmm…_ He cocked an eyebrow. _This combo…it didn't quite work when I tried to use it against the Jewel Duelist's Rainbow Dragon, back then…can it work now, though?_

"Hey, boy! Are you going to make a move sometime today?" Fletcher barked at him.

But Janus merely chuckled. "What's your hurry, Fletcher? I would've expected that you'd want to savor the chance to crush me…that you'd want to make your victory over me stick."

"Even if that's true, I can only keep up my patience for so long!" Fletcher growled. "If you're going to pass your turn, pass your turn; if you're going to play a card, play a card—either way, DO SOMETHING ALREADY! See, that's why Osiris Red should never have been granted equal status with the other two dorms—what do their punk students know about dueling, anyway?"

"Maybe I should show you," said Janus. "Now, then, shall I make a move? I activate the Magic card, Convert Contact!"

"Convert Contact?" Fletcher made a face.

"This card requires that there be no monsters in my control on the field when I activate it, and also I need to send one 'Neo-Spacian' monster from my hand and one from my deck to the Graveyard. So…from my hand…" He selected one of his two remaining hand-cards, showed it to be Neo-Spacian Dark Panther (ATK 1000, DEF 500), and sent it off to the Graveyard. "…then from my deck…" He pulled out his deck and thumbed through it, pulled out Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900), and sent it to the Graveyard as well. "And then I get to draw two cards!" And that he did, so he had three cards in hand again as a result.

But Fletcher scoffed. "All of that crap just to draw two cards? Give me a break!"

"Actually, it's not quite as worthless as you may think." Janus smiled a little. "For you see, my deck always comes through for me in a pinch. It just gave me this card…the Magic card, Cocoon Party!"

"What? What else, now?" Fletcher asked in bewilderment.

"Very simple!" said Janus. "Cocoon Party allows me to Special Summon, from my deck, one monster that has 'Chrysalis' in its card name for every 'Neo-Spacian' monster with a different name in my Graveyard. So, I have two Neo-Spacians in the Graveyard now, Dark Panther and Glow Moss…so I can Special Summon two Chrysalis monsters from my deck! And the ones I choose are…Chrysalis Chicky (ATK 600, DEF 400) and Chrysalis Mole (ATK 700, DEF 100), both in Defense Mode!"

All at once, there appeared two monsters on Janus's side of the field, a small red-feathered chick and a baby mole. Both appeared to be encased in some sort of cocoon that shone with a mystic glow. Fletcher, seeing this, laughed aloud. "What the hell is this? You called up a bunch of babies to defend against my mighty machines?" he jeered. "I knew all Osiris Red students were worthless, but I didn't honestly think any of them were retarded as well!"

"Well, why don't you allow me to finish my move and then you can voice your opinion?" Janus asked frostily. "Moving right along, now…I activate another Magic card, Contact! With this, I can send all 'Chrysalis' monsters that I control to the Graveyard, and then Special Summon from my hand or my deck any monsters that are written in the card texts of the 'Chrysalis' monsters I sent to the Graveyard! So, goodbye, Chrysalis Chicky and Chrysalis Mole…and hello, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (ATK 800, DEF 600) and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (ATK 900, DEF 300)—both from my deck, and both in Defense Mode!"

Mere moments later, the chrysalis cocoons around the chick and the baby mole shone brightly—then broke apart, revealing the two monsters in their now-adult forms. But Fletcher simply shook his head. "Well, that was a colossal waste…they may be all grown up now, but their stats aren't any more impressive than when they were still little kids!" he snorted.

"Then watch this," said Janus. "I activate Air Hummingbird's effect! Once per turn, I can increase my life points by 500 for every card you're holding in your hand—and you've got three, by my count, so that gives me 1500 life points!"

To Fletcher's shock, three hibiscus flowers suddenly seemed to grow out of his cards! "What the—" he began, right before Air Hummingbird took flight and drew nectar from the flowers, increasing Janus's life points to 6500! "Son of a…okay, I'm gonna make sure that damn bird goes into a stewpot!"

**JANUS: 6500; FLETCHER: 5700**

"Sorry, but I don't think you'd find him very palatable," Janus chuckled. "Anyway, time for me to continue. I activate this Magic card, Space Gift—which will let me draw one card from my deck for every Neo-Spacian that I control on the field, as long as each one has a different name—and I've got two!"

A blue gift-box with a red ribbon on it popped up on the field and opened up, and Janus was swiftly given two more cards. "And now, I'll set both of these cards facedown, and end my turn. Your go."

"About time," Fletcher grumbled as he drew another card, giving him a total of four in hand now. "But the wait will have been worth it, for now I can destroy your worthless defensive line! Now, my Thunder Option Token will attack your Grand Mole!"

The Thunder Option Token shot forward, its laser cannons glowing brightly as it prepared to fire upon Grand Mole. "I don't think so!" Janus shouted. "I activate Grand Mole's effect! If he attacks or gets attacked by my opponent's monster, I can return both of them to their owners' hands without any damage calculation being applied! Only, the Thunder Option Token wasn't a Monster card to begin with, so it just disappears…"

Grand Mole and the drone immediately glowed bright white, and both disappeared from the field…but true to his word, only Janus got to add his Grand Mole card back to his hand. Fletcher, however, didn't seem concerned. "So what? Your Air Hummingbird is still alone on the field!" he sneered. "And now, I've got this perfectly planned out!"

"Have you, now?" queried Janus.

"But of course!" said Fletcher. "All I need to do now is destroy your Air Hummingbird with one of my Satellite Cannons, and then…then, your life points will be wide open for me to blast you away, and then this duel will be mine! Now, Satellite Cannon #1, destroy that pesky bird!"

One of the Satellite Cannons began to charge up its laser beam—then fired it off in a bright stream of light that completely engulfed the hapless Air Hummingbird. But suddenly Janus shouted, "And I'll make you pay for that—by activating my Trap card, Hero Signal!"

"What…!" Fletcher gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"This card could only be activated when one of my monsters was destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard," Janus explained. "Now, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Elemental Hero' monster from my hand or deck…and there are a few particular ones in my deck that I've been hoping to test out for a little while now. So, I'll Special Summon one of them now: Elemental Hero Neos Alius (ATK 1900, DEF 1300), in Defense Mode!"

The searchlight signal for the Elemental Heroes shone out over the field—then, in a burst of light, a shorter, younger-looking version of Elemental Hero Neos appeared on the field, crouched in a defensive stance. "What—what IS that? Neos Alius, you called it? I've never heard of such a monster before!" Fletcher exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be more knowledgeable than me, a lowly Osiris Red student," Janus taunted him.

"Grr…you insolent…" Fletcher shook his head. "Never mind—there'll be more than ample time to end your life here. Right now, the effect of the Satellite Cannon I just attacked with activates…since the damage calculation has already been completed, its ATK will be reverted to zero." And he pointed out the Satellite Cannon in question—its ATK had indeed gone back down to its original value. "More importantly, I must finish off the last of your defense so that I can snipe at your life points, even if it's bit by bit! Satellite Cannon #2, attack and destroy his monster!"

The second Satellite Cannon began to charge up its beam—but Janus answered, "And I counter that with my Trap Card, Negate Attack, to stop your monster's attack and end your Battle Phase right here!"

To Fletcher's fury, the Satellite Cannon's beam powered down. "You got lucky there, punk—but now you don't have a lot of options left!" he roared. "Next turn, I'll take you down for sure! I end my turn!" And just then, the Satellite Cannon that had successfully attacked had its ATK rise back up to 1000, while the other two each increased ATK to—3000!

Janus's eyes narrowed. _I hate to admit it, but he's right…if I don't get a good card on this draw, it'll really be over! I need some time…time to get to use Neos Alius's full potential…_ He readied himself to draw from his deck. _Okay…heart of the cards…I need a miracle…please!_

Then he drew…

----------

_**neomage:**_ Ha! Cliffie! Have that, people! Now, Neos Alius makes its debut in a duel—and Fletcher's Satellite Cannons continue to grow stronger! Will Janus get through this? Stay tuned!


	34. Karmic Justice

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(playing a rocker's guitar)** No, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor am I a rock musician.)

**CHAPTER 34 – Karmic Justice**

DUEL ACADEMY ABANDONED DORM, 10:50 a.m.

**JANUS: 6500; FLETCHER: 5700**

As the Dark Game continued between Janus and Fletcher, they both kept mental note of the scores at present: Janus had 6500 life points, while Fletcher had 5700. Janus held one card in his hand, his Neo-Spacian Grand Mole that he'd returned to his hand with its effect only moments ago; meanwhile, Fletcher held four cards. On the field Janus had his newly-summoned Elemental Hero Neos Alius in Defense Mode; Fletcher had his three Satellite Cannons—two with 3000 ATK each, the third with 1000 ATK—plus his Blue Thunder T-45 equipped with the Rare Metalmorph trap card and the Heavy Mech Support Platform monster, putting its current ATK at 2700 and its DEF at 1500. Now, fortunately, it was Janus's turn to draw.

_Come on…heart of the cards…give me a miracle!_ Janus silently pleaded as he drew.

Over on the sidelines, still chained to the inside of his coffin, Principal Yuki watched the duel. "Janus…" he muttered.

Janus looked at the card he'd drawn. "Fletcher…" he said slowly. "I just drew a miracle!"

"A miracle?" Fletcher said skeptically.

"That's right!" said Janus. "Because now…I activate the Magic card, Swords of Revealing Light!"

All at once, three shining swords of light shot down from the sky, embedding themselves all around Fletcher's side of the field! "No way!" he exploded.

"Sorry, Fletcher, but now none of your monsters can attack for your next three turns," Janus told him, smiling. "My Neos Alius will be safe from your assault this turn."

"So what? Even a three-turn delay will not help you, brat!" snapped Fletcher. "It'll just mean more time for my Satellite Cannons to get more and more powerful with every turn! All you've done is to prolong my victory!"

"I wonder…" Janus shrugged. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But let's see how Neos Alius feels about that! Okay, Neos Alius—activate your Second Summon!"

"Huh?" Fletcher's eyes widened.

Suddenly, a bright white aura surrounded Neos Alius! "This guy is a Gemini monster, so he basically has two summons," said Janus. "When I first summoned him, he was a Normal monster; but by activating this Second Summon, which counts as my Normal Summon for this turn, Neos Alius was turned into an Effect monster…and right now, his effect allows me to treat his name as that of Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)."

"I see…so that's what he's good for…" Fletcher's eyes narrowed.

"Next, I'll shift Neos Alius into Attack Mode, and attack your weakened Satellite Cannon!" Janus announced—and in response, Neos Alius jumped forward and delivered an earth-shattering punch to the side of the targeted satellite. But even as Fletcher's life points went down to 4800 from the assault…the satellite itself remained sturdy.

**JANUS: 6500; FLETCHER: 4800**

"Now, I'll end my turn for the time being," said Janus. "Do your worst."

"Oh, if only those blasted Swords of Revealing Light weren't in the way, then I'd show you my worst right now," Fletcher said darkly as he drew his next card, giving him five in all in his hand. "But what I have here in my hand will have to suffice for now, I guess. Now, I summon Reflect Bounder (ATK 1700, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Then, moments later, a mechanical monster with mirrors all over its body appeared on the field. "And since I can't attack you, I'll just end my turn," Fletcher finished—and as one of the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared, his two stronger Satellite Cannons increased their ATK to 4000 each, while the third Cannon increased its ATK to 2000.

Narrowing his eyes a little, Janus drew his next card. "Hmm…I'll activate the effect of the card I just drew, a second Neo Space Pathfinder! By discarding it from my hand, I can add one particular Field Magic card, Neo Space, from my deck or Graveyard to my hand!" And, discarding the card from his hand, he pulled out his deck, thumbed through it, and a moment later he added the selected card to his hand.

"And that did you…how much good, exactly?" Fletcher wanted to know.

"Observe!" replied Janus. "Now, I summon my Neo-Spacian Grand Mole to the field once again!" And then Grand Mole emerged from out of the ground, next to Neos Alius. "And next…I'll activate Neo Space!" At once, as he played the last card left in his hand, all around the playing area there appeared a myriad of atmospheric colors. Instantly, Neos Alius's ATK rose to 2400! "Heh…normally, Elemental Hero Neos gets a 500 ATK boost while Neo Space is active on the field," said Janus. "And since Neos Alius's Gemini effect is treating him as Neos, he gets the ATK boost. And now…time to pump it up one notch further!"

"Huh?" Fletcher cocked an eyebrow.

Janus then pointed to Grand Mole and Neos Alius. "And now, since Neos Alius is acting in the regular Neos's stead—I can initiate Contact Fusion! By returning these two to the deck, I can Fusion Summon a new monster…Elemental Hero Grand Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

Both of Janus's monsters leaped high into the air, disappearing into the depths of Neo Space…and a bright light shone from where they'd disappeared! And then…from that light there descended a huge, muscular warrior with brown and white patches streaking his body. On his right arm there was a gigantic drill. "And here's an added bonus—any Fusion monster that lists Elemental Hero Neos as a Fusion-material monster gets 500 ATK from Neo Space!" Janus added—and Grand Neos's ATK rose to 3000!

Fletcher scowled. "And that's supposed to intimidate me in some way? Because you're failing in that department right now."

"Maybe you'll change your tune when you see how my monster deals with your Satellite Cannons! For you see, once per turn I can return one monster that you control to your hand…and I've got my sights set on one of your 4000-ATK satellites!"

The scowl on Fletcher's face suddenly changed to a look of shock. "No…!"

Grand Neos jumped forward, and swiftly shoved his drill-arm into one of the Satellite Cannons. Instantly the satellite exploded, and what was left of it disintegrated as Fletcher took the card back into his hand. "And now, Grand Neos attacks!" said Janus. "Destroy his Reflect Bounder!"

But on the sidelines, Principal Yuki's eyes widened a little. "…no…bad choice…" he muttered, groaning.

Fletcher suddenly smirked.

Grand Neos jumped forward, slamming the tip of his drill into Reflect Bounder's chest mirror—but all at once, an intense kinetic backlash slammed into Janus, knocking him down. "What the hell?" he cried out.

**JANUS: 3500; FLETCHER: 3500**

"It's Reflect Bounder's effect at work, boy," Fletcher explained, even as his life points dropped to 3500, tying him with Janus—and then Reflect Bounder vanished from the field. "Well, it _was,_ anyway," Fletcher amended his statement. "When that monster is selected as an attack target while it's in Attack Mode, before damage calculation, its effect inflicts damage to my opponent's life points equal to the attacking monster's ATK. Then, after damage calculation is completed, Reflect Bounder is destroyed."

"Urgh…I see…" Janus stood up slowly.

"But then again, anybody who knows about Reflect Bounder's existence knows that it has that effect," Fletcher told him. "Just what _are_ they teaching you in your classes these days, eh? Oh, wait—Osiris Red students are the biggest dunces to ever walk the face of the earth. Never mind!"

"Are you still going on about that? You're not even a teacher here anymore—why should you care?" Janus demanded.

"Oh, don't worry…once I finish with you here, everything will be fixed," said Fletcher. "Since you can't do anything more now, I'll take my turn! Now…I draw!"

He drew his card, giving him six in hand. _Still…I'm in some trouble now, with that Grand Neos monster on the field…I could activate the Union effect of my Heavy Mech Support Platform, turn it back into a monster, then tribute it to call back this Satellite Cannon that he just returned to my hand…but then he might use that monster's effect again next turn to simply return it to my hand, if he doesn't return any of the others…and I can't just attack and destroy it now, since his Swords of Revealing Light card is still active…hmm…well, THIS might work…it's worth a shot, at least…_

"I'll activate my Heavy Mech Support Platform's effect, and transform it back into a monster!" he announced aloud—and just like that, Blue Thunder T-45 rose up off the Support Platform, even as its own ATK and DEF went back down to 2200 and 1000 respectively. "Then, I'll sacrifice the Support Platform to call back my Satellite Cannon to the field, in Attack Mode once again!" Moments later, the satellite returned, coming in between the other two satellites still on the field as its ATK and DEF both registered at zero. "Then," Fletcher went on, "I'll set two cards facedown…and that'll be all." And as he said that, the first satellite's ATK rose to a whopping 5000, the second to 3000, and the third to 1000…and the second of the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared from the field.

"All right, then—my move!" Janus promptly drew his card, replenishing his hand. "Okay…I activate Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards!" And that he did.

"Well, while you're drawing away from your deck, I'll activate a Trap card—Roll Out!" said Fletcher. "This allows me to choose one Union monster in my Graveyard and equip it to one appropriate monster on my side of the field! And since there's only one Union monster in the Graveyard—my Heavy Mech Support Platform—I'll equip it on the Satellite Cannon that has the lowest ATK!"

In a moment the Heavy Mech Support Platform was back, this time equipped securely onto the weakest Satellite Cannon as its ATK rose to 1500 and its DEF to 500. "Not too bad…but it still won't save your monsters from my Grand Neos's effect," Janus pointed out. "Once again, I'll use his effect to return one of your monsters to your hand…and the one I choose is, naturally, your strongest Satellite Cannon!"

Again Grand Neos jumped forward, stabbing his drill-arm into the selected satellite and disintegrating it, and again Fletcher took the card back into his hand. "Now, time to attack—and I'll have my Grand Neos attack the satellite with the lower ATK!" said Janus. "Go, Grand Neos!"

Grand Neos bent down briefly, then leaped forward—but just at that moment Fletcher shouted, "And now, you fool, you've fallen into my trap! I activate my Trap card, Covering Fire!"

Suddenly, the stronger of Fletcher's remaining Satellite Cannons began to glow brightly! "I could only activate this card during the Damage Step, when one of your monsters attacked one of my monsters," Fletcher explained smugly. "Then, the attacked monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of one other monster on my side of the field during that Damage Step only—in other words, becoming strong enough to fend off your attack!"

"Oh, crap!" Janus cried.

"Now, say goodbye to your annoying Grand Neos!" Fletcher said triumphantly. "Go, my Satellite Cannon! Absorb the strength of the other Satellite Cannon and counterattack!"

The weaker satellite suddenly seemed to siphon energy from the stronger satellite, as its own ATK suddenly skyrocketed to 4500! In the blink of an eye, it charged up its laser beam and fired, the beam tearing through Grand Neos and reducing him to dust! "Bulls-eye!" Fletcher taunted Janus.

**JANUS: 2000; FLETCHER: 3500**

"Oh, yeah? Well, how about this?" Janus suddenly held up one of the two cards in his hand. "I activate a Quick-play Magic card from my hand—Reverse of Neos! This could only be activated when a 'Neos' Fusion monster was destroyed…now it will let me Special Summon one Elemental Hero Neos from my deck to the field in Attack Mode—and it'll be the real deal this time around!"

"What!" Fletcher spat.

But in that very moment, Elemental Hero Neos himself emerged on the field in a burst of light, his ATK rising to 3000 due to the effect of Neo Space. "And there's more," Janus added. "Reverse of Neos will also allow the newly-arrived Neos to gain an ATK increase of 1000 points!" And as if to enforce the point, an energy field of pure white light surrounded Neos as his ATK shot up further to 4000!

"But…that makes him stronger than anything else on the field…!" Fletcher's eyes widened in astonishment and revulsion.

"And to make it even worse, Fletcher, your Satellite Cannon's ATK increase just now only lasted during that Damage Step when it was initially attacked, didn't it?" Janus went on. "Which means that once again it's the weakest monster on your side of the field…" He pointed out the Satellite Cannon's ATK, which had gone back down to 1500. "…therefore making it easy pickings for Neos to strike at!"

"For the love of…!" Fletcher clenched his teeth and braced himself.

"Neos, attack his weaker Satellite Cannon!" Janus commanded. Nodding in acknowledgement, Neos jumped high into the air and slammed his fist into the de-powered Satellite Cannon; though it managed to withstand the blow, even so the shockwave knocked Fletcher backwards.

**JANUS: 2000; FLETCHER: 1000**

"Damn it…" Fletcher clenched his fists. "Damn you, you little runt…!"

"Well, now, what next…I guess I'll just set this last card facedown, and call it a turn," said Janus, setting his last card facedown. "Oh, and…thanks to the effect of the Reverse of Neos magic card, Neos is destroyed now." And then Neos exploded into dust.

"You damn punk—I'll get you for this!" Fletcher raged even as he forcefully drew his next card. "Well, I'll activate the Union effect of my Heavy Mech Support Platform once again, and turn it back into a monster!" And as the Support platform realigned itself on the field as a monster card, the Satellite Cannon it'd been equipped to had its stats drop to 1000 ATK and 0 DEF.

"And let me guess—you'll sacrifice the Support Platform to bring back your third Satellite Cannon one more time?" asked Janus. "Wouldn't surprise me…"

"And you would be right!" said Fletcher. Whereupon the Support Platform vanished from the field once again, and the third Satellite Cannon re-appeared, its laser beam at the ready. "But that isn't all, little man—I'll set one card facedown now, and end my turn." And then the satellite that had just been summoned had its ATK rise to 1000, the second satellite increased its ATK to 2000, and the last increased its ATK to 4000.

The last of the Swords of Revealing Light vanished from the field at this point. "Uh-huh—and I'll take my turn once again!" said Janus, and he swiftly drew his card. "And now I have to make this turn count, since you can attack me on your next turn…and I do believe I know how to do it."

"Do you, now?" Fletcher asked scornfully.

"Sure I do!" said Janus. "I activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive my Elemental Hero Neos from the Graveyard in Attack Mode!" Then, in a burst of light, Neos reappeared on the field, Neo Space increasing his ATK to 3000 once again. "Hmm…now, you know, I COULD attack your weakest Satellite Cannon, but there's the matter of that facedown card of yours…guess I'd better not risk it right now," Janus said thoughtfully. "All right—I'll just end my turn for now."

"So you were worried about what my facedown card was, eh?" Fletcher asked as he took his turn and drew again. "Well, not to worry—I'm going to show you what it is right now! I activate the Quick-play Magic card—Limiter Removal, to double the ATK and DEF of all of my Machine-type monsters on the field!"

Suddenly, as out of nowhere, the first satellite's ATK rose to 2000, the second satellite's ATK went to 4000, and the third satellite's ATK climbed to a devastating 8000! At the same time, the Blue Thunder T-45, which had still been on the field up to this point, had its own ATK and DEF doubled to 4400 and 2000 respectively! "Of course, these monsters will all be destroyed at the end of this turn due to the effect of my Limiter Removal," said Fletcher. "But to wipe you out, that'll be well worth it! Now, vanish from before my eyes, Osiris Red scum!"

All three Satellite Cannons began charging up their laser cannons, and Blue Thunder T-45 readied its own lasers…but just then Janus shouted, "And I counter with my own Trap card—Justi-Break! When you declare an attack against a Normal monster on my side of the field, all monsters that are in Attack Mode on the field, and that aren't Normal monsters, will be destroyed!"

Fletcher's eyes widened in horror at this information. "No…!" But then all of a sudden—a barrage of lightning bolts shot down from above and tore through all of Fletcher's monsters! "…no…my monsters…!" Fletcher said weakly, his cards inadvertently falling from his hand as he watched the electrified and burning scrap metal.

"Hmph." Janus drew again. "I bet you thought your deck was invincible, with those Satellite Cannons backing you up, huh? And I bet you never imagined that they could be beaten—and by an Osiris Red student, no less? Well…you thought wrong! Now, Neos, finish him off with your Neo-Spacian Justice Rampage!"

Neos zipped forward, his fists becoming a blur as he repeatedly pummeled Fletcher all over. Helpless to do anything else, Fletcher jiggled like a broken doll as every part of him got bashed by Neos's hammer-like punches…then one especially powerful blow to his face sent him flying backwards and landing heavily on the ground.

**JANUS: 2000; FLETCHER: 0**

"Aaagh…shit…how dare you…how dare you strike me with your filthy monster! You, an Osiris Red bastard, striking me, a patriot to Obelisk Blue…!" Fletcher gagged and spat out blood as he ranted.

_**"Oy, Fletcher…"**_

"H-huh?" Fletcher looked up at the change in Janus's tone—and balked. "What…what…what the hell is this?" he cried in disbelief.

For now Janus was standing over him…and even as the Shadow Charm Pendant shone brightly—a large yellow outline of an eye seemed to be etched in Janus's forehead. Janus's own two natural eyes were psychotic white as he glared down at the hapless Fletcher. "You attacked my mother…you hurt my father…you endangered my schoolmates and teachers…and for _what?_ To enforce your own elitist ideals?" he spat, every word dripping with venom. "Well, guess what, you sorry excuse for a man? This is a Dark Game, let me remind you…and you just lost…and I have the **perfect** kind of justice to give to you…"

Fletcher stared in terror at this spectacle before him. "…no…please, don't…" he whimpered.

"Don't what? Kill you?" Janus shook his head. "Oh, no…death would be far too good for you. I've got something much worse in mind…something that will make your humiliation here today last." He pointed a finger at Fletcher. "From this day forth…since you hate Osiris Red so much…everything you see from now on will only be one color: the color of blood."

An incredulous look came over Fletcher's face. "What—"

"PENALTY GAME!" Janus shouted.

Then—from Fletcher's point of view…Janus's hair, his eyes, his skin, his clothes, the sinister fog surrounding them…everything in his line of vision was swiftly changing to one single color: red. "What…? What the hell? What's going on?" he exclaimed in bewilderment. "What have you done to me? Why's everything red all of a sudden? What happened to all the other colors?"

Without answering him, Janus turned and walked over to where his father was chained up in the coffin, even as the fog began to recede. Fletcher began to panic. "My eyes…! Something's wrong with my eyes!" he yelled, closing his eyes and covering them with his hands—but to his ever-rising horror, even seeing the backs of his eyelids, all he could see was red. "No! No! My eyes! MY EYES!"

Janus continued to ignore the man, however. The fog disappeared completely, the Shadow Charm Pendant flashed briefly—and then it was normal Janus standing there, before his father. "Dad…? Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

Principal Yuki blinked a little bit. "I ought to give you detention, you obnoxious brat," he grunted. "You disobeyed a direct instruction to stay put, after all."

Janus chuckled in spite of himself. "You're welcome."

"Janus!"

Turning their heads, Janus and Principal Yuki saw Ricardo coming down the stairs and hurrying toward them. Behind him were several members of campus security, some looking quite injured, and two of them escorting Beaumont in between them. "I found all the loyal security guards held upstairs, just like Beaumont said," Ricardo reported. Then he eyed Fletcher, who was thrashing around in a corner still screaming about his eyes. "Uh—what's wrong with him?"

"Not much," Janus shrugged. "Guess he's just seeing red after losing to me in a duel, maybe." And he chuckled a little.

"You—you son-of-a-bitch!" Fletcher roared, clawing at his face with one hand. "What the hell did you do to me? What did you do to my eyes?" He pointed a violently shaking finger at Janus. "That kid—that kid's not natural! He's not human!"

Two of the more robust guards rushed over to Fletcher, swiftly restraining him. "He did something to me!" Fletcher screamed, kicking and struggling against them. "Everything's colored red! Can't you see it? It's all red! Red! Red, I tell you!"

"Uh-huh…a Grade A nut-job, without a doubt," said Janus.

"Let's just get out of this place, what do you say?" Principal Yuki said quietly.

"I agree," Ricardo nodded, and he walked forward and proceeded to help Janus with Principal Yuki's chains.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY INFIRMARY, 11:20 a.m.

"Mmmm…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki moaned a little and opened her eyes. "Ungh…geez, I still ache…" she muttered.

"Oh, you're awake now…good. That rest was good for you, after what you went through," Nurse Fontaine's voice came to her ears. "Do you feel a little stronger now?"

"Kinda…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki shifted a little on the bed. "Just give me a couple aspirins, and I'll be good to go…"

"Aspirins alone won't be enough—you did take quite a beating, after all," Nurse Fontaine said sternly. "You'll need a lot of bed-rest…and fortunately, this is the weekend coming up, so you'll have plenty of time to get the rest you need."

"Uh-huh," said Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki—and suddenly she tensed. "Jaden…!"

"Hmm?" Nurse Fontaine followed the other woman's gaze to the door of the room. "Oh, my…!"

Standing there were Janus, Ricardo, and Principal Yuki, the latter with his arms draped over the other two's shoulders. "Hey, everybody," Principal Yuki chuckled, wincing as he spoke.

Nurse Fontaine was at his side in a moment. "Goodness! We'd better get you patched up immediately!" she cried, hurriedly leading Principal Yuki to the nearest bed.

"I'll live, at least," Principal Yuki answered, though he didn't resist as Nurse Fontaine began to administer her medical aid on him. "More importantly…Lexi, you feeling any better now?" he directed the question to his wife.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki couldn't help but smirk. "Better than you, that's for sure. And…" Her gaze turned to Janus and Ricardo. "You two…you must've gotten into some trouble bringing him back here, didn't you?"

"Kinda," Janus admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"The important thing is, though, everyone's going to be all right now," said Ricardo. "Oh, just so you know, Nurse Fontaine, we've got quite a lot of the members of security personnel out in the waiting room. They got quite a lot of injuries, too…"

"Oh, well—a nurse's work is never done," Nurse Fontaine sighed and shook her head.

"Hey, Janus." Principal Yuki chuckled. "I'll say this much. You went through quite a bit of trouble to get me out of that sticky little predicament back there. Thanks to you, Duel Academy won't have to worry too much about Fletcher for a good long while. As your father, I couldn't have asked for a better son."

Janus blushed a little. "Dad…"

Then, almost as suddenly, Principal Yuki's face became stern. "However, as the principal of this school, I will also say: You deliberately disobeyed a direct order from me not to get yourself involved in this affair—_and_ you came to the abandoned dorm, which I'm sure your mother has told you so many times to stay away from! Young man, you have a serious problem with obeying authority figures, so…as of right now, you are stuck in DETENTION!"

"WHAT?" Janus rushed over to the bed, hopped up on it, and began to jump up and down on Principal Yuki's stomach. "You can't give me detention—not after I just saved your life! You're nothing but a damn stupid ingrate, old man—I should've just let Fletcher kill you!"

"No, please don't do that! He's injured enough already!" Nurse Fontaine protested.

"What're you talking about, Nurse? All of a sudden I feel just fine!" Principal Yuki, with fire in his eyes and fangs in his mouth, grabbed Janus in a tight headlock. "And who exactly do _you_ think you're using such language towards, you little pipsqueak? You're a thousand years too young to be defying me!"

"Says you!" Janus exploded, biting Principal Yuki's arm.

"YEOW! Why, you…I'll kick your ass!" Principal Yuki snarled, grabbing Janus by the front of his shirt.

"Just try it, you old fart!" Janus shot back, ramming the palm of his hand underneath his father's chin.

Ricardo sweat-dropped as father and son disappeared in a swirling cloud of smoke, even as they continued to fight each other. "Um…ma'am…they're your family…" he began, looking at Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki.

"What're you talking about? I don't know these two idiots!" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki scoffed, crossing her arms and looking in another direction away from the conflict.

----------

AN HOUR LATER

The school's intercom generated a bit of feedback from the microphone; then Principal Yuki's voice came on, clear and strong. "Good afternoon, Duel Academy; students, faculty members and other members of staff," he said. "If I may have everyone's attention for a moment…it pleases me greatly to announce that the individuals responsible for the assault on our Academy earlier this morning have all been apprehended."

At once, within the dorms, a burst of cheering broke out from the students even as Principal Yuki continued, "The mainland authorities have already been contacted, and are currently on their way here to pick up these perpetrators. They're being held inside the auditorium for the time being, so until further notice, everyone is being warned to stay away from there…and also, as a result of today's incident, classes will be suspended until further notice. However, those of you students who received passes to leave Duel Academy for the day, you will be pleased to know that you are now permitted to leave at your leisure."

Over at the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, Calhoun chuckled and crossed his arms. "Finally…well, time to bail out of here and go see that Drake Phoenix…"

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, IN THE MEANTIME

"Drake!"

Mrs. Phoenix walked along the mansion's corridors with swift, determined steps, startling the servants with her loud yell. She stomped up the stairs and headed for his room, where she proceeded to bang loudly on the door with her fist. "Drake, come on out of there!" she yelled.

Immediately the door swung open. "What is it, Mom? Is somebody dead or something?" Drake asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Somebody _will_ be if I don't get an explanation!" Mrs. Phoenix glowered.

"Explanation for what?" Drake persisted. "What's this all about, anyway?"

"Just a little while ago, some very suspicious characters showed up at the front gate," Mrs. Phoenix told him. "All of them, players of that ridiculous card game—and friends of yours, no doubt! What, can't you youngsters find better things to base your club activities on nowadays?"

Drake chuckled. "Oh, I see…looks like the guests I invited have arrived…"

"Well, do me a favor and hurry up and get rid of those people!" Mrs. Phoenix snapped. "It's bad enough that you and Jessica are so interested in such a pointless past-time, and even worse that you have that uncouth-looking duelist staying in this house as well, but to have a whole group of them tramping near our grounds like this, much less having them inside our house? This is unacceptable!"

"Okay, okay, I'm on it, Mom," Drake waved away her indignation. "I'll go see to them. Where are they now, anyway? Still outside?"

"Humph! Your father has them in the library right now—such nerve, having such time-wasters in this house, indeed!" Mrs. Phoenix fumed. "He said he'd entertain them as guests till you came to address them…but I would much rather they be acquainted with the outside of the front door! Go deal with them, now!"

"I'm going, I'm going," Drake sighed, stepping past his mother and heading for the stairs.

----------

"So, what's your sign? Mine's Virgo!" Jessica said, her chin propped onto one hand, hearts in her eyes.

Sitting across from her, Jan had his arms folded over his chest and a neutral look on his face. "Mine is 'not interested,'" he answered coolly.

"Really? Awww!" Jessica pouted. "I should've known! You're a bent arrow, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not a 'bent arrow,'" Jan replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm just not into minors. And you're a minor."

"Am not!" Jessica pouted some more. "I'm a grown woman now!"

"Oy, Jessica, you'd better leave him alone—he's way out of your league," Drake's voice reached them from the staircase. "Anyway, it seems the folks I invited have finally arrived. Let's go greet them."

"I heard your mother hollering upstairs about that," said Jan. "A group of duelists…she must not really like duelists very much, does she?"

"Yeah, she says Duel Monsters is a waste of time and talent…but that's only because she's never played the game herself," Jessica answered. "But Drake, who exactly is it that's here?"

"Come and see," said Drake, and he turned and started to walk away.

"Interesting," said Jan. "Perhaps I should go and see who these people are, as well. If they're duelists, they should be at least half-interesting."

"Yes, let's go see who it is!" Jessica said eagerly, hearts in her eyes again. "And while we're there, I'll show you just how grand our family's library is! You haven't seen the library here yet, have you? It's one of the coolest places on the planet!"

Drake scoffed at this assertion, but said nothing as he walked down one of the corridors with Jan and Jessica right behind him.

After a moment or two of walking, the trio turned a corner…and standing in front of a large door was Mr. Phoenix, a sheepish look on his face. "About time you got here, Drake," he addressed his son. "Your mother really railed at me for admitting these guys into the house. Were you expecting them?"

"Yeah, I'd called them all up and told them to come here," Drake replied. "Guess Mom never got the memo that they'd be here today."

"Uh, Dad, who exactly is it?" Jessica asked.

Now Mr. Phoenix gave a knowing chuckle. "The House of Cards."

Drake smirked at this. Jessica, meantime, looked astonished. "The House of Cards? Why are they here all of a sudden?" she asked.

"Excuse me…what's this 'House of Cards' that you're all talking about so suddenly?" Jan queried.

"The House of Cards is a group of Duel Monsters players who I brought together quite a while back," Drake explained. "They're all expert duelists who've made it big in the pro leagues over the years, and they all use some rather complicated and frighteningly powerful deck strategies."

"I'm a member of this group too!" Jessica said importantly. "In fact, I serve as the group's acting president when Drake's not around to conduct a meeting…and speaking of which, maybe you could become a member…" She winked at Jan.

"Well, he probably could—his dueling skill is rather commendable, at least," said Drake. "But that'll be left for the rest of the group to decide. So…let's go in and see them, eh?"

So saying, he pushed the library door open…and smiled. "Welcome, welcome, everyone. I must admit, this was rather short-notice, but oh well…"

There were eight individuals, five men and three women, seated here and there throughout the library, all bearing Duel-Disks on their arms and frowns on their faces. "Sure thing, partner; I'm just glad we could get to have a chat with you before your little festivities got underway," one of the men spoke up, in a Southern American drawl.

"Indeed," another of the men agreed, this one speaking with a smooth French accent. "And might I add, my friend, your mother really needs to—how do you say?—lighten up. She seems to think we duelists carry the plague."

"Yes, well…I apologize for that," said Drake. "But that's just how she is—she's never thought much of Duel Monsters on a whole. I'm still working on her, though."

"Anyway, why have you called us together so prematurely? We could be spending this time to train, you know," one of the women said harshly, this one wearing brown and gold combat fatigues.

Drake smiled. "A reasonable line of argument—especially considering who your particular opponents will be in the upcoming tournament."

Another of the women spoke up, this one clad in a dark blue biker outfit and sporting a tattoo of a flaming sword on one hand. "Well, now…who's the cutie?" she asked, nodding her head at Jan.

"Oh, him?" Drake smirked. "Just a new…acquaintance…of mine, who happens to be a duelist on par with any one of you here."

"On par with us, huh?" another of the men asked, this one wearing a pair or round-rimmed blue sunglasses. "Well, if you're saying that, Drake, I guess it counts for something…"

"Enough about all that—let's get to the main reason why we came here in the first place," the fourth man grunted, he wearing a white cap backwards on his head. "Why'd you call us here now, when the date for your tournament is tomorrow?"

"I know why you did that," the third woman stated, a woman wearing a light blue kimono with a black hakama, similar to a Japanese miko. "After all, your intentions cannot be so easily hidden from me…" She fixed a piercing stare at Drake.

"Is it a problem?" Drake asked, returning the stare.

"Well, personally, I don't care what your motives are—at least we'll be showing off our skills, the way we weren't able to do for Dueltropolis," the fifth man remarked, he wearing an unbuttoned leather jacket that revealed some very impressive six-pack abs underneath.

"Wait a minute—is it really all right to have that guy over there involved in this little get-together?" the woman with combat fatigues asked, indicating Jan. "He's not even a member of the House of Cards…"

"That can be rectified right now!" Jessica spoke up brightly. "As vice-president and co-founder of the House of Cards, I make a motion that he be inducted into our group as our newest member!"

Jan cocked an eyebrow. "Hmph…"

"My sister has made her motion," said Drake. "Personally, I don't have a problem with it—I can personally vouch for his skill at Duel Monsters, as I said. But what say the rest of you?"

The miko nodded once. "You may have seen his dueling strength, Drake, but the rest of us have not. So, let him give a demonstration of his skill, and we will evaluate him."

"And I'll be the evaluator!" the combat-fatigues woman jumped up immediately. "At the very least, I'll be able to make up for the lack of training time that my being here has cost me already!"

"Fair enough," Drake nodded. "Very well…let's go outside, then. Shall we?"

"Yee-haw! Some excitement!" the man with the Southern American accent cheered, grinning.

Jan shrugged. "Oh, well, it's fine, I guess. At least we'll find out if you're really as good as Phoenix here says."

The combat-fatigues woman scowled.

They all got up and exited the library, heading down the corridor and toward the main hall to go outside. As they walked, the miko tapped Jessica on the shoulder. "Miss Jessica, your brother has chosen to ally himself with a very dangerous man, it seems."

"Hmm? You mean Jan? Well…" Jessica's eyes turned into hearts. "Isn't he the dreamiest? I mean, sure, he's a bit on the moody side, and he acts all disinterested and everything, but he knows how to steal a girl's heart!" She released a heartfelt sigh.

"Still…" The miko's eyes narrowed. "Just from looking at him…I could sense immense power…terrible power…and a very dark aura surrounds him even now…"

"Oh?" Jessica looked quizzically at her.

"You will soon see what I mean…that I guarantee…" The miko nodded knowingly.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ As I speak, I edit these chapters' footnotes at my office, where it's currently a buzz of chatter as my co-workers talk about this, that, and the other. I hope all is well with you guys out there in Reader-land! Review soon!


	35. Trial by Fire

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Well, as you already know, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 35 – Trial by Fire**

_Character's First Appearance in Story_

_ALYX_

_NAME: Alyx Brodie_

_AGE: 23_

_HAIR: Dark brown (done in a dreadlocks style)_

_EYES: Dark brown_

_CLOTHES: Brown and gold combat fatigues, combat boots_

_USAGI_

_NAME: Usagi Saiou_

_AGE: 22_

_HAIR: Black, with dark blue highlights_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Light blue kimono, black hakama_

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 12:30 p.m.

Mrs. Phoenix emerged from the kitchen, holding a glass of lemonade in one hand. "Hmm…I wonder if Drake has gotten rid of those annoying people yet," she mused. "Oh, well, I guess I can relax on one of the lawn-chairs outside for a while."

She went to the front door—and stopped cold. "…what…" The glass slipped from her hand and crashed to the ground, spilling lemonade near her feet in the process; but she didn't even seem to notice this, nor did she notice two maids frantically hurrying to clean up the mess she'd just made. "What is this…?"

Mr. Phoenix, who was standing nearby at that moment, looked up. "Oh, hello there, honey," he chuckled. "Come to watch the spectacle, too, have you? It promises to be quite entertaining."

Not far away, on the lawn, Jan and the combat-fatigues woman were standing at attention with Duel-Disks ready, while Drake, Jessica and the other seven guests stood off to the side, observing keenly. Mrs. Phoenix stared at this for one long moment…then suddenly she snapped out of her seeming trance. "Aster!" She rushed up to her husband and grabbed the front of his jacket. "Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Stop those fools!"

"Why?" asked Mr. Phoenix. "It's not like they're going to burn down the mansion. It's nothing to get alarmed about—they're just going to have a little duel, that's all."

"What they're going to do is waste valuable time and take up valuable space on our property, all to play a meaningless card game!" Mrs. Phoenix snapped. "I won't allow this! If you're not going to have them removed from this place, then _I_ will!"

She turned to walk toward the duelists—but suddenly a hand clapped down hard on her shoulder, and a sudden chill passed through her entire body. "Dear…" Mr. Phoenix leaned in close to whisper softly, but ominously, in her ear. "They haven't done anything wrong. Leave them be."

"But…they're…" Mrs. Phoenix hissed defiantly, even as a small bead of sweat popped up on her head and began to trickle down her face.

Mr. Phoenix's eyes narrowed. "They are not your brother, Karen."

At that Mrs. Phoenix's eyes widened—then she turned and violently slapped Mr. Phoenix. "Bastard!" she screeched, then ran past the startled maids, who were still cleaning up the spilled lemonade, and ran back inside.

"…ow…" Mr. Phoenix gingerly put his hand to his face where she'd slapped him.

Seeing all this, Jessica winced. "Wow…Dad really got Mom mad, didn't he?"

"It's a regular thing. Just ignore it." Drake crossed his arms indifferently.

For his part, Jan shook his head. "Well, at least the noisy act has let up, finally…now I can be a little more clear-headed in this fight."

"That's good," the combat-fatigues woman replied. "Now, we can begin…but first things first, you ought to know who it is you're up against, shouldn't you?"

She pointed a thumb at herself, smirking. "The name is Alyx Brodie, successor of the Volcanic style of dueling! Against my strategy, you haven't a chance of escaping without getting scorched!"

"Is that right…then perhaps you should actually try to scorch me before you start talking big," said Jan coolly.

"You're the one talking big—you think you'll escape my strategy?" Alyx challenged. "Let's see you try!"

**JAN: 8000; ALYX: 8000**

The two swiftly shuffled their decks and slotted them into their Duel-Disks, even while their respective life point scores went up to 8000. "I'll be the one to call it—and I call heads!" Alyx announced.

The holographic coin then emerged and was flipped…and when it landed, it indeed showed heads. "Good! So I'll go first!" Alyx grinned. "Now, prepare to burn!"

"Uh-huh," said Jan.

They swiftly drew their first five cards; then Alyx drew her sixth. "Now…time to bring on the heat!" she announced. "And I'll do that by activating this Field Magic card—Molten Destruction!"

All at once, the beautiful green lawn on which they were dueling vanished—replaced seconds later by several huge volcanoes surrounding them, leaking menacing-looking streams of lava in the process! "As long as this card stays on the field, it increases the ATK of all Fire monsters by 500 points in exchange for lowering their DEF by 400," Alyx explained. "Now…I summon Volcanic Slicer (ATK 1800, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later, the ground in front of Alyx burst open, spewing out a small stream of lava—and from that stream there emerged a metallic creature with smoke rising from its mouth. Due to Molten Destruction's effect, its ATK rose up to 2300 even as its DEF shrunk to 800. "Since this is the first turn of the duel, I can't attack, _but_ I can use my monster's effect!" said Alyx. "Once per turn, in exchange for him not being able to attack during the same turn, Volcanic Slicer can inflict 500 points of damage to your life points!"

Volcanic Slicer promptly shot a ball of molten flame from its mouth, hitting Jan dead-on.

**JAN: 7500; ALYX: 8000**

But even as the smoke from the attack rose off his torso, Jan merely scoffed. "Is that all? Then you'll have a long way to go before you bring me down."

"Still talking big even though I've drawn first blood? Either you're really gutsy, or you're just plain stupid," Alyx answered. "Well, whatever. I'll throw one card facedown, and call it a turn."

Unfazed, Jan drew his card. "Hmph…this isn't a promising hand…ah, well. I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, for now. Go."

"That's it? After all that arrogant talk, that's all you can do? What a joke!" Alyx scoffed. "And Drake said you could match any of us…hey, Drake, what were you smoking, eh? This guy's nothing but chatter!"

"Just play the duel," Drake said stonily.

"Hmph…fine!" Alyx drew her next card. "I summon Volcanic Blaster (ATK 1200, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" And another burst of lava broke out from the ground before her, revealing a dome-shaped metal monster. As it settled into place next to Volcanic Slicer, its ATK rose to 1700 while its DEF went down to 200 thanks to Molten Destruction. "Now, I attack with Volcanic Slicer!"

Volcanic Slicer blasted another ball of molten flame from its mouth, hitting Jan's facedown monster and revealing it to be the Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500), and promptly burning it to a crisp. "And next, your life points are wide open! Take it away, Volcanic Blaster!" Alyx commanded. And from the turret installed on its domed body, Volcanic Blaster fired several shots all over Jan's side of the field.

**JAN: 5800; ALYX: 8000**

"Aw, c'mon!" Jessica whined. "I thought you'd be a better duelist than this, Janny-poo!"

"…Janny-poo…?" Jan made a face.

"Ahem…that's it for my turn for now," Alyx announced. "But, seriously, you're boring the hell out of me! And here I was thinking that I'd actually get to enjoy myself, burning you to death!"

"Hmph." Jan simply drew his next card. "In dueling, there are usually two overall ways of playing. One is to hit the opponent hard and fast, and take him down in as few turns as possible. The other way is to duel methodically, studying your opponent, waiting for the right moment to hit him at his weak point, even if you take some damage yourself in the process. Neither way of playing is right or wrong. Each has its strengths and each has its weaknesses. The key is to see which of these two methods your opponent will use, and know how to use his method's weaknesses against him."

"And your point is…?" Alyx asked impatiently.

"Have a little more patience. I'll soon show you my point." Jan then examined the six cards in his hand. "All right…I'll set one card facedown, and activate a Magic card…Card Destruction! Now, we each discard our entire hands and draw cards equal to the number we discarded!"

Alyx promptly discarded the three cards she held—but as she drew three more to replenish her hand, she announced, "And this activates the effect of one of the cards I discarded, Volcanic Scattershot (ATK 500, DEF 0)! When it's sent to the Graveyard, you get 500 points of damage!" And then, as she finished speaking, a burst of fire erupted on Jan's side of the field.

**JAN: 5300; ALYX: 8000**

Frowning, Jan simply discarded his four remaining hand-cards for Card Destruction's effect, and drew four more. "Hmm…well, I'll just set one more monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for the moment."

"Grr…all right, your slow way of playing is really pissing me off!" Alyx grated as she drew her next card. "I'm going to end this right now!" She then pointed a finger at Jan's facedown monster. "By tributing one monster that you control, I can Special Summon this next monster from my hand to your side of the field…come to the field, Volcanic Queen (ATK 2500, DEF 1200)"

Instantly, Jan's facedown monster disappeared—and then, in its place there arose a hulking winged monster that had numerous bursts of flame all over its body! Molten Destruction promptly increased its ATK to 3000, while lowering its DEF to 800. "Whoa…she actually called THAT out this soon?" the female guest with the biker outfit asked in surprise.

Jan looked up at the new monster on his side of the field, then looked at Alyx. "You gave me a stronger monster…for what purpose?"

"To do this!" Alyx then pointed to the facedown card she'd had so long. "Now, I reveal my Trap card, Ring of Destruction! This will destroy one face-up monster of my choice, and we'll both take damage equal to its ATK!"

And then—BANG! The Volcanic Queen exploded, sending a fiery shockwave across the field that threatened to knock both players backwards! "Ack!" Jessica cried, shielding herself instinctively.

Drake, however, remained unfazed. "Heh."

**JAN: 2300; ALYX; 5000**

"And now, your life points are wide open—enough for me to take you down!" Alyx cried. "Volcanic Blaster, lead the way and attack him directly!"

Volcanic Blaster's gun turret faced toward Jan again—but suddenly Jan cried, "And I reveal my own Trap card, Archfiend's Roar! By paying 500 life points, I can Special Summon one Archfiend monster from my Graveyard—and I choose my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

**JAN: 1800; ALYX: 5000**

As Jan's life points dropped a little further, a sudden burst of lightning struck on his side of the field, revealing the Skull Archfiend in its grim glory. "WHAT! But—when did _he_ get in your Graveyard?" Alyx exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Do I really have to break it down step by step for you?" asked Jan. "The Skull Archfiend of Lightning was one of the monsters I sent to the Graveyard when I activated my Card Destruction card a little while ago. And now, he's here, fending off both of your monsters with ease."

"Grrr…all right, fine. Volcanic Blaster, stand down," Alyx said grudgingly; and Volcanic Blaster obeyed. "I end my turn, then."

Almost immediately Skull Archfiend disappeared from the field. "Due to the effect of Archfiend's Roar, the monster it summoned is destroyed at the end of the turn the card was activated," Jan explained. "Still, it bought me some time…"

"What time?" Alyx mocked him. "You've only got 1800 life points left, in case you haven't noticed! Plus, you don't have anything left on your side of the field! I, on the other hand, have 5000 life points and two monsters ready to crush you! And you say you've bought some time? Oh, please!"

"Well, then…" Jan drew his next card, so he now held a total of four in hand. "I think I'll be generous and equip your Volcanic Slicer with a Magic card…the Axe of Despair, increasing its ATK by 1000 points!"

A moment later Volcanic Slicer found itself holding the Axe of Despair even as its ATK rose to 3300. "Okay…and you're being so generous, because…?" Alyx wanted to know.

"Because now, I can activate another Magic card!" Jan held up another card from his hand. "This one needs an Archfiend card to be on the field for it survive on the field, otherwise it'll be destroyed…fortunately, the Archfiend in question doesn't have to be a monster, and so the Axe of Despair will suffice! And so, I activate this card: Falling Down!"

"Falling Down?" Alyx cocked an eyebrow.

"It's an Equip Magic card," said Jan, "that can only be equipped to one of your face-up monsters—but then it allows me to take control of that equipped monster! And I choose your Volcanic Slicer!"

"…shit…!" Alyx hissed through her teeth—but before she could do anything else, Volcanic Slicer swiftly went over to Jan's side of the field! "Hey! Give back my monster, thief!"

"Give it back? To you?" Jan said coldly. "After what I saw you do to your own Volcanic Queen when you summoned it on my side of the field—sorry, but I believe these monsters would be better off in the Graveyard. Which is where both of your monsters, here, will be going now, for…I'll offer the Volcanic Slicer as a tribute to summon a new monster: Beast of Talwar (ATK 2400, DEF 2150), in Attack Mode!"

Volcanic Slicer, along with the Axe of Despair and Falling Down cards it had been equipped with, vanished from the field…and then, standing there in its place was a green-skinned, blue-winged fiend wielding two curved swords. "My Beast of Talwar will cut your Volcanic Blaster down to size—but he's not going to attack alone," said Jan, holding up the last card left in his hand. "For now, I'm going to do some Special Summoning of my own…by removing three Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard from play! And so, I'll remove Archfiend Soldier, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, and the monster you forcefully tributed to call forth your Volcanic Queen, the Desrook Archfiend (ATK 1100, DEF 1800)…to bring forth Dark Necrofear (ATK 2200, DEF 2800) in Attack Mode!"

The spirits of Jan's three chosen monsters floated out of his Graveyard…then suddenly, Dark Necrofear's sinister shadowy form appeared on the field, cradling her broken baby doll in her arms. "Now, Dark Necrofear, destroy her Volcanic Blaster!" Jan ordered—and from the broken doll's mouth a beam of black energy shot out, ripping through Volcanic Blaster and rendering it to scrap and flames.

**JAN: 1800; ALYX: 4500**

But suddenly Alyx smirked. "Now I activate the effect of a monster from my Graveyard—Volcanic Counter (ATK 300, DEF 1300)! It's one of the cards you forced me to discard with your little Card Destruction card earlier…and its effect states that if you inflict battle damage to me while it's in my Graveyard, I must remove it from play. Then, if there are any other Fire monsters in my Graveyard other than Volcanic Counter, I inflict damage to you equal to the battle damage you gave me!"

Jan grimaced at this information—but all at once a missile-shaped blast of fire erupted right underneath him!

**JAN: 1300; ALYX: 4500**

"And furthermore," Alyx went on, "when Volcanic Blaster is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I get to take one monster that has 'Volcanic' in its name from anywhere in my deck, and place it on top of my deck! And the one I choose is…Volcanic Rocket (ATK 1900, DEF 1400)!" Then she quickly thumbed through her deck, found the card in question, and slotted it at the top of her deck.

"Ungh…interesting…" Jan grunted. "But I still have my Beast of Talwar to attack with! Go, my monster—slice her up!" And in reply, Beast of Talwar dashed forward, jumping past the numerous lava pools being created by Molten Destruction in the process, and delivered an X-strike to Alyx with his swords, pushing her back.

**JAN: 1300; ALYX: 2100**

"Okay…so he's come back a bit…" Jessica turned to Drake. "Hey, which of them do you think will win?"

Drake shrugged. "That's not for me to say at this point," he answered. "Of course, they're both skilled…but the one with the greater skill will be the winner. It's as plain as that."

Meanwhile, Alyx drew her card—the Volcanic Rocket she'd mentioned moments ago. "All right…now I'm going to turn the heat up a notch!" she declared. "First, I activate a Continuous Magic card—Blaze Accelerator!"

Suddenly, on her side of the field there appeared a large metallic cannon. "However, this isn't going to stay on the field for long," Alyx declared. "It's just here so I can activate this Quick-play Magic card of mine—Wild Fire!"

Inexplicably, the Blaze Accelerator burst into flame! "When Wild Fire is activated, I pay 500 life points, and my Blaze Accelerator is destroyed," said Alyx, "but then all monsters on the field are destroyed as well!"

"Huh?" Jan's eyebrow lifted—but then the Blaze Accelerator exploded, and the blast took out Dark Necrofear and Beast of Talwar as well, even as Alyx's own life points dropped to 1600! "Shit…!"

**JAN: 1300; ALYX: 1600**

"But it doesn't end there," Alyx continued. "After all that, I get to Special Summon one Wild Fire Token in Attack Mode, and it's treated as a Pyro-type, Level 3, Fire-attribute monster with 1000 ATK and 1000 DEF. And—fortunately for you, but unfortunately for me—I have to forfeit my attack this turn." Then, as she finished speaking, a rush of flame shot up from the debris of the destroyed Blaze Accelerator, and took the shape of a fiery serpent even as Molten Destruction increased its ATK to 1500 and decreased its DEF to 600.

"And now, I summon my Volcanic Rocket in Attack Mode!" Alyx continued, bringing forth a rocket-shaped monster with red wing-thrusters; thanks to Molten Destruction, its ATK shot up to 2400 while its DEF went down to 1000. "And here's the best past—when Volcanic Rocket is summoned, I'm allowed to add one Blaze Accelerator from my deck or Graveyard to my hand…and since there's one in my Graveyard, that's the one I'll add to my hand!"

While Jan watched, Alyx shifted through her Graveyard and retrieved the Blaze Accelerator card. "It's only too bad that I can't attack you right now due to my Wild Fire's effect," she sighed, "but at least I've got you in a position now where there's absolutely nothing you can do. Come next turn, I'll utterly decimate you."

"Uh-huh…and do you end your turn now?" Jan asked pointedly.

"Hmph…well, I don't see any need to activate my Blaze Accelerator card again right now, so sure, why not?" said Alyx. "Go ahead and take your turn, loser…"

Then suddenly she noticed something. "Eh…! What the hell—that shadow…!"

For all of a sudden, a large shadow was rising up around Volcanic Rocket, enshrouding its entire body! "Hmph…that would be my Dark Necrofear's effect activating," Jan explained. "When she's destroyed in battle or by a card effect while she's a monster, she turns into an Equip Magic card and gets equipped to one of your monsters…and as long as she stays equipped to that monster, control of that monster belongs to me."

Alyx paled. "No…!"

Drake, however, smirked a little. _Same tactic he used on me, when he and I dueled back then…_

Volcanic Rocket flew over to Jan's side of the field, even as Alyx watched in dismay. "So, tell me, little girl…am I still boring you to death now?" Jan asked her, even as a sneer appeared on his face.

----------

Up in her and Mr. Phoenix's bedroom, Mrs. Phoenix sat by the window, glaring out at the lawn as the duel continued. "Idle fools," she grumbled. "Wasting time and energy on such a stupid past-time…"

She looked away. "Just like you did…Brother…"

----------

"I draw!" Jan drew a card to replenish his hand. "Hmm…all right, I do believe it's time for me to start winning this duel! Volcanic Rocket, destroy her Wild Fire Token!"

"Why, you…!" Alyx hissed through gritted teeth—but she could do nothing as Volcanic Rocket, shrouded by Dark Necrofear, flew forward and tore through the Wild Fire Token, extinguishing the token's flames in the process. "Damn it…you'll pay for that!"

**JAN: 1300; ALYX: 700**

"That's the price you pay for rushing headlong into a fight without considering your own strength against that of your opponent," said Jan. "I'll end my turn now."

Seething, Alyx drew again, so now she held three cards in hand—but then when she saw what she'd drawn, her scowl slowly turned into a grin. "Hmph…start saying your prayers, punk…because now, my ace card is going to turn you into ashes right where you stand!"

Drake, still watching the duel, cocked an eyebrow. _Oh…do you now have the means to call THAT out?_

Alyx held up one of her cards. "Remember my Blaze Accelerator? Well, I'm going to activate it again!" she announced—and true to her word, the Blaze Accelerator re-appeared on the field. "But it's not going to stop there…"

"Oh?" Jan wondered.

"That's right! Now…" Alyx held up her second card. "By sending my Blaze Accelerator to the Graveyard, I can activate this card—Tri-Blaze Accelerator!"

The Blaze Accelerator disappeared in an instant, replaced by a three-turret metal cannon. Seeing this, Jessica and the others gasped. "She's…she's actually going to summon that thing…!" Jessica breathed.

Drake nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

Then Alyx held up the very last card in her hand. "And now…by sending the Tri-Blaze Accelerator to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon my ultimate monster…say hello to Volcanic Doomfire (ATK 3000, DEF 1800)!"

The Tri-Blaze Accelerator vanished—then, from the ground there burst another geyser of lava that spewed its dangerous magma every which where! And then…emerging from that crack in the ground was a large rocky creature with flames everywhere on its body, brimstone spewing from its mouth. Molten Destruction promptly decreased its DEF to 1400—but its ATK shot up to 3500! "Now, pay the price for stealing my monster!" Alyx yelled. "Doomfire, attack! Brimstone Breath!"

Volcanic Doomfire instantly spewed from its mouth a burst of flame and black ash, incinerating both Volcanic Rocket and Dark Necrofear! As the heat of the attack hit him head-on, Jan couldn't help grunting in pain. "Ugh…such strength…!" he hissed.

**JAN: 200; ALYX: 700**

"Naturally! Expect nothing less from a member of the House of Cards!" Alyx said triumphantly. "Now, it's the end of my turn…but nothing you can do now will save your sorry ass!"

In response, Jan just drew another card. He scrutinized it…then glanced at the other card he was still holding. "And…it would seem that patience is about to pay off," he said softly. "Now, let's do this properly…I summon Shadow Delver (ATK 1500, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!"

Then there appeared on Jan's side of the field a man in a big black cloak. "What the hell is this? This guy's ATK is weaker than my Doomfire's!" Alyx spat in disgust.

"True," said Jan. "Your Volcanic Doomfire's ATK is 3500 right now, while my Shadow Delver's ATK is only 1500. However, he's got a terrifying power…a power which I'll now unlock with this card…" He held up the very last card in his hand. "The Magic card, Double Summon!"

"What? How the hell is that supposed to…wait…" Realization suddenly swept over Alyx's face.

"I'm glad you realize it now," said Jan. "Double Summon allows me to make one additional Normal Summon this turn. And with a monster like Shadow Delver, it's especially useful, because Shadow Delver is a Gemini Monster…and Gemini Monsters can be Normal Summoned once again when they're on the field, to turn into monsters with effects!"

"Uh-huh…but even so, how's that going to help you here?" Alyx asked.

"Pay attention and you'll see," said Jan. "Now…Shadow Delver is treated as a Normal Monster right now, but watch how that changes when I activate his Second Summon!"

All at once, Shadow Delver's shadow seemed to rise from the ground—transforming into a menacing creature of darkness that hissed at both Alyx and Volcanic Doomfire. "And now that Shadow Delver has received his effect, let me explain what he can do," Jan continued. "Once per turn, I can select one Level 4 or lower Dark monster on my side of the field…and, for that turn only, that selected monster can attack my opponent's life points directly. Now, tell me…do you see any monsters on my side of the field that fit the bill?"

Alyx paled. "You…you're going to use your monster's effect on himself!"

"Exactly!" Jan pointed at Alyx. "I may not be able to defeat my opponent's monster, but I can still defeat the monster's owner if I have the right tools! Now…Shadow Delver, end this duel with a direct attack! Shadow Consumption!"

Shadow Delver's shadow swiftly stretched out, shooting past Volcanic Doomfire and blanketing Alyx's body completely! "AH! NO! GET IT OFF!" she shrieked, clawing at the shadow in a futile attempt to escape. "GET THIS THING OFF ME! IT'S GONNA EAT ME! HEEEEEELLLP!"

**JAN: 200; ALYX: 0**

Now Drake stepped forward. "Hey, hey, Shimizu, I think that's enough of that…you've won, you know."

The miko-dressed guest closed her eyes. _As I foresaw would happen…this man truly has a dangerous power at his disposal…_

Sighing, Jan switched off his Duel-Disk—and just like that, the holograms disappeared, returning the lawn to its previous green and fertile state. Alyx promptly dropped to her knees, hugging herself tightly, her eyes wide with fright. "…no…shadow's gonna eat me…help me…" she mumbled.

"Um, maybe you shouldn't have done that, Janny-poo…she's kinda got this thing about being in dark, enclosed spaces," Jessica said sheepishly.

"Claustrophobic? That was unexpected," said Jan. "And could you _not_ call me that weird nickname?"

Alyx was breathing heavily now, sweat beading down the side of her head. Then she looked up at Jan…and her eyes narrowed again. "Damn you…"

"Don't look at me like that," said Jan. "You brought your defeat upon yourself—rushing to finish me off without taking time to actually strategize properly. If you want to rectify this loss, then become a better duelist."

"Hey, Alyx, look at it this way," said Jessica. "You wanted to make up for your lack of time to train—you got something in the way of training. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Grrr…" Alyx gritted her teeth.

The guest with the backwards white cap smirked. "So…looks like we've got a new member in our House of Cards, now," he remarked. "Eh, Drake?"

"I agree—he'd make a good addition to our group," the guest with the blue sunglasses nodded his head.

"And the rest of you?" Drake prompted the others.

The biker-outfit woman shrugged. "Well, he's at least proven himself to be pretty good…I've no objection to him joining."

_"Oui, oui,"_ the French-accented man answered.

"I say, welcome to the club!" the Southern-American-accented man spoke up.

"No complaints here, as long as you think it's okay, Drake," the man with the open leather jacket added his vote.

Drake looked at Alyx and the miko. "That just leaves you two…everyone else thinks Shimizu should be allowed to join us, but I think the input of all members of the group is important. So, Alyx? You're not too sore about this loss, are you?" He smirked as he said this.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Alyx snapped as she stood back up. "Well, you can do whatever you want. I don't care."

"Heh." Drake then turned to the miko. "And you, Usagi? What say you?"

Usagi looked quite serene. "Well, even if I told you not to, you'd still go ahead and let him join anyway. It's in your nature," she said.

Drake shrugged. "Well, majority vote wins out anyway." He turned to Jan. "Congratulations, Shimizu. You're now officially recognized as a member of our House of Cards. As such, you'll be privy to all our plans and goals."

"Mmm-hmm, sure," said Jan. "And what about those duelists you've been recruiting?"

"Eh? You're recruiting _more_ people?" Alyx asked in dismay.

"Well…that IS the main reason why I called you all together today, I'll admit," Drake confessed. "Why don't we all go back inside to the library and get ourselves comfortable, and I'll explain everything."

"Um, bro, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, with the way Mom was acting earlier…" Jessica reminded him, uncertainty showing on her face.

"Hmm, that would be a problem…Hey, Dad, mind turning the other cheek to Mom?" Drake turned to look at Mr. Phoenix, who'd still been standing there all along.

"Very funny, Drake," Mr. Phoenix said stoutly. "Well, I'll see what I can do to placate her, but…I can't promise you any results." Then he turned and headed back inside the mansion.

"Okay, one problem solved—somewhat," said Drake. "Let's head back inside now, everyone. Then we can do proper introductions for Shimizu, and discuss what it is I have in mind for this whole tournament and the folks I'm inviting to participate."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Alyx grumbled.

Usagi gave Drake a lingering glance, but said nothing.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY, 1:00 p.m.

Principal Yuki was back in his office, relaxing in his chair even as he fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, unconsciously touching the bandages that covered his torso underneath. "Well…things are back to normal now, I guess," he sighed.

Just at that moment, the phone on his desk rang, and mechanically he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Jaden…been quite a while since we last spoke," a voice on the other end replied.

On hearing the voice, Principal Yuki sat up on reflex—and winced as his wounds ached. "Hey…Yugi Muto?"

"The very same," the caller laughed. "I know it's been a while since we last spoke, but I just thought I'd do you a courtesy and ring you up. Hope you're not busy?"

"No, no, not at all," Principal Yuki chuckled. "I just went through a rather crazy morning, but it's all good now."

"A crazy morning, huh?" Mr. Muto remarked.

"Yeah. A nutcase tried to overthrow Duel Academy."

Mr. Muto laughed. "I see…but everything's all good now, I take it?"

"As much as it'll get around here right now, anyway," Principal Yuki admitted. "To be perfectly honest, this guy meant business…almost killed me and a lot of people here, as a matter of fact. But thankfully, everybody will be all right, and _he's_ been shipped off the island…he'll be in a cell for quite some time, I dare say."

"Well, that's good to hear." Mr. Muto chuckled. "Anyway, I just wanted to know if you've seen the television broadcasts that have been going on since this morning."

"Television broadcasts?" Principal Yuki scratched his head. "I'm sorry, Yugi, but with everything that was happening, like I just explained to you, I haven't even had time to read my regular day's paper."

"In that case, you may want to turn on your TV set in about another half hour," Mr. Muto advised him. "You know Drake Phoenix, right? He's been broadcasting every three hours on all the major networks about a tournament he'll be hosting at Kaiba Land'S branch in the Honshu province over this weekend—the Phoenix Herald Crown, he calls it. He's picked out eight duelists from the Pro Leagues to compete, and he's also invited my son Yugo, Seta Kaiba, and your son Janus as special guest participants."

"Oh, has he?" Principal Yuki cocked an eyebrow. "And I just grounded Janus, too…"

Mr. Muto laughed. "Then may I suggest you un-ground him, at least for the weekend? Because Yugo's been really excited at the prospect of facing Janus in a duel again…their dueling record is tied at this point, according to him."

Principal Yuki smiled a little. "I know about that…shortly before the Dueltropolis tournament, Janus sought out Yugo and beat him in a duel…then Yugo came back and defeated him in Dueltropolis's semi-finals…so right now, they're tied." Then his smile disappeared. "Even so…now that you're telling me about this tournament…my concern is the young man who's hosting it."

"Ah. Yes. I remember you told me about _that_ incident." Mr. Muto's voice held no humor now. "So even after all this time, Drake's still holding a grudge?"

"Hey, after all the stories we've shared of our own past misadventures, I'd think you wouldn't be too surprised how long some people can hold grudges," Principal Yuki replied. "In Drake's case, though, he's held his resentment for so long, even his own family's given up on trying to reason with him."

"So what do you think of this venture of his?" Mr. Muto asked.

Principal Yuki allowed himself a smirk. "As a former duelist, or as a parent?"

"Whichever you prefer."

Principal Yuki now rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his fingers. "Given Drake and Janus's history with each other, my intuition tells me that it's probably a setup. And considering that it's happening this soon after Dueltropolis, plus the fact that Drake never got to compete in that tournament, it could be a setup for Yugo and Seta Kaiba as well."

"Just what I was thinking," Mr. Muto agreed. "Seta's father feels the same way. He already doesn't like or trust Drake…he's of the opinion that something's up."

"So what are you two going to do, then? Pull your kids out of attending?" Principal Yuki wondered.

"Well, Kaiba definitely won't, or else it would make him look bad in front of his stockholders and the sponsors for this tournament," Mr. Muto replied. "As for me, I like to think of it as giving Yugo some exposure to pro-level skill, so he doesn't get rusty…after all, he and Seta can have practice duels with each other and their friends only so often. And as for you…I've got a feeling that Janus wouldn't be able to back out of this even if he wanted to, anyway. If your intuition is right, and this is all about settling Drake's grudge, then…"

"I hear you," said Principal Yuki. "I'll take the necessary precautions, then. You and Mr. Kaiba should do the same."

"Don't worry, I will; and I'm sure Kaiba's already got _his_ bases covered—after all, the tournament will be held on his grounds," Mr. Muto answered. "Just wanted to let you know, is all. Make sure you watch that broadcast in the next half-hour or so, if you're able to."

"Thanks, I will," said Principal Yuki. "Say hello to your mother for me, by the way. Does she still make those grilled tofu steaks?"

"On occasion," Mr. Muto laughed. "I'll let her know, for sure. Later."

With that, he hung up. In turn, Principal Yuki hung up the receiver and then leaned back. "So, you're holding a tournament this weekend, eh, Drake?" he asked aloud. "Knowing you, this isn't going to be a simple matter…let's call in a bit of insurance…" And he reached forward and picked up the receiver again.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Now, a point to make: Whenever I put up the "Character's First Appearance in Story" section at the start of chapters, that's when particular characters are going to be named; it may or may not signify the _actual_ first appearance of said characters. For instance, Usagi Saiou's name is first mentioned in this chapter, although her actual first appearance was one chapter previous.

Now, the main event is about to get underway…review soon, everyone!


	36. Power Source

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Back once again! And as before, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**(WARNING: Potential spoiler in this chapter! Avoid reading unless you've seen the end of Yu-Gi-Oh GX's third season!)**

**CHAPTER 36 – Power Source**

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 1:40 p.m.

"No way! So even after all that, you got grounded?" Natasha asked in dismay.

"Yeah," Janus sighed dejectedly, leaning back on his mattress. "What a crock…I play the role of the hero, save my dad from certain death, and in the midst of thanking me, he grounds me for breaking one stupid rule…"

Ricardo chuckled. "Never mind, Janus; even your being grounded can't last forever, right? Soon you'll be free from punishment, and then everything will be just as it was before all this craziness happened."

"But don't you get what this means?" Janus wailed. "Now that I'm grounded, I won't be able to go to the big tournament that Drake invited me to attend!"

"Oh—you mean that tournament announcement that came on the TV a while ago?" Cassara inquired. "Too bad…guess that means you won't be getting to duel in another big tournament so soon after the World Championships…" And she stuck her tongue out at him.

"What's with that tongue sticking out?" Janus challenged her.

"More importantly, Janus, thanks to your efforts Duel Academy is safe from that psycho and his lackeys," commented Jiro, sitting a little ways away from the group. "That should count as a small solace to not going to this tournament, wouldn't you say?"

"YOU can say that…" Janus drooped.

"Say, Jiro, how are your injuries now? Any better?" Natasha asked.

Jiro gently patted his torso. "I feel a little bit stiff from these bandages," and he indicated some wrappings underneath his jacket, "but I'll be all right, I guess. The same goes for everybody that was sent to the infirmary; just as long as we all take it easy, things should be fine."

Cassara frowned. "What I find hard to believe is, how exactly were holograms able to inflict that kind of actual physical damage to people? I thought that was merely psychological during duels and such…"

"Well, you didn't seem concerned with that during your duel with Vasha…" Ricardo reminded her.

"Oh, shut up!" Cassara snapped, punching him in the head.

Just then the door flew open, and in came Dean Burchell, walking rather stiffly even as he held a hand to his chest. "Ungh…damn wound still aches…" he grumbled. "Hey, Yuki, the principal wants you in his office, now. Get a move on, already."

At once the kids looked at each other. "What next?" Janus grumbled.

----------

A little while later, Janus entered Principal Yuki's office. "Okay, Dad, you wanted me, here I am," he said in a grudging tone as he walked into the room and sat down before his father's desk. "What's up?"

Principal Yuki, seated behind the desk, had his fingers intertwined under his chin, and a solemn expression on his face. "I called you here for two reasons, Janus, and I want you to pay close attention to what I'm going to tell you," he said.

Janus cocked an eyebrow. "Lemme guess—you're taking back my punishment and letting me compete in Drake's tournament after all?" he asked, a ray of hope appearing on his face.

"No, you little runt," Principal Yuki said sternly. "Now shut up and pay attention."

Crestfallen, Janus gave a longsuffering sigh and looked at his father. For his part, Principal Yuki adjusted his tie slightly with one hand and cleared his throat. "Janus," he said. "I am going to…take back your punishment and let you compete in Drake's tournament after all!" he announced with a sudden impish grin.

"HUH?" Janus jumped up, rushed around the desk, and caught Principal Yuki in a strangulation grip. "Hey, don't shoot down my expectations and then bring them back up like that, you dumb old man!"

"Who're you calling a dumb old man, you little squirt?" Principal Yuki snapped back, fangs in his mouth even as he wrestled Janus off him.

Then, more serious and composed again, Principal Yuki rubbed his neck a little. "Like I said before, you saved us all from Fletcher's machinations. And on personal review, that far out-trumps the fact that you broke your mother's rule never to go near the abandoned dorm. I think she, too, will be willing to overlook it this once, considering the circumstances."

Janus nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Dad."

"However…" Now Principal Yuki's eyes narrowed. "There's another reason I called you here, Janus. I've been meaning to have a little chat with you for a while…about that pendant you're wearing."

Janus looked down at the Shadow Charm Pendant, still hanging around his neck. "This thing? What about it?" he asked.

"Janus…how much do you really know about it?" Principal Yuki asked him. "Be honest with me, now."

Janus looked at his father for a moment. "Well…not much, actually…other than that it helped me out of some tight spots during the whole debacle with Fletcher," he admitted. "What's this about, Dad?"

"That pendant…the Shadow Charm Pendant…" Principal Yuki's lips were set in a thin line. "It gives its wearer the ability to sense magical presences of any kind, and also to negate the effects of magic wherever it may lurk."

"Uh…okay…how do you know that?" Janus wondered.

Principal Yuki leaned back in his chair and propped his legs up on the desk. "Do you remember those bedtime stories I used to tell you when you were younger, about my days as a student here at Duel Academy?" he asked. "If you'll recall, some of those stories involved a group of duelists that called themselves the 'Shadow Riders,' who wanted to steal seven keys to open a gate that would bring forth an incredibly destructive power. Well, while I may never have gotten into detail about it back then, the Shadow Riders wielded the power of eight mystical artifacts in their quest to obtain those keys and open that gate. The Shadow Charm Pendant you now wear was one of them."

"No way! Seriously?" Janus exclaimed, looking at the Pendant with astonishment clear on his face.

"Mmm-hmm," Principal Yuki nodded. "I defeated the majority of them and collected their Shadow Charms, and later on in life I sent them to Ryou Bakura, that famous archaeologist and the curator of the Domino City Museum, for safekeeping and study. And now…this one's ended up in your possession."

"Well, uh…about that…" Janus scratched the back of his head.

"Never mind—there's no need for you to explain," said Principal Yuki. "I know how you got it, after all. Oh, come on now, don't look at me like that" —for Janus had a huge sweat-drop on his head now— "it's not all that important. However, what _is_ important is…the effect it's had on you."

"The effect it's had on me?" asked Janus.

Principal Yuki looked him squarely in the eye. "Have you noticed any changes in yourself since you first wielded the Pendant's power, Janus? Anything at all?"

Janus frowned. "Well…now that you mention it…something funny did happen to me when I first put it on…it was as if something inside me woke up…like, another me, or something…"

"Another you?" Principal Yuki queried.

"It's a little weird and hard to explain," Janus admitted. "I mean, I can activate the Pendant's power, and then I become…well, me, but not really me…"

Principal Yuki nodded. "I see…Janus, do you want to know why that is?"

"Um…isn't it the effect of the Pendant?" Janus queried.

"Not exactly," Principal Yuki answered. "That part of you…has been dormant for many years. The Pendant merely woke it up."

"…come to think of it, that's what my other self said as well," Janus recalled. "But why would you know about that, Dad?"

"I'll show you." Principal Yuki took a deep breath. "Hey, partner, it's about time he got acquainted with you, isn't it?"

Suddenly—and much to Janus's astonishment—a ghoulish-looking shadow emerged behind Principal Yuki! The shadow wasn't very clear at first, but gradually it took a more definite form…that of a woman with pink skin exposed here and there, but most of it being covered up by what appeared to be a skintight black and grey body suit. She had large black wings on her back, and one half of her hair was dark purple while the other half was white. One of her eyes was amber, the other was green…and she also possessed a huge third vertical eye in the middle of her forehead. _"So…this is your brat, eh, Jaden?"_ she asked, in a somewhat amused voice.

"AAACK!" Janus jumped up, knocking his chair over in the process, as a horrified expression emerged all over his face. "Hey, Dad! What the hell is a freaky-looking thing like this doing here?"

"Don't insult her, Janus!" Principal Yuki scolded him. "Ahem…this is my current Duel Monster spirit partner…Yubel. Yubel, my son, Janus…and sorry for his rudeness."

_"I'm used to it,"_ Yubel shrugged. _"And can you blame him, anyhow? Look at him—he's still freaked out."_

Indeed, Janus looked like a ghost. "Your…your…your…spirit partner…?" he finally croaked.

"Sit back down, Janus," Principal Yuki instructed him. "Yubel is the best one to explain how it is that you have another version of yourself residing within you, that was awakened by the Shadow Charm Pendant. At the very least, give her an opportunity to tell the story, eh?"

Quite nervously, Janus edged back toward the desk and, not once taking his eyes off Yubel, righted the chair with one hand and sat back down. "Okay, so, uh…I'm listening," he said.

Yubel nodded._ "I've been your old man's Duel Spirit for quite a number of years, including long after he quit using the Elemental Hero deck in favor of passing it on to you and started using a deck that centered more on me. Admittedly, our relationship has been…complicated…but we've come to an understanding over time. Which brings me to your particular situation."_

Janus nodded, blinking.

Yubel chuckled. _"Well, kid…there is one day out of every year when Duel Monster spirits are able to interact with the people of this realm. Fifteen years ago…fifteen years ago, that came on one particular day…when your mother was still carrying you in her womb. She was four months along at the time, I believe."_

Janus looked confused. "Sorry, but I'm not following," he admitted. "What do you have to do with that?"

_"Well, kid…basically speaking, since I was able to interact directly with people on that particular day that year,"_ said Yubel, _"I was able to approach your mother directly and make her a deal. I'd…infuse a little of my own power into the child she was carrying…so that when that child grew up and became mature enough, he'd have a great power at his beck and call, to use for the purpose of justice. Back when he was around your age, your father had to face many a supernatural enemy…so I felt that if his offspring were reasonably prepared, they'd be able to continue the fight against evil where necessary when he himself became unable to continue doing so."_

"Yeah." Principal Yuki nodded gravely. "Janus…I've waited for the last fourteen years to tell you about this. I'd always known I'd have to tell you eventually, but I was never sure when the right time would be. And then…when you were able to use the power of the Shadow Charm Pendant as easily as you did against Fletcher…"

Janus wasn't looking at either of them now; he was looking down at his hands in his lap. "So…I've got a Duel Monster spirit's power inside of me now…?"

_"Yes and no,"_ Yubel answered. _"True, that power came from me originally…but it was only awakened by the added power of that Pendant of yours. Brought together, those two powers became one unique superpower, all yours to command."_

Silence followed Yubel's statement, as Janus continued looking at his hands and the other two looked at him. Then Principal Yuki took a chance and broke the silence. "Janus…?"

Janus then looked up—and stars were in his eyes. "COOL!" he exclaimed. "So, like, what kind of powers have I got? Can I fly? Do I have super-strength? Can I turn invisible?"

"He's certainly taking it a little better than I expected he would…" Principal Yuki sweat-dropped.

_"Oy, oy, kid, don't get too far ahead of yourself,"_ Yubel warned Janus. _"You want to know what kind of powers you have, eh? Well…have you noticed anything special since you activated the Pendant's power so far?"_

Janus paused in his jubilation and lapsed into deep concentration. "Well, hmm…I know I've basically got two 'me's' in one body…and my other half can knock people back with just sheer concentration…and can create Dark Games…"

"Just like the Dark Games of Egypt 3000 years ago," said Principal Yuki. "Your other half is capable of creating penalty games against those who've done wrong to others or who have serious blemishes of character. And, as I explained before, the Pendant has great power in its own right. But, Janus…a word of warning…"

Hearing the serious tone in his father's voice, Janus looked at him. "Yeah…?"

Principal Yuki looked very stern now. "That kind of power is not to be abused, or used only for selfish reasons. I taught you a long time ago that true justice is exhibited by helping the needy, bringing fair dealings to the lives of others, and bringing punishment only to the bad people when there is absolute, irrefutable proof of their wrongdoings. Heroes fight for others, not for themselves. Only responsible people deserve to have any power at their disposal; anyone else with power will only use it to bring sorrow to others." His eyes narrowed, and for a moment they flashed amber and green. "Janus…swear to me, as my son, right here and now, that the power you've tapped into with the Shadow Charm Pendant will only ever be used for true justice, and not for your own selfish goals. Swear to me!"

Janus looked solemn. "No need to swear to that. I already vowed it in my heart ages ago, anyway."

"Nonetheless, make that pledge in a way that I can know you've made it." Principal Yuki held out his hand.

"Right." Janus reached forward and grasped his father's hand in his own.

Yubel allowed herself an amused chuckle as she observed the mini-rite. _"Touching…"_

At length they released each other's hands, and Principal Yuki's eyes went back to normal. "Oh, one other thing," he said to Janus. "I'd advise you not to let anybody else know about what you've just learned. You, your mother and I are the only ones who have any knowledge that you have this power inside you—and of course, Yubel knows, too."

_"Aren't you forgetting someone, Jaden?"_ a familiar voice asked—and then Elemental Hero Neos appeared in spirit form. _"Hello, Yubel, it's been a little while."_

_ "Too long,"_ said Yubel. _"Tell me, what do you think of Jaden's brat?"_

_ "Janus? Well, admittedly, he's very different from Jaden…and yet, they're cut from the exact same cloth,"_ Neos admitted. _"They both firmly believe in the proper application of justice."_

"Yeah, I can agree with that," said Principal Yuki. "But as I was saying, Janus, if you can avoid it, don't let anybody else know what you've just learned here today. They likely wouldn't understand, and they'd possibly freak out and think of you as anything but normal or human."

"The same thing kinda ran across my mind," Janus admitted, sweat-dropping.

"I'm glad you agree," said Principal Yuki. "And I'm also glad you're taking this whole revelation as well as you are. I was genuinely afraid you'd freak out."

"Hey, if I know Duel Monster spirits exist, then I doubt anything can really surprise or shock me," said Janus.

_"Touché," _Neos chuckled, and vanished into thin air.

And Yubel smirked. _"Indeed." _And then she vanished as well.

Silence fell over the room again; then Principal Yuki broke it once more by clearing his throat. "Well, now that that's out of the way…let's talk about a more immediate matter, huh, Janus? The matter of Drake's invitation to you to come play at his tournament…"

"Yeah?" Janus looked at him.

Principal Yuki nodded knowingly. "As you'll have seen from his announcement of that tournament, he's going to have pro-level duelists participating. Now, I know you went up against some serious competition during Dueltropolis, but these guys are a whole other game altogether—more so because they never got to participate in the World Championships, so naturally they'll probably feel more than a little resentful that you, Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba claimed the top three world rankings. And then, of course, there's Drake's own grudge against you, which I and a few others suspect is the real reason he's launching this competition of his…"

"Yeah…" Janus paused, suddenly looking very thoughtful.

Principal Yuki noticed the change that had come over his son. "Well, anyway, after I saw the announcement a while earlier, I did a little thinking. And I've got an idea…"

"An idea?" Janus queried.

"Yes." Principal Yuki nodded. "How'd you like to have a practice duel against a former pro duelist…yours truly?"

Janus blinked in rapid succession at that. "No way…really? No joke?"

"Nope," Principal Yuki replied. "If you're up to it, meet me in the auditorium's dueling arena in the next half an hour. But I'm going to warn you from right now: just because you're my son doesn't mean I'll hold anything back."

"As if I'm supposed to be scared of an old geezer like you!" Janus scoffed. "Next half-hour, then! Don't be late, old man!" And he jumped up and ran out of the office with a huge grin on his face.

"That's what I should be telling _you,"_ Principal Yuki muttered as a huge vein bulged on his head.

Yubel reappeared, smirking. _"Still, Jaden…he's really not much different from you when you were his age, you know. Like Neos said, you and the brat are cut from the same cloth."_

"I guess there's no denying that," said Principal Yuki. "Well…time for me to unseal my old deck, I suppose."

Getting out of his chair and stooping on the ground, he reached down and pulled up one of the floor tiles—and revealed a safe that had been built into the floor. _"A floor safe? Pretty original—for you, anyway,"_ said Yubel.

"Mmm-hmm," said Principal Yuki, even as he opened the safe and reached in, pulling out a small black box…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, 2:15 p.m.

"So, your dad challenged you to a duel, then?" Cassara asked.

"Yeah, he sure did," Janus acknowledged. "This is just for practice, though, so that I can get a feel of how pro duelists really play."

"Even so, he's not going to hold back on you one bit, is he now?" Jiro wondered.

"What I'm curious about is what kind of deck Principal Yuki will play," Ricardo remarked.

"This is so cool! We're actually going to see Principal Yuki duel!" Natasha exclaimed in delight.

The five were walking toward the main building; Janus had his Duel-Disk ready on his arm. "Well, I'm not underestimating Dad," he said. "He _was_ a pro duelist, after all, so it only stands to reason that he must be pretty tough to beat. And he still does get a lot of dueling practice, even nowadays…"

"Does he, now?" Jiro asked.

"Yeah," said Janus. "Whenever Mom and Dad have arguments about stuff and can't come to an agreement or a compromise, they settle it with a duel."

"Hmm…well, it certainly beats actual physical violence, if I do say so myself," said Cassara. "And, pray tell, who wins these arguments?"

At that Janus sweat-dropped. "Heh, heh…most of the time, it's Mom who wins."

Ricardo shook his head. "Tsk, tsk…your dad's whipped good. Makes one wonder why he's the principal and your mom's the vice-principal, instead of the other way around…"

"Never mind about that now…the main event has to do with Janus and Principal Yuki!" said Natasha. "So let's just look forward to a good fight, huh, guys?"

By and by they headed up the steps to go inside the building…then they were walking along the corridor to go to the auditorium…and at length they reached the auditorium's entrance. "It's dark in here," Natasha noted. "Maybe Principal Yuki isn't here yet?"

"Dad? Are you in here?" Janus called.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here, just give me a minute," Principal Yuki's voice answered from the other end of the auditorium. Then—

_CLANK! _The lights suddenly flashed on—and there was Principal Yuki, also wearing a Duel-Disk on his arm. "So you didn't chicken out after all, Janus—and it seems you brought spectators along," he observed. "Well, it HAS been a while since I had an audience to one of my duels…even if the audience is only a few people now."

Janus ran up to the dueling platform and climbed up on top of it. "C'mon, old man, hurry up and get up here!" he exclaimed.

"What's this, now?" Principal Yuki chuckled, even as he began to walk leisurely toward the platform. "Are you really in such a rush to lose, Janus? You can't seriously think you're capable of defeating me, the principal of Duel Academy and one half of the team that trained you?"

"I'll show you the result of that training, right here and now," said Janus. "I may not know what kind of deck you're going to use, but I'll soon show you the skill that allowed me to land third place in Dueltropolis."

"Well, now, that's very interesting," said Principal Yuki, finally reaching the platform and climbing up to Janus's level. "Why _did_ you come in third in the tournament, Janus? Why not first place, or even second place?"

Janus scowled at that. "…okay, so I'm not the world's ultra-best duelist, but at least I'm in the top three!"

"But in the world of the pro leagues, being in the world's top three won't be enough." Principal Yuki's eyes narrowed. "There's an old proverb about being king of the hill, Janus. 'The man who stands at the top has no place to step but off.' Yugo Muto is currently ranked as the world's best duelist, but…who's to say that one day, another duelist won't take his crown and his throne? And with you being in the third-ranking spot, what does that say about _you?"_

As he continued to talk, Principal Yuki activated his Duel-Disk, pulled a deck out of his pocket, and pushed it into its slot. "Whether you're the World Champion, a contender for that title, or simply an extremely skilled duelist—none of that will matter to pro league duelists. The world of pro dueling isn't all fun and games—it's fight and survive, or surrender and die. Being a frequent pro-league duelist himself, Drake Phoenix realizes this, and therefore if you make one mistake during his tournament, he won't hesitate to use it against you and crush you. So…I'm going to show you right now, just what kind of brutality you'll be faced with at that tournament. If you can't manage it, you won't have a prayer, even with all the training and experience you have."

Janus activated his Duel-Disk, too. "Didn't I tell you the story already, Dad?" he asked. "When I took part in Dueltropolis, I ended up having to help save the world from a bunch of psychos. I even went toe-to-toe with one of their higher-ups who'd sneaked into the tournament, and that's when I experienced brutality first-hand. So, yeah, these pro duelists that Drake's bringing into his tournament may surely be good…but compared to what I had to go up against in Dueltropolis, how bad can these guys be?"

"Wait right there. I'll soon show you." Principal Yuki nodded meaningfully.

The others, meantime, took seats around the platform. "So cool! We actually get to watch Janus duel his own dad!" Natasha giggled. "I wish we could've sold tickets to this!"

Jiro simply smiled. _Okay, Principal Yuki…let's see what kind of strength you've got at your disposal!_

**JANUS: 8000; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

As the duelists' life point counters lit up and showed 8000 points apiece, the holographic coin was quickly tossed. "Well, I guess I'll let you call it since you're the principal and the challenger," said Janus.

"Very well…I call heads, then," said Principal Yuki.

The coin then landed—and indeed it was heads. "All right! I'm gonna do my best!" said Janus as he drew his first five cards.

"Get your game on, then!" Principal Yuki smirked, drawing his first five cards also. Then he drew his sixth to start off, and examined it closely. "Well, isn't this interesting…"

"Eh? Got a good hand already?" Janus asked.

"With this deck I'm using, that's no big surprise," Principal Yuki answered. "It may have been a long time since I even looked at this deck, let alone used it in a serious duel, but even so it still has its magic touch within. Now, how to begin…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for now."

"Only one monster? You're really aging, old man," Janus needled him.

"Show some respect! And stop calling me an old man!" Principal Yuki snarled, fangs in his mouth.

"Uh-huh…so what are you, then, a baby?" Janus chuckled.

"Why, I oughta come over there and strangle you!" Principal Yuki exploded, the fangs in his mouth getting bigger even as his eyes inexplicably turned red. "Just hurry up and take your turn!"

"Sheesh…what a father-son dynamic those two have…" Cassara muttered.

"Seriously, I'm not sure which of them is the more mature one now," Ricardo sighed, running his palm over his face.

Janus drew his card. "I activate the Magic card, Convert Contact!" he announced. "This card could only be activated while I wasn't controlling any monsters…but now, I can send one Neo-Spacian monster from my hand and one from my deck to the Graveyard. So, from my hand goes my Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (ATK 900, DEF 300)…" He discarded a card from his hand. "…and from my deck goes Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin (ATK 600, DEF 800)…" Here he quickly pulled out his deck, picked out the named card, and slotted it off into his Graveyard. "…and then I draw two cards!" And he drew his two cards, so he held a total of six in his hand.

"Uh-huh…?" Principal Yuki nodded. "And?"

"Wait—I'm not done yet!" Janus continued. "Next, I activate the Magic card, Cocoon Party! This lets me Special Summon one Chrysalis monster from my deck for each Neo-Spacian in my Graveyard…and since there are two there now, I can bring forth two Chrysalis monsters from my deck—and I call upon Chrysalis Dolphin (ATK 400, DEF 600) and Chrysalis Pantail (ATK 800, DEF 300), both in Attack Mode!"

Moments later a baby dolphin and a panther cub emerged on the field, both surrounded by cocoons. "Now," Janus went on, picking another card from his hand, "I'll sacrifice both of these guys and call forth my deck's ace monster—Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000) in Attack Mode!" And as both of his monsters vanished in a burst of light, Elemental Hero Neos appeared, doing some shadow-boxing.

"Nice! Janus got his signature monster on the field on his first turn!" Ricardo exclaimed.

"But isn't it a little early to call the outcome of the duel?" Jiro wondered. "I mean, sure, Janus has his signature monster out now, but we still haven't seen yet what Principal Yuki can do."

"Well, surely he isn't the principal of Duel Academy for nothing," Cassara reasoned. "Let's watch and see what he does after all is said and done."

"Whatever happens, it's bound to be cool!" Natasha grinned.

"Well, Janus? Are you going to try and attack now, or do you have something else to do first?" Principal Yuki asked.

"Don't worry—I've almost finished setting up my strategy," Janus replied. "Next, I activate a Magic card—Hero Heart! This card can only be activated by selecting one Elemental Hero on my side of the field…that Elemental Hero will then have its ATK halved for this turn, but at the same it will be able to attack twice during this turn's battle phase. And naturally, I choose Neos!"

Neos's ATK promptly went down to 1250 as a bright green energy surrounded his body. Then Janus held up another of his hand-cards. "Now, I'll activate a Continuous Magic card—Common Soul!"

Suddenly, bright energy began to course all over Neos's body, and the gem on his chest shone intensely! "Common Soul…it lets you select one monster on the field, and then you get to Special Summon one Neo-Spacian monster from your hand to the same side of the field as the selected monster," Principal Yuki noted. "Then, the selected monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the Neo-Spacian that was Special Summoned by that card's effect…and when the Common Soul card is removed from the field, the Neo-Spacian in question will be returned to your hand."

"I'm not surprised that you know what this card does—this deck was originally yours, after all," Janus acknowledged. "Now, using Common Soul's effect, I Special Summon from my hand…Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (ATK 800, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!"

Air Hummingbird soon appeared on the field next to Neos, flapping his wings at blinding speed. The energy coursing around Neos grew even brighter, and his ATK rose to 2050. "And now what, I wonder? Since this is Air Hummingbird you've just summoned, I suppose you'll use his effect?" Principal Yuki remarked.

"Well, duh!" said Janus. "I'll increase my life points by 500 for every card in your hand—and you're holding five!"

Honeysuckle plants suddenly sprouted from the five cards in Principal Yuki's hand, and Air Hummingbird flitted from one to the next in rapid succession, increasing Janus's life points.

**JANUS: 10,500; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

"All right, now that that's over with," said Janus, "it's time to attack! Elemental Hero Neos, attack his facedown monster now!"

Neos jumped forward and delivered a crushing punch to the facedown monster, revealing it to be a large tomato with a face and a mouth full of sharp fangs. "Take that!" Janus cheered.

But—on Principal Yuki's face, there was a knowing smirk. "You shouldn't celebrate so quickly, son," he said coolly. "That monster you just destroyed was my Mystic Tomato (ATK 1400, DEF 1100), and when it's sent to the Graveyard via battle, I get to Special Summon one Dark monster from my deck in Attack Mode, as long as that monster's got an ATK of 1500 or less, after which I shuffle my deck. And…" He pulled his deck out of its slot on his Duel-Disk and began to thumb through it. "I happen to know just which monster I want…and it's a monster you've gotten acquainted with pretty recently…"

"Huh? A monster I got acquainted with…?" Janus looked confused.

"Forgetful already?" asked Principal Yuki. "Then allow me to remind you. The monster I choose for my Mystic Tomato's effect is…Yubel (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

At that Janus's eyes widened in astonishment. "What!"

Suddenly, swirling streams of black mist collided together on Principal Yuki's side of the field—and then there appeared Yubel, her huge black wings spread out behind her even as she crossed her arms and looked at Janus with a smirk on her face. "Say hello to _my_ ace monster, Janus," said Principal Yuki.

On the sidelines, the other kids stared in astonishment at the newly-arrived Yubel. "What…what IS that?" Cassara whispered fearfully.

"I've never seen that monster before," said Jiro.

"It's scary," Natasha whimpered.

"Hmmm…" Ricardo frowned.

Janus, meantime, examined Yubel's stats. "Dad…you're kidding, right? I mean, no offense, but Yubel doesn't have a single ATK or DEF point. Even my weakest monster could take her down, no problem."

"Then why don't you prove it, if you can?" Principal Yuki returned.

Janus's eyes narrowed. "Fine, then! Thanks to the effect of my Hero Heart card, I can attack a second time with Neos, so…go, Neos, knock that monster's head off!"

Neos seemed to hesitate for a moment…but then he dashed forward and flung his fist toward Yubel's head. At the point of impact, an explosion rocked Principal Yuki's side of the field, covering that side of the platform in smoke! "Take that!" Janus crowed.

"Whew…well, at least that scary-looking monster's gone now," Natasha sighed, passing the back of her hand over her forehead.

"But why would Principal Yuki summon such a weak monster like that?" Cassara asked. "Janus said its ATK and DEF are zero, didn't he? And Neos just now had an ATK of 2050…"

"Hmm…Principal Yuki wouldn't be _that _reckless, would he?" Ricardo frowned.

"I wonder about that…" Jiro cocked an eyebrow.

The smoke from the explosion gradually cleared…but as Janus peered forward, all at once his jaw dropped. "No way…!"

The others were surprised at what they saw, too. "Impossible!" Jiro shouted.

"But…wasn't it a direct hit?" Natasha protested.

For right there on the field, Neos's fist had indeed connected with Yubel's forehead—but somehow, Yubel was still there, not even flinching. "Now what was that supposed to be, Janus—a punch or a baby tap?" Principal Yuki chuckled.

All at once a dark energy field surrounded Yubel, forcing Neos backwards. At the same moment several bolts of black lightning shot out from Yubel, some of them hitting Janus in the process! "YEEEEOOOOWWWW!" Janus screamed out.

**JANUS: 8450; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

"Well, now, I guess it's time for me to explain Yubel's effect," said Principal Yuki. "She can't be destroyed in battle, and I get no damage from any battle she's involved in." He pointed out his own life points, which were still intact. "Also, when she's attacked by one of your monsters while she's in Attack Mode, before the damage calculation I inflict damage to your life points equal to that attacking monster's current ATK. In other words, she's invincible in a fight, and will strike back hard against anybody foolish enough to take her head-on."

"Ouch…" Janus cringed as the effect of the lightning bolts from moments ago still stung him. "Wish I'd known that earlier…"

"Hmph. All that effort, all those cards used up…and all of it for nothing." Principal Yuki shook his head. "Your strategy just now might've worked against another duelist, Janus, but not against one of pro-league caliber. If you're ever going to have a hope of even scratching my life points, let alone beating me, you'll have to rethink your whole game plan. But then again, I shouldn't be saying anything yet, should I? After all, it's still your turn…will you do anything else?"

"Uh…" Janus examined the one card left in his hand. "No…nothing else. I'll end my turn now…and by the way, since this is the end of the turn, Elemental Hero Neos's ATK gets readjusted." And true to his declaration, Neos's ATK rose back up to 2500, then by the effect of Common Soul his ATK rose further by Air Hummingbird's ATK amount, leaving him with a total ATK of 3300.

"No matter what your monster's ATK is, it still won't change the facts—Yubel won't be taken down by rushing headlong into battle just so," Principal Yuki said sternly. "And if you intend to rush into fighting at Drake's tournament in that kind of manner, you'll be smacked down hard. At least remember that, if nothing else."

"Well, I haven't lost yet," Janus replied. "Every monster has its weakness—and Yubel's no exception. Now, bring it on! I'll beat you and your monster without a doubt!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ Principal Yuki has brought Yubel out to play! Who will win—father or son? Review soon, please!


	37. The House of Cards

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Dun-dun-DUUUUN!...nope, I still don't own the franchise.)

**CHAPTER 37 – The House of Cards**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_BUCK_

_NAME: Buck Morgan_

_AGE: 19_

_HAIR: Dirty blond (wears a brown cowboy hat)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Dark blue dress shirt, blue jeans, brown boots, brown Angora chaps_

_DIANE_

_NAME: Diane Chill_

_AGE: 22_

_HAIR: Light blue (dyed)_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Dark blue biker outfit, black boots_

_GASTON_

_NAME: Gaston Altair_

_AGE: 20_

_HAIR: Blond_

_EYES: Green_

_CLOTHES: White pinstripe suit, white shoes_

_CALEB_

_NAME: Caleb Link_

_AGE: 23_

_HAIR: Black_

_EYES: Black (wears round-rimmed blue sunglasses) _

_CLOTHES: Brown leather jacket, white shirt, brown jeans, gray sneakers_

_KENT_

_NAME: Kent West_

_AGE: 18_

_HAIR: Brown (wears a white cap backwards)_

_EYES: Hazel_

_CLOTHES: Blue-and-orange jacket, orange sweatpants, yellow sneakers_

_RENO_

_NAME: Reno Dawkns_

_AGE: 20_

_HAIR: Black (done in a ponytail)_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Black leather jacket (buttons undone), black pants, black boots_

DUEL ACADEMY AUDITORIUM, 2:30 p.m.

**JANUS: 8450; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

The duel between Janus and Principal Yuki continued with the stats looking like this: Principal Yuki's initial score remained unchanged, with him having 8000 life points; Janus's life points were slightly higher at 8450. On the field Janus had Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird in Attack Mode, and the Common Soul magic card continuing to power Neos with its effect so that his current ATK was 3300. By contrast, Principal Yuki only had Yubel in Attack Mode on his side of the field. Janus held only one card in his hand by this point; Principal Yuki held five.

Now Principal Yuki took his turn and drew, so he held six once again. "Now, what to do…well, now, it seems I can play this combo of mine," he remarked. "I summon Samsara Lotus (ATK 0, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" A moment later, out of the ground there grew a green plant stem with bright pink petals serving as its hair. "Anything else…?" Principal Yuki examined his hand again. "Hmm, I guess I'll just set one card facedown, and that'll be all for now."

At that moment, Samsara Lotus transformed into mist, and that mist seeped into Yubel! "Ah—I almost forgot," Principal Yuki remarked. "Each time I end my turn, I must tribute one other monster that I control, or else Yubel will be destroyed. Well, go ahead now—it's your move."

"And I'll gladly take my turn now! I draw!" Janus swiftly drew his card. "And again, I'll activate Air Hummingbird's effect! Since you have four cards in hand now, I'll increase my life points by 2000!" And again honeysuckle plants grew out of Principal Yuki's cards for Air Hummingbird to feed from, and Janus's life points increased once more.

**JANUS: 10,450; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

But Principal Yuki merely chuckled. "Increase your life points all you like—but if you can't find a way past Yubel, you won't win this duel."

"Well, you do have a point—Yubel's effects make her pretty troublesome," Janus admitted. "So, until I can get something in my hand that'll let me deal with her properly, I won't do anything at all. I'll just end my turn."

"Oh, is that right? So you think it's going to be that easy, then?" Principal Yuki smirked as he drew once again. "I wonder about that…" He picked one of the cards in his hand. "I think you ought to recognize this card, Janus…a card which I will now Special Summon to the field! Come forth—Grinder Golem (ATK 3000, DEF 300)!"

"Grinder Golem…!" Janus's eyes widened in recognition of the name—and sure enough, the familiar metallic golem appeared on _his_ side of the field, its buzzsaws whirring menacingly.

"That's the same card Vasha sneaked into my deck, before our duel," Cassara recalled. "It's a risky card to have in one's deck, unless the owner knows what they're doing…so why would Principal Yuki use it like this?"

Immediately, two Grinder Golem imitations appeared on Principal Yuki's side of the field. "You saw this during Cassara and Vasha's duel, right?" Principal Yuki reminded Janus. "Grinder Golem can only be Special Summoned to the opponent's side of the field if its owner also Special Summons two Grinder Golem Tokens to his own side of the field. Those tokens are summoned in Attack Mode, and are treated as Dark-attribute, Fiend-type, Level 1 monsters with 0 ATK and 0 DEF. Also, I can't Normal Summon or Set any monsters the same turn that Grinder Golem is Special Summoned."

"And you willingly gave me such a strong monster because…?" Janus wondered.

"Well, why else? So I'd have some fodder for Yubel!" said Principal Yuki. "After all, if I lose my ace monster just like that, then I'm not going to be in control of this duel any more—but of course, I realize you're not going to attack Yubel, seeing as attacking her won't work anyway. Still…" He shrugged. "Anyway, I'll equip one of my Grinder Golem Tokens with this Magic card, Mist Body! As long as a monster is equipped with this card, the equipped monster can't be destroyed in battle!"

White mist began to surround one of the Grinder Golem Tokens. "Mmm-hmm," Janus nodded as he observed this. "Anything else?"

"Um…actually…" Principal Yuki shrugged. "Aw, what the hell. I'll activate my Trap card: An Unfortunate Report!"

"What's that?" Natasha wondered aloud. "I've never heard of that card before…"

"It's a very complex Trap card," Principal Yuki answered her. "It allows my opponent to conduct their next battle phase twice. No strings attached."

"That's…kind of redundant…" Ricardo sweat-dropped.

"Next, I'll place another card facedown," said Principal Yuki, "and end my turn…and of course, Yubel's effect activates." And right after he said that, the unequipped Grinder Golem Token turned into mist and got absorbed into Yubel.

"Interesting…he just gave Janus a handicap to exploit," Jiro noted. "His remaining Grinder Golem Token has 0 ATK, and it's been equipped with a card that prevents its destruction in battle. And thanks to that Unfortunate Report card he activated a while ago, Janus can get to conduct his battle phase twice this turn."

Cassara cocked an eyebrow. _That's just plain weird…why would he do that kind of thing out of the blue?_

Janus, meanwhile, drew his next card. "Okay—I'll activate Air Hummingbird's effect one more time, and increase my life points again!" he announced—and as honeysuckle plants sprouted from Principal Yuki's two remaining hand-cards again for the red-feathered Neo-Spacian to feed from, Janus's life points rose again.

**JANUS: 11,450; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

"Now…trust me, Dad, you're gonna regret that play you made last turn," Janus continued. "Because with this extra firepower you've given me, and the opportunity to do my battle phase twice, I'll be able to take a large chunk out of your life points—and it starts right now! Okay, Elemental Hero Neos—lead the way and attack that Grinder Golem Token…!"

Cassara looked over at Principal Yuki—and suddenly saw him smirk. Realization clicked in her brain at that moment. "Janus, no! It's a trap!" she screamed out, frightening the others nearby.

"Too late!" Principal Yuki barked. "He's already declared his attack, so now I counter with this—my Trap card, Staunch Defender!"

In the blink of an eye, Principal Yuki's facedown card flipped face-up. "What the…" Janus began.

"Staunch Defender can only be activated when my opponent declares an attack," said Principal Yuki. "Then, I select one monster on my side of the field…and during this turn, my opponent can only attack that selected monster, and _must_ attack it with all face-up monsters on their side of the field! And do you want to hazard a guess as to which monster I've selected…?"

"…shit…!" Janus whispered under his breath in sudden horror—but right at that moment, Elemental Hero Neos, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, and Grinder Golem all charged forward toward Yubel, intend on marauding her. In retaliation, Yubel's dark energy field spread out from her body, knocking all three attackers back and severely lowering Janus's life points.

**JANUS: 4350; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

"And as I recall, my Unfortunate Report card causes you to conduct your battle phase twice for this turn," Principal Yuki reminded Janus. "So, whether you like it or not, your monsters are going to attack once again—and they've only got one target in their sights!"

"NO!" Janus cried—but true to Principal Yuki's word, the three monsters charged forward again! Once again, too, Yubel retaliated with her dark energy field, this time obliterating all three attackers and knocking Janus backwards.

**JANUS: 0; PRINCIPAL YUKI: 8000**

"Damn…that sucked, royally…" Jiro winced as he watched Janus's fall.

"And Principal Yuki's life points remained untouched even after all that," Ricardo noted. "Is this the skill of a former pro duelist…?"

Principal Yuki nonchalantly switched his Duel-Disk off, and all the images on the field vanished. "Janus…anything that appears too good to be true usually _is,"_ he told Janus. "This is something your mother and I taught you about life on a whole and taught you to apply to dueling…and yet, knowing that, you still fell into my trap. That kind of mistake was severely punished, as you know from a moment ago—and it is that kind of mistake that will be capitalized upon by duelists of pro league skill. If you intend to last to the end of Drake's tournament, you'll have to learn—or relearn—how not to fall into such an obvious trap."

Janus carefully picked himself up; there was a sour expression on his face. "Well, did it ever occur to you that maybe your monster's effect was just _broken?"_ he demanded.

"And did it ever occur to you that your opponents won't care what _you_ think, as long as they're the winners?" Principal Yuki shot back. "When I was in the pro leagues, many of my opponents made the same complaint you're making now, that Yubel was too unfair a monster to be allowed into sanctioned tournament play. But I wasn't breaking any rules; Yubel wasn't a card that was on the unsanctioned list. Are you, then, going to complain that your opponents' strategies are too unfair when they get a clear victory over you?"

"Well…uh…" Janus scratched his chin, his face flushed pink.

"The world of dueling can be fun, Janus, and in fact that is how it ought to be for everyone, but not all duelists will view it that way," Principal Yuki warned him. "Those in the pro leagues certainly see it as much more than that. Dueling is their life, their strength, their everything. Play against them too naively, and what I just did to you will be what they'll do to you. To avoid that, you have to learn how to play beyond victory."

"Eh? Play beyond victory?" Janus asked.

Principal Yuki nodded. "Don't think only of defeating your opponent…learn from their strategy, and use that knowledge to improve your own dueling ability. The deck that you've got there is meant to be flexible—that is why the Elemental Heroes are all of different attributes, and why the Neo-Spacian monsters are all of different attributes and types…and that is especially why your ace monster, Elemental Hero Neos, can work interchangeably with a purely Elemental Hero strategy, a Neo-Spacian strategy, and a strategy that focuses exclusively on Neos himself. In addition, you can add Monster, Magic and Trap cards to your deck that may not have anything to do directly with Elemental Heroes or Neo-Spacians, but that will help you to survive in a duel nonetheless. And, just as your deck has potential to be flexible, you yourself must learn how to be flexible as a duelist."

"Um, excuse me, Principal Yuki…about that…" Jiro interrupted.

"Hmm?" Principal Yuki turned to him.

"What you said just now…about decks potentially being flexible…is that really true for every deck strategy?" Jiro asked. "Like me, for instance—I use a Six Samurai strategy, and to me it just feels like it would be weird to include cards in my deck that explicitly don't have anything to do with that strategy."

"Jiro's right," said Natasha. "I use Vehicroids, and, well, it just seems awkward to use any other kind of cards alongside them that don't have anything to do with them."

"Actually, I can understand what Principal Yuki is saying," Ricardo spoke up. "Janus, you saw it during my duel with your cousin Jacki, and my duel today with Beaumont, right? I used a number of cards that didn't seem to have anything to do with each other, but that served my purposes nonetheless."

"And I, as well," Cassara added. "My deck theme is predominantly life point restoration—but when Vasha tried to cheat during our duel, I had to turn my battle plan right around into a life point draining strategy. So, yeah, flexibility does make a difference."

"You've provided some good examples for my point, Ricardo, Cassara," Principal Yuki nodded. "Jiro, Natasha, I understand your concerns, but you have to keep in mind that Duel Monsters isn't limited to just one set number of deck archetypes or themes. Cards can be mixed and blended, thus creating an endless number of possible strategies. Yes, there are certain deck themes that rely on specific cards, and in turn there are certain cards that can only work within specific deck themes. However, even those can be strengthened and improved with careful consideration. Why do you think Industrial Illusions has created so many hundreds of cards in all the years it's been in business?"

"But, then, how do I go about improving my deck?" Janus asked.

"Well, that's a question you'll have to answer on your own. I can only make recommendations as a duelist, after all," said Principal Yuki. "Your deck is your deck; only you can decide how to upgrade or alter it, or whether anything should be done to it at all."

"Hmm…" Janus frowned, deep in thought.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 2:45 p.m.

"So this is where the great Drake Phoenix lives, huh?" Vasha remarked. "Boy, he sure lives in style, doesn't he?"

She and Calhoun were standing outside the front gate to the Phoenix family mansion, looking through the gate's bars at the luxury within. "Never mind a silver spoon—that guy was born with a gold plate in his mouth," Calhoun replied. "Well, let's not waste any time. Let's try and get in."

There was an intercom button by the side of the gate; Vasha walked up to it and pushed it. "Hello, good afternoon," she spoke into the installed mouthpiece.

"Good afternoon. How may we help you?" a female voice asked.

"We're students from Duel Academy," said Vasha. "Drake Phoenix is expecting us."

"Oh, more guests for Master Drake?" the other voice replied. "One moment, please; we'll open the gate. Just come right up the driveway to the front door."

Vasha and Calhoun looked at each other. "More guests? That means other people are here already?" Calhoun wondered.

The gate opened at that moment; taking their cue, the duo walked through it and headed up the driveway. "I wonder who these 'other people' are," said Vasha. "Well, we'll soon see, won't we?"

"Yeah," Calhoun nodded.

By and by they reached the front steps—and just at that moment Jasmine came out the door. "Hello again," she greeted them. "Master Drake's been waiting for you. Please, follow me."

She turned and headed back inside; Calhoun and Vasha followed after her. They walked through the hall, down the passageway, and then came upon the library. "This is the family library; Master Drake and his other guests are inside," said Jasmine. "Please, go right on in."

"Yeah, thanks," Calhoun nodded.

Pushing the door open, they entered the room—and, indeed, there was Drake to greet them. "Welcome," he said to them, his expression poker-faced.

Jan Shimizu was standing nearby, his arms folded across his chest. "You two sure took your sweet time," he growled.

"Sorry about that—some stuff happened at Duel Academy this morning, and we couldn't get away," Vasha said apologetically.

Drake shrugged. "Well, it's not as if a specific time was agreed on; the point is, you're here now," he told them. "Shimizu tells me that you two are at least decent duelists—is that true?"

"Decent? We're better than decent!" Vasha replied.

"We're currently the best duelists of our school's Obelisk Blue dorm!" Calhoun added.

"Hmm…well, I think I'll let my little club be the judge of that." Drake then held up his hand and snapped his fingers. "Okay, folks, you can come out now."

Then—from behind the various bookshelves nine other individuals appeared. "Say hello to my personal dueling club, the House of Cards," said Drake. "Let me introduce the members to you. You've already met Shimizu here…" To which Jan shrugged.

"The vice-president of the club, my twin sister, Jessica," Drake indicated her, even as she walked up to stand next to him.

"And the others…my God…" Calhoun swallowed. "These guys are all pro league duelists!"

Vasha looked straight at one of the women in the group, clad in combat gear. "Alyx Brodie, the user of the Volcanic strategy!"

"Yo." Alyx raised a hand in greeting.

"Usagi Saiou, that famous duelist who can predict her opponents' moves before they even make them…" Calhoun looked at another of the women, clad in a kimono and hakama.

"Salutations," Usagi nodded respectfully.

Vasha turned to look at one of the men in the group, wearing a broad-rimmed cowboy hat and Angora chaps. "Buck Morgan, the dueling wonder of the Southern United States…"

"Howdy!" Buck spoke with his Southern American accent, tipping his hat slightly.

"Diane Chill, the Ice Princess of dueling," said Calhoun, in reference to another of the women, this one clad in dark blue biker clothing and with a tattoo of a flaming sword on her hand.

"Uh-huh," Diane said nonchalantly.

"Gaston Altair, the national Duel Monsters champion of France," Vasha addressed another of the men, this one with a thin mustache.

_"Bienvenue,"_ Gaston replied, his accent somewhat strong.

"Caleb Link, master of combo chaining," Calhoun addressed another man wearing round-rimmed blue sunglasses. Caleb, in turn, merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Kent West, of the Cu'Chulainn strategy," Vasha referred to a man wearing a white cap backwards on his head.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Kent replied.

"Reno Dawkins, the dragon-tamer," Calhoun addressed the last individual who was wearing an unbuttoned leather jacket that revealed his six-pack abs.

"Yup," Reno nodded.

Drake nodded. "And now, you two, introduce yourselves formally."

"R-right!" Calhoun stood up straight. "Calhoun Vincente, fifth-year student of Duel Academy, member of Obelisk Blue's dorm!"

Vasha nodded. "Vasha Morrison, of the same!"

"And your deck strategies?" Drake pursued.

"Aliens!" Calhoun answered.

"Masks!" Vasha added.

Drake nodded. "Well, Shimizu has already tested you and vouches for your skill…I suppose we can give you a chance. At the very least, you should be a good help to us during the tournament…"

"Huh? Tournament?" Vasha and Calhoun looked at each other in surprise.

"Hmm…yes…you truly were preoccupied with the events at Duel Academy this morning, that's why you don't know about it," Usagi observed.

The duo's eyes widened. _She knew about that without either of us going into detail…is she truly psychic?_

"My brother announced a new tournament this morning, to start tomorrow at Kaiba Land in Honshu province, south of Sendai," Jessica explained. "He's already sent a few invitations for competitors, including everyone here in the House of Cards, and also to three duelists who've recently come into Maximillion Pegasus's employ. Those three…they'll be working with us as well, and we'll all get to meet them officially in due time."

"Quite so," Drake agreed. "In the meantime…how would you two like to join our little club, hmm?"

Calhoun and Vasha blinked. "Honestly? We get to work alongside pros?" Calhoun asked.

"Well, you're already on your way to becoming pros—you're the cream of the crop in your Obelisk Blue, aren't you?" Drake returned.

"Of course we are!" said Vasha.

"Then that is simply that." Drake smirked.

Usagi closed her eyes and sighed. _Please, Drake…as if you honestly think that I, with my power, can't see the real reason you're admitting these two so easily…or why you're doing all of this to begin with…but then again, who am I to say anything? It's your choice…your path…your destiny…_

"All right," Drake said officiously to the gathering. "House of Cards, longtime members and new members alike, thank you for gathering here today. Now, you'll all get to hear my intentions for you with this tournament I've set up, as well as get a rundown of how the tournament will commence. But before I do that, I think it's only fair to give a little history to our three newest members, as to how we came to be in the first place."

Calhoun and Vasha looked expectantly at him; Jan merely cocked an eyebrow.

"The House of Cards was founded by me four years ago, one year after I first began competing in Duel Monsters tournaments," Drake explained. "Every member here is someone who has either placed in the top four in the pro leagues at any time within the last five years, or who has skill comparable to that of a pro league duelist. Every deck strategy that we use is different, of course; no two strategies are the same here. What binds us together is that one thread we have in common: our desire to be seen as the world's strongest."

"Of course, it's acknowledged that there can only be one Number One in any field of expertise, and Duel Monsters is no different in that regard," Jessica added. "It's like a kingdom—there can only be one king, and the strongest knights are his support. So, we act as support for Drake, who's proven himself as the strongest around. With his five-year-long win streak in the pro leagues and in other tournaments, he's worthy of being the king."

"Or, at least, I would be worthy…but…" Drake gritted his teeth a little. "I was prevented from entering the Dueltropolis World Championships, and thus I was prevented from proving my strength to the whole world once and for all. Had I been allowed to compete, I could have become the World Champion, or at the very least been recognized as one of the world's three top-ranked duelists. Instead, the world's top three dueling ranks went to three undeserving persons…"

"Ah, yes—those three," Reno grunted. "The former World Champion, a kid who'd made a name for himself in two minor tournaments beforehand, and a virtual no-name from Duel Academy."

"Seta Kaiba, Yugo Muto, and Janus Yuki," Usagi clarified. "Yugo defeated Seta in the final match of the Dueltropolis tournament and claimed the World Championship title; Janus, meanwhile, went on to claim third place in that competition."

_"Oui," _Gaston sighed. "And, unfortunately, none of us distinguished folk in this room were able to attend due to contractual obligations we held with our sponsors for events they were hosting on our behalf at around that same time."

Caleb spoke for the first time. "What gets to me most is the fact that two minor-league characters and a guy who almost caused the deaths of innocent people, were allowed to clinch such high honors in the dueling world, while we couldn't do anything about it. I say it's time we took back what was rightfully ours."

"Which is one reason why this tournament now exists," Drake assured him.

"Yo, Drake, you _are_ aware that this tournament of yours won't be as big an affair as Dueltropolis was, right? I mean, it's not like the World Championship title is gonna be up for grabs," Alyx said snidely.

"Thank you for a reminder that I really did not need, Alyx," Drake growled. "However, based on the way I'm going to set it up, it'll at least show the Duel Monsters World Tournament Committee, those three upstarts, and the rest of the world that our talent is not to be overlooked. And…it'll allow us a bit of revenge against that organization that infiltrated Dueltropolis as well."

"You mean the Zodiacs?" Reno asked.

"That's the one," said Drake. "Remember those three duelists I mentioned before, the ones who've been hired by Maximillion Pegasus? Apparently, they were members of that same organization, too, but they struck a deal so as to avoid going to jail for what they did."

A hiss of disapproval swept across the entire room. "And you invited them to join us? Phoenix, were you even thinking?" Kent demanded.

"Don't worry about it," Drake said dismissively. "They're not joining the House of Cards, per se; I'm merely hiring them to serve a specific function in the Phoenix Herald Crown. After that, well, I could care less what happens to them."

"And what function could that be that would require you to hire three criminals, instead of coming to any of us?" Diane demanded angrily.

Drake looked levelly at her. "It's a function that, should any of them be defeated while playing that role, would catapult those who defeated them to positions of high prestige within the dueling tournament circuit. Also…there's a cash bonus in it for whoever can defeat those three."

"Did you say cash?" At once dollar signs seemed to replace Diane's eyes as a cash register dinged in her head. "Okay, I'm in!"

"You'll agree to anything as long as it involves money…" Buck sweat-dropped.

"Oy, you say something, buckaroo?" Diane asked threateningly.

"Um…no…just talking to myself…" Buck's sweat-drop grew bigger.

"Anyways, if you guys are quite finished…listen to what I have planned. I guarantee you'll enjoy it immensely." Drake smirked as his eyes narrowed.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, IN THE MEANTIME

"Okay…do I need that? Hmm, I guess not…"

Janus was packing all manner of things into a large bag, while close by the others were watching him. "Janus, it's only a weekend trip…it's not like you'll be away for years," Cassara told him.

"Well, yeah, but I just want to be as prepared as I can be, you know?" Janus answered. "I can't really expect them to have every little thing ready for my convenience."

"What do you mean? This is Drake Phoenix you're talking about, isn't it?" Ricardo asked. "The guy basically eats, sleeps and bathes in money. Why wouldn't he pay the extra expense to see to your comfort?"

"Um…did you forget? That Drake doesn't like Janus at all," Natasha reminded him. "And since Drake's the one running the tournament, he might try to use it as a kind of bias against Janus."

"Sounds like the kind of thing someone with money and a grudge would do," Jiro remarked. "In that case, Janus, what are you going to do?"

Janus shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to do what Dad suggested—improve my deck the best I can," he answered. "But how do I even begin to do that properly? I mean, somehow, I don't see myself using cards that are obviously different from the Elemental Hero or Neo-Spacian style…"

Ricardo rubbed his chin contemplatively. "I wonder…" He turned to the others. "Guys, do any of you have any cards that you're not using in your decks at present?"

"I think so," said Cassara.

"I do," said Natasha.

"So do I," said Jiro. "But whatever are you asking us such a thing for?"

"Well, I just figure that maybe we can give Janus a helping hand with restructuring his deck a little, with some cards that could come in handy during the tournament," said Ricardo. "Okay, guys, let's all dig up our card stashes and bring them back here. After we do that, Janus, we'll go through the cards together, and any that catch your fancy or that might be of help to you, we'll let you have them. Sound reasonable?"

"I guess," Janus answered, though he sounded unsure.

"Then it's agreed!" Ricardo grinned. "All right, we'll be right back! Come on, you guys!" And he exited the room.

"Sure!" Cassara and Natasha chorused, following after him.

Jiro chuckled. "Those guys really seem eager about this, so what the hell…" He crossed over to the nearby desk and pulled a drawer open. "Now, let's see what kinds of cards I've got that I'm not currently using…"

"Hoo, boy…" Janus sighed and sweat-dropped.

----------

"I see…so that's what happened, eh?"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki was still in her bed in the infirmary, and beside her Principal Yuki was sitting on a chair. "Hope you're not too mad, Alexis…I mean, Janus did break your rule, after all," Principal Yuki said sheepishly.

"Ah, forget it," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki brushed it off. "How many times did _we_ go to the abandoned dorm when we were students, even though it was against school rules?"

"Yeah, that's true, too," Principal Yuki laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"More importantly…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's expression became thoughtful. "Now he knows about the origin of that power inside him…I'm just surprised he took it so well."

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting his reaction, either," Principal Yuki admitted. "I just hope he'll be able to shoulder the responsibility that comes with having such power."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki reached out and gently gripped her husband's hand. "He's our son, isn't he? Of course he will," she whispered. "He's not as irresponsible as he makes himself out to be…when it comes to responsibility, he knows how to own up to it."

"Yeah…" Principal Yuki got a faraway look on his face. "Although…I wonder how much that'll apply when he goes to participate in Drake's tournament. There's going to be a lot of blood boiling between those two."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "Then Janus will just have to fortify his heart, as well as his cards, won't he?" she remarked.

Principal Yuki nodded back. "Yeah."

----------

"Okay, we're back!" Natasha announced cheerfully as she, Cassara and Ricardo burst through the door. "And it didn't take us a whole lot of time to find our card stashes, either!"

"Gotta warn you, though, this is going to be quite a lot of cards to go through," Cassara grinned as she pulled out a large box from her jacket. "You mind if we use your bed?"

"Uh, no," said Janus. "Just…don't do anything I wouldn't do, huh?"

"And that means, what exactly…?" Cassara gave him a threatening glare.

_"Anyway,_ shall we go through our cards, people?" Ricardo asked, cutting off the impending squabble before it could even start.

Jiro, on his bunk above Janus's, was going through his own card stash. "While you guys are searching through your own cards, I've managed to find a few copies of the same card," he spoke up. "In nearly every booster pack I ever bought that had a Warrior theme, I got copies of this card. I can let you have three right away, Janus—they could prove useful."

So saying, he tossed the three cards down to Janus, who caught them in between his fingers. Janus then examined the three cards and cocked an eyebrow. "Necro Gardna (ATK 600, DEF 1300)…hey, this effect he's got isn't half bad, actually," he remarked, somewhat impressed.

"And that's three of them right there, to boot," Jiro chuckled. "Now, what can I do with all these other copies I've got here…"

Natasha had been going through her stash while Janus had been examining the three Necro Gardna cards; now she pulled out two cards and handed them to him. "Here you go, Janus!" she announced. "Considering what your deck strategy is, maybe these could help you somehow…"

"Hmm, let's have a look-see," said Janus, taking the cards from her. "Oh? They're both Magic cards…hmm…Weapon Change and Fusion Weapon …"

"I've got one here that you can use as well, Janus," Ricardo spoke up, holding up a card from his own pile. "Have a look and tell me what you think."

Janus accepted Ricardo's card and examined it. "Elemental Burst…Ricardo, how the hell am I supposed to use this one? Its conditions are too specific!"

"Oh, you'll find a way, I'm sure of it," Ricardo waved him away dismissively.

"I'll kill you…" Janus swore, fangs in his mouth. Then, re-composing himself, he sighed. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep this card, just in case…it does look kinda cool, after all…"

_"That's_ the only reason you're not giving it back?" Cassara sweat-dropped.

"Hey, whatever, okay?" Janus grumbled.

Cassara shook her head. "If you want something truly useful, then have a look at this card," and she held up one and gave it to Janus. "I got it in one of the first few booster packs I bought for my deck, but I can't use it myself. But maybe it could serve some purpose in your deck, hmm?"

"We'll see about that," and Janus took Cassara's card and examined it. "Well, now…Armor Breaker (ATK 800, DEF 800), huh? A Union monster…and not a bad effect he's got here, I dare say…"

"So, Janus? Do you think you can use those cards in your deck?" Jiro asked him.

Janus shrugged. "Don't know…guess I'll have to structure my deck and see how it goes."

"You do that," said Ricardo. "And when it comes down to it, just go and give the folks at that tournament a good show. That's the most we can ask of you, after all."

"Yeah." Janus nodded. "I'll definitely do what I can when I'm there. With the competition I'll be up against, I'll have to do my best."

"I'll be watching you on the TV when the tournament's going on, so make sure you kick butt so I can see, okay?" Natasha giggled.

"We'll all be watching," said Cassara. "Just don't get too far ahead of yourself when you're there, all right?"

"Yeah, sure," Janus chuckled. "And don't worry; if I can find a use for these cards at any point during the tournament, I'll be sure to use them."

Then he turned and looked out the window, his eyes becoming reflective. _Drake…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ The rest of the House of Cards have been given official biographies…Drake gives a small history of how the club came to be formed…and Janus gets a few cards to upgrade his deck a little! Now, what'll happen next? The tournament starts soon, so…keep on the lookout, and review soon, please!


	38. Battle for Destiny

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The darkness continues to rise…and still, no, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 38 – Battle for Destiny**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_YUGO_

_NAME: Yugo Muto_

_AGE: 14_

_HAIR: Blond (same appearance as Yugi's)_

_EYES: Black_

_CLOTHES: Black leather jacket and jeans, white undershirt, black suede shoes_

_KYO_

_NAME: Kyo Bakura_

_AGE: 15_

_HAIR: Dark_

_EYES: Violet (wears glasses)_

_CLOTHES: Green jacket, aqua T-shirt, purple sweatpants and white sneakers_

_JENNA_

_NAME: Jenna Wheeler_

_AGE: 14_

_HAIR: Blond_

_EYES: Brown_

_CLOTHES: Yellow T-shirt, short black skirt, black sandals_

_MIKI_

_NAME: Miki Taylor_

_AGE: 14_

_HAIR: Brown_

_EYES: Blue_

_CLOTHES: Pink blouse, dark green shorts, green sneakers_

DOMINO HIGH SCHOOL, DOMINO CITY, 4:00 p.m.

The large clock on the face of the high school's entrance ticked off the seconds slowly. The time was now 3:59, and the seconds went by…_tick…tick…tick…tick…_

_ BBBRRRRRRNNNNGGGGG! _The school bell rang loud and long, seeming to echo all across the campus. And, like clockwork, the doors to various classrooms burst open, students emerged with their book bags, and stopped at their lockers to collect their street shoes.

In the midst of the clamor, a blond, spiky-haired boy emerged in the school's front yard, slung his book bag over one shoulder and chuckled. "Well, time to head on home and see what Grandma's got cooking," he remarked aloud.

"Yugo! Hey, Yugo! Over here!"

"Hmm?" Yugo turned and beheld three other students approaching him. "Oh, hey, guys. What're you all up to now?"

The trio in question consisted of a dark-haired boy with glasses, a blond girl, and a brown-haired girl. "We're all going to hang out at Jenna's place for a little while and do some group studying," the boy replied, indicating the blond girl. "Don't forget, we've got a chemistry test first thing Monday morning, so it's best to get as well-prepared as possible."

"BO-RING!" Yugo made a face. "Well, you guys can go ahead and do that—I'm going to head home and plop right into bed."

"But, Yugo, you're in the class too, or have you forgotten?" the brown-haired girl scolded him. "And last I recall, your chemistry grades weren't all that good…"

"Pshaw!" Yugo scoffed. "That chemistry teacher can eat my nuts for all I care!" He pulled at his pants crotch obscenely to emphasize the contempt. "Well, you guys can go study if you want. I'm out of this place." And he turned to leave.

Jenna chuckled and patted the other girl on the shoulder. "Never mind him, Miki," she said. "He can always miss out on the barbecued beef ribs Dad's looking about tonight."

"Hey, yeah!" Miki's expression brightened. "And Uncle Joey and Aunt Mai are gonna do some real shepherd's pie, aren't they? With cheese filling, mutton, sweet potatoes…"

Yugo had already taken several steps away from the trio—but on hearing these comments, he immediately backtracked. "What time did you say the study session is?" he asked with a grin, even as drool leaked from one corner of his mouth.

"Ugh…well, at least we know what motivates _you…"_ Kyo turned away from the revolting sight.

"What's that, you bastard? I dare you to say that again!"

The quartet turned at the sound of the angry yell. "That's…!" Yugo's eyes widened.

Off to one side, three tough-looking boys surrounded a familiar blue-haired figure, rage very clear on their faces. "Seta!" Miki cried. "But—what's going on?"

"Oh?" Seta glanced up. "Oh, hey, guys."

The others ran up. "What's going on over here all of a sudden?" Jenna demanded.

"Stay out of this, twerps! This has nothing to do with you!" one of the three boys snapped.

"Like hell it doesn't!" Yugo shot back.

"Hey, wait—isn't this guy the kid that won Dueltropolis?" one of the other boys wondered, referring to Yugo.

"He could've won Mr. Universe for all I care—he's still just a brat!" the third one stormed. "And _this_ one caused my uncle to be put in the hospital!" he added, pointing a hateful finger at Seta.

"Oh?" Seta cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, but I don't recall doing any such thing…"

"You are NOT going to stand there and tell me that you don't remember!" the third boy yelled. "At Tokyo Dome, when you teamed up with those nutty people…my uncle was one of the security guards on duty the night those guys took it over! He got hurt in that attack…now he's in a hospital ward in a coma! And you're saying you don't remember?"

Seta sighed. "Well…even if I were to try and explain what happened back then, it would just be a waste of my breath. I'm sorry your uncle's in the hospital, but the ones responsible for that are all either dead or in jail by now—your revenge is already over."

"Hey, man, what's there to explain? You were on live TV!" the first boy retorted. "And now here you are, walking around out in the open like nothing happened—you've got to be really brave or really retarded!"

"In any case, we can't forgive you for your sins," the second boy added. "You're not walking out of here without some form of punishment!"

"Hey, come on now, there's no need for this kind of thing! What happened back then is already over and done with, isn't it?" Miki protested, stepping up to the boys.

"Get your nose out of our business, bitch!" the third boy snapped, turning and slapping her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

Kyo was livid. "WHY, YOU…!" and he made as if to charge at the trio.

"Stop it, Kyo." Seta's tone was loud and clear.

"But—!" Kyo began.

"They struck the first blow, so before the eyes of all witnesses they'll be the ones at fault." Seta's eyes narrowed. "But if you fight back now, even for the sake of a friend, you'll be in trouble as well. And also, if you retaliate, they'll find a way to easily say that _you_ were the aggressor."

"Hah! That's just the talk of a wuss!" the first boy scoffed.

"Are you willing to go the distance to see if it's a bluff, then?" asked Seta.

"Seta…" Yugo frowned.

Jenna, meanwhile, was already at Miki's side. "Miki, are you all right?" she asked anxiously.

"Y-yeah…sorry about that, I should've been more careful," Miki said sheepishly, holding her cheek where she'd been slapped.

The three boys, meanwhile, gritted their teeth and glared at the group. Then, abruptly, the third boy turned on his heels. "Heh, whatever. Let's get out of here, guys. We don't need to deal with a bunch of sissies like these."

"We're letting you off easy for today, but don't think we'll forget this!" the second boy added.

"We'll get you back, just wait and see!" the first boy gave the parting shot.

The five friends watched as the three boys tramped off. "I still wish I could've kicked their asses," Kyo grumbled. "But, Seta, what they said…are you sure you're all right with that?"

"Well…there _are_ bound to be people out there who despise me after what happened at Tokyo Dome back then," Seta admitted. "It can't be helped…they have every right to be angry, after all."

"But—that wasn't your fault!" Miki protested.

"Even so, they won't see it that way," Seta answered. "And it's not just me as an individual that the whole Zodiac incident has affected…at least one of Kaibacorp's major shareholders has dropped out of business with us because of what happened. The company is still doing well, but…it'll be a while before shareholder confidence is back 100 percent."

"I see," said Jenna. "In the meantime, what're you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?" Seta smirked. "I'm going to go and get ready for Drake Phoenix's tournament tomorrow."

"Hey, yeah, that's right!" Yugo's face lit up. "I'd almost forgotten about the tournament! But even so, I won't have to worry about preparation—my deck's already stacked and rearing to go!"

"Mine, too." Seta chuckled. "I was merely referring to my outfit that I'm going to wear for the tournament. I do have to look good for the fans—it'll be shown live, after all."

The other four sweat-dropped. "Uh…right…" Jenna chuckled.

"Say, Seta—what about the opponents you'll be facing?" Miki asked uncertainly. "I mean, sure, Yugo will be there too, and Janus Yuki from Duel Academy also…but didn't that Drake Phoenix say there'd be eight special duelists taking part?"

"Those guys?" Seta shrugged. "I know of them—eight powerful duelists from within the pro leagues who use a wide variety of powerful strategies. I've even dueled two or three of them, from when I first became the World Champion, so I can say right now that they're incredibly powerful."

Yugo looked at him with an upraised eyebrow. "But you're not really concerned about them, are you…?"

"Well, I'm not exactly going to go out of my way just to face _those_ guys again," Seta replied coolly. "Right now, there are only two people I'm interested in facing head-on when we're there…"

Kyo adjusted his glasses. "Of course, we know Yugo is one of those two," he commented. "After all, he's the one opponent you haven't defeated yet, right?"

"No need to broadcast it, pal," Seta grumbled, a vein bulging on his forehead.

"But who's the second person?" Miki asked.

At that Seta smiled. "Who else? That Janus Yuki kid…he's got a rather intriguing deck strategy, from what I saw during his duel with Yugo in the Dueltropolis semi-finals. I'm curious to see just how well his Elemental Heroes would do against my Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck."

"And I want to duel against him, too," said Yugo, smirking a little. "Because right now, our overall dueling score is at a tie…and I intend to break that tie."

"That _is_ true, isn't it?" said Kyo. "That time when Janus came to Domino City to tell us about the tournament, he dueled Yugo and defeated him…then Yugo beat Janus in the quarter-finals of the tournament…so the battle between the two of them is still unresolved."

"Then this tournament will be the place where the battle is resolved," and Yugo nodded with determination.

"Okay, then!" Seta announced. "I've already made arrangements with my father, Yugo…you and I will go together on our company's helicopter to Kaiba Land, where the tournament will be held. So, let's meet up at Kaibacorp at sundown, and then everything will be set."

"Got it!" said Yugo. "In that case, there's no time to waste! I have to go home and get ready! Sorry, you guys, but that study group thing's gonna have to wait!" And with that, he turned and dashed for the school's front gate.

"Just don't expect us to study for you as well!" Kyo yelled after him.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 4:25 p.m.

"All right…so now the members of the House of Cards have all gone their separate ways," Jessica noted.

"Only for the next few hours," Drake answered. "Then they will all congregate at the designated place."

"So, I suppose we should prepare ourselves for tomorrow, also," Jan added. "In that case, I'm going back to my room. You can have your servants let me know when it's time for dinner. Later." With that, he turned and headed off down the corridor.

"Aww…to think he's now part of our House of Cards, and that he'll be dueling alongside us…" Jessica's eyes turned to hearts as she stared dreamily after Jan's departing figure.

"Ugh, get it out of your head already, would you?" Drake scowled at her.

"More importantly, though…" Jessica's face became more serious. "Your planned layout for the tournament…don't you think it's a little unfair?"

"Fairness, unfairness…it's all relative," Drake said casually. "If those who've been invited to take part in this game can't endure it, they should just drop out. Only those whose wills are strong enough will last one hour into this tournament. No exceptions."

"Sigh…well, you're the organizer, so I guess I shouldn't question how you want to do this," said Jessica.

"Don't worry," Drake told her. "You'll be getting a special place in the tournament, with considerable power at your disposal, so you'll have a vantage view of every duelist who'll be there. It all depends on how well you'll prepare yourself, from now."

"And you?" Jessica asked. "I guess you won't need to do much preparation…"

Drake looked thoughtful. "Actually, I need to make some preparations for myself as well," he replied. "And I know exactly what I need to do to prepare…it just depends on whether or not Dad's going to be a stubborn bastard about it again."

"Again?" Jessica blinked.

"If you want to know more, follow me and you will see for yourself," said Drake. "Let's go find Dad. We'll start by looking for him in the living room."

The siblings walked along the corridor towards the living room area, where—and Drake smirked triumphantly as he saw this—Mr. Phoenix was indeed sitting on the couch, reading a book. "Oh? Did you kids need something?" the elder Phoenix asked, looking up at the duo as he paused in his reading.

Jessica looked at the book Mr. Phoenix had been engrossed in, a green hardbound book, and made a face. "Dad, don't tell me you're still reading that Dante's _Inferno?"_ she asked.

Mr. Phoenix made a face right back at her. "Hey, you don't hear _me_ complaining about your comic books, do you?" he rebutted.

"Touché." Jessica sighed.

Drake cleared his throat. "Dad…I'm going to prepare for the tournament tomorrow—but if my deck is going to be strong enough to be worthy of champion status, I need to upgrade it."

"So upgrade it. What's stopping you?" Mr. Phoenix asked idly, turning his attention back to his book.

"Well, for starters…" Drake's eyes narrowed. "The fact that, even now, you still have _that_ card. And that's the card I need."

Mr. Phoenix was just about to turn a page to resume his reading—but on hearing Drake's statement, he paused in mid-action. "Drake…MUST we have this talk again?" he asked, shutting the book. "I've already told you, there is no way I'm going to let you have that card until you've demonstrated some degree of maturity, both as a duelist and as a human being. And so far, you have yet to show me that maturity."

"Um, I'm in the dark here," Jessica spoke up, confusion on her face.

"It's not that complicated, Jessica," Mr. Phoenix informed her. "Putting it simply, there is a particular card that I deliberately withheld from Drake when I gave him the Destiny Hero deck…because that card does not deserve to be in the hands of a duelist whose actions and strength are motivated only by hatred and greed." His eyes narrowed deeply. "Specifically, because your brother has not buried the hatred he still bears for Janus Yuki, nor discarded the greed that drives him to be the world's best duelist, he is not worthy of wielding that one special card. It has been tainted in the past by greed and desire…I will not allow that to happen again, and not from one of my own children at that."

Drake scowled in turn. "Tough words…but can you back them up?"

"Drake…!" Jessica looked at him with alarm.

"Are you questioning my authority, boy?" Mr. Phoenix asked dangerously.

"Duelists have to be strong…in order to be strong, they can't waste time on such out-of-place concepts as unselfishness or caring about others' feelings!" Drake snapped. "As a duelist, the only one you can think about is yourself! The only one you should strive to improve is yourself! And if any other duelist stands in your way to the top, then you should either run from them in fear or run over them without cowering!"

Mr. Phoenix put the book down and stood up, suddenly standing quite tall over Drake. "And still my response is no. You're not getting that card, Drake, not even if you go on your knees and beg."

Drake snarled. "I do not beg! And I do not quit until I get what I want!"

"Then why don't you try taking the card from me, if you're so brave?" Mr. Phoenix dared him. "But if you persist, then make no mistake—I don't care that you're my son, I'll beat you so badly with these two hands that you won't be able to stand up when I'm done!"

"This coming from a has-been duelist who left the pro leagues ages ago," Drake scoffed.

"Don't forget, this 'has-been' is the one who taught you what you know about dueling!" Mr. Phoenix flung at him. "But evidently I forgot to teach you about the humility that comes with mastery of Duel Monsters…so I'll gladly take a little time right now to give you some overdue schooling!"

"And I'm assuming you already have a prepared deck?" Drake sneered.

"You assume correctly," said Mr. Phoenix. "Now, then—fetch your dueling equipment and meet me outside, on the front lawn, right now."

"I'll be there, old man!" Drake replied defiantly.

With that father and son tramped out of the living room…leaving Jessica standing there, stupefied. "Um…okay…I'll just wait here, then, I guess…?" she said to nobody in particular.

----------

A SHORT WHILE LATER

Mrs. Phoenix emerged at the top of the staircase to come down to the living room—and noticed something off. "What's this all of a sudden?" she asked with a note of surprise in her voice. "Has something happened?"

For right below her, several of the house servants were chattering excitedly as they headed out the front door. Jessica was standing off to one side, watching everyone go outside; on hearing her mother's voice, she looked up. "Oh, hi, Mom," she hailed her mother. "Where've you been all this time?"

"Taking a nap in an attempt to deal with the migraine I had earlier," Mrs. Phoenix answered. "Those duelist friends of yours, are they gone yet? And why is everyone going outside all of a sudden?"

"Yes, Mom, they all left already," Jessica chuckled and shook her head. "But now Dad and Drake are going to duel outside on the lawn."

At that Mrs. Phoenix slapped a hand against her forehead in utter exasperation. "Honestly! When it's not you kids and your friends, it's your father!"

"Mom, give it a rest already—duels aren't all that bad," Jessica said reasonably. "Why don't you at least come outside with the rest of us and watch even this duel, eh?"

"And why should I watch your father and brother throw a bunch of cards and holograms around, and our servants watching them do it, when everybody could be doing other, more useful and meaningful things?" Mrs. Phoenix snapped.

"Excuse me, but it's rather strange that you're getting so worked up over 'a bunch of cards and holograms,' wouldn't you say?"

Turning, Mrs. Phoenix saw Jan standing there, looking at her with a small smirk. _"You're_ still here?" she asked condescendingly.

Jan looked down at Jessica. "So, your brother and father are going to duel, eh? Should be interesting…a former pro league champ against a current pro league contender…"

"Yeah, Dad was well-known in the pro leagues back in his day," Jessica acknowledged. "I just wonder if he still has the same strength as back then…wanna come and see with me?"

"Eh, it'll be interesting at least," said Jan.

"You…all of you…you're morons!" Mrs. Phoenix exploded. "Fine! Waste your lives on some stupid pieces of paper if that's what you want! I'm going to go take some aspirin…" And she turned on her heel and stalked off.

"What's _her_ deal?" Jan wondered aloud.

"Ah-ha-ha, never mind about Mom for now, she'll be okay," Jessica brushed it off with a sweat-drop on her head. "Anyway, let's go outside and see if they're ready to start, huh?"

So saying, Jessica turned and headed out the front door, Jan following after her only moments later. Right outside, they found the servants chattering excitedly as, not far away on the lawn, Drake and Mr. Phoenix were putting together their respective decks and Duel-Disks. "Oh, good, they're just about to start!" said Jessica. "Now let's see what Dad can do against Drake!"

"Shouldn't that be, what your brother can do against your dad?" Jan wondered.

Meanwhile, Mr. Phoenix finished packing his deck together, and now began to shuffle it. "So, Drake, you want to get a hold of that card so badly, huh?" he asked. "Your window of opportunity is right here…but…if you fail, you'll have to lose something in turn. And I know exactly what I'll be taking from you in that case—I'll be taking back that Destiny Hero deck from you."

"Fat chance!" Drake retorted as he shuffled his own deck. "I've built my reputation on these cards!"

"Then your reputation will be torn from you as well." Mr. Phoenix slotted his deck into his Duel-Disk. "Now, let's begin."

"Right!" Drake slotted his deck into his Duel-Disk as well.

**DRAKE: 8000; Mr. PHOENIX: 8000**

Their respective life points rose to 8000, and the holographic coin appeared. "As the adult here, I'll call it," Mr. Phoenix declared. "I call tails!"

The coin was immediately flipped, and flew high into the air even as all eyes watched it expectantly…and then it landed, showing its result to be tails. "Great…you get the first turn…but that won't make a difference against me!" Drake grumbled.

"We'll see about that, now won't we?" Mr. Phoenix quipped, as both of them drew their opening hands. "Anyway…I'll go!" He drew his card to begin, then studied his hand intently. "Hmm…well, then…I'll just set one card facedown, and that is all for now."

"That's pretty daring of you, Dad, not putting out any other cards to even guard your life points," Drake said scornfully as he drew his card. "I summon Destiny Hero – Dunker (ATK 1200, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!" He then brought out a tall, muscular man with blue dreadlocks, body armor, and heavy-looking gauntlets on his wrists. "And here's his effect—"

"I already know that monster's effect," Mr. Phoenix interrupted coolly. "You can send one Destiny Hero monster from your hand to the Graveyard to do 500 points of damage to my life points."

"…right. Anyway, I'll discard my Destiny Hero – Malicious (ATK 800, DEF 800) and my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (ATK 300, DEF 300) from my hand to do 1000 points of damage to you!" Drake went on, discarding the two named cards from his hand. In turn, two spheres of glowing light appeared in Dunker's hands, and he dribbled them around like basketballs for a moment before flinging one, then the other, at Mr. Phoenix. Both balls of light slammed into the older man with immense explosions.

**DRAKE: 8000; Mr. PHOENIX: 7000**

"Did you see that?" some of the servants were whispering. "Master Drake isn't holding back, even on his father!"

The light from the explosions soon died away…but Mr. Phoenix didn't seem to have moved an inch! Instead, he looked bored. "And…?"

"Hmm." Jan cocked an eyebrow. "He didn't even bat an eyelash at that assault just now…"

"Now, it's time for me to attack directly!" said Drake. "Go, Dunker—attack with Force Ball Dribble!"

Another ball of light emerged in Dunker's hands, and he dribbled it on the ground for a moment. Then he hoisted it over his shoulder, ready to throw it at Mr. Phoenix—who suddenly shouted, "And I counter that by revealing my facedown Magic card, Scapegoat!"

"Say what?" Drake's eyes widened.

As Dunker paused in his attack, four small and fluffy sheep of different colors—red, blue, yellow and pink—appeared and took over four of Mr. Phoenix's Monster Card zones. "Scapegoat permits me to Special Summon four Sheep Tokens, which are then treated as Level 1, Earth-attribute, Beast-type monsters with 0 ATK and 0 DEF, and they are summoned in Defense Mode," Mr. Phoenix explained.

"And Scapegoat itself was a Quick-play Magic card, which is why you could activate it during my turn," Drake noted. "But it doesn't matter how many creatures you summon, before my Destiny Heroes they're all weaklings! Dunker, redirect your attack toward the pink Sheep Token!" And Dunker obeyed, letting his energy ball fly and obliterating the targeted Sheep Token immediately.

"Aww…and that one was the cutest of them all, too…" Jessica sighed forlornly.

"Now, I'll set one card facedown," which Drake did promptly, "and that's it for my turn."

"Very well." Mr. Phoenix drew his next card, so he was holding six once again. "Now, Drake…normally, the Sheep Token that I Special Summon with Scapegoat's effect can't be offered as tributes for a Tribute Summon or Set…however, all other tribute-requiring situations still count, such as for card effects—or Special Summons, like right now!"

Drake's eyes widened. "Say what?"

Mr. Phoenix then held up one of his cards. "Now…I will sacrifice my remaining three Sheep Tokens to Special Summon this monster from my hand…the very card you want so badly! Now, be summoned…Destiny Hero – Plasma (ATK 1900, DEF 600)!"

All at once, the three remaining Sheep Tokens inexplicably turned to blood, rapidly dripping onto the ground into one giant puddle! "Ew! That's gross!" Jessica cried out in disgust.

Jan, however, was relatively unmoved by this. _A Destiny Hero, huh…?_

The blood puddle then rose up…and took the form of a humanoid with huge wings. As everyone watched expectantly, the blood gradually oozed away…leaving behind a man with wicked-looking armor on his body, tattered cape-like wings on his back, three large spikes protruding from the back of his helmet and pointing forward over his head, and a monstrous lizard-like head with fangs to replace his right arm. "Behold, Drake, the ultimate Destiny Hero!" Mr. Phoenix announced. "And now, I will activate his effect…"

"His effect?" Drake repeated, incredulous.

"Naturally—all Destiny Hero monsters are monsters that bear effects," said Mr. Phoenix. "In Plasma's case, I can choose one of your monsters and equip it to him as an Equip Magic card, and his ATK is then increased by an amount equal to half of that selected monster's ATK. And you only have one monster on your side right now, so…"

"NO!" Drake cried—but almost immediately a huge suction wave erupted onto the field, dragging the hapless Dunker off the ground and towards Plasma. Gritting his teeth, Drake watched helplessly and with revulsion as Dunker somehow got absorbed _into_ Plasma's wings, in the process turning into a bloody pulp even as he screamed in agony. As well, half of Dunker's ATK got added to Plasma's ATK, increasing it to 2500!

"Aw, gross! That's even more disgusting!" Jessica looked about ready to retch.

"Hmm…interesting…so, in spite of his rather tame name, Plasma gains his strength by taking in the blood of his victims," said Jan.

"There's a small drawback to Plasma's power that I've just demonstrated," said Mr. Phoenix. "He can only be equipped with one monster at a time…and it's not like he's got an effect that'll just let me destroy the monster equipped to him for me to activate his effect again. But that's all right, since he's quite strong enough as he is now…although to be safe, I'll back him up as a precaution."

Drake scowled.

"Now—I summon my Dark Crusader (ATK 1600, DEF 200) in Attack Mode!" Mr. Phoenix announced, and a moment later he called out a black leather-clad swordsman with a skeletal face and wild red hair, sporting a tattered red cape as well. "And I activate his effect: by sending one Dark monster from my hand to the Graveyard, Dark Crusader's ATK will be increased by 400! So I'll discard my Dark Elf (ATK 2000, DEF 800) for the effect to activate!"

As Mr. Phoenix discarded a card from his hand to leave him with three, Dark Crusader lifted his gigantic sword in one hand with extreme ease, as his ATK rose to 2000. But Mr. Phoenix wasn't done. "Next, I'll activate the Magic card, Premature Burial, and pay 800 life points to Special Summon the very monster I just discarded for Dark Crusader's effect—Dark Elf!"

**DRAKE: 8000; Mr. PHOENIX: 6200**

Moments later, a purple-haired woman with a yellow headdress and clad in a green robe appeared on the field even as Premature Burial's effect brought Mr. Phoenix's life points down to 6200. "And I'm going to take a guess that that facedown card of yours can only be activated in conjunction with Destiny Hero monsters—but with nothing else on your end of the field, right now it's nothing more than just another card," Mr. Phoenix chuckled. "Now, pay for your arrogance and your insolence! Go, my monsters—attack him directly!"

Dark Crusader was up first—and he lunged forward with his sword, slashing hard into Drake and lowering his life points to 6000. Then Dark Elf began to chant—but all at once a red glow appeared around Mr. Phoenix's body, and his life points dropped to 5200! "Dark Elf requires that I pay 1000 life points in order to attack with her," Mr. Phoenix explained coolly—and then Dark Elf fired a ball of magic energy at Drake, hitting him and bringing his score down further to 4000.

**DRAKE: 4000; Mr. PHOENIX: 5200**

"Ow…Dad, that was NOT cool!" Drake fumed.

"Hmph," Mr. Phoenix replied carelessly. "Now, have a taste of the very power you crave so greedily! Destiny Hero – Plasma, attack him directly with Crimson Shower!"

Plasma raised his monster-arm, and at once the mouth at the end of that arm opened wide. Then the next thing Drake knew, the monster-arm's mouth fired a blistering rain of crimson liquid that scorched him and caused him to yell out in pain as his life points sharply dropped to 1500. "Ungh!" he grimaced, dropping to one knee in a desperate effort to brace himself from the bombardment.

**DRAKE: 1500; Mr. PHOENIX: 5200**

"Ooohhh…" Jessica winced at her brother's pain. "Dad _could_ go a little easier on him…"

Jan shook his head. "Duelists don't have room in a serious duel for compassion for their opponent. In any battle, the slightest bit of compassion will cause you to drop your guard, and that will spell your undoing. Your father, no doubt, realizes this as well."

Mr. Phoenix, in the meantime, picked one of the two hand-cards he had left. "Now, to finish my turn, I'll set one card facedown," and he did so.

Drake glared at him. "So you got my life points by this much, and in one turn too…but you'll never beat me! And you'll never get your hands on my Destiny Heroes!"

"Need I remind you yet again, brat, that _I_ was the one who taught you how to use the Destiny Hero cards?" Mr. Phoenix asked. "I used that deck for far longer than you have been, so naturally I know its every strength and its every weakness. And let me tell you one of its weaknesses right now: Its full potential cannot be reached if it's used by a duelist whose heart is full of negative emotion."

"Negative emotion, my ass!" Drake spat.

"Watch your language," Mr. Phoenix narrowed his eyes. "But then again, that serves as a very vivid illustration of my point. It's clearer and clearer to me now that it really was a mistake to give you control of the Destiny Heroes, when you're so full of rage and hate. The Destiny Heroes may have brought you success in your tournament participations over the last few years, but in turn you've become vain, cruel, heartless and corrupt. The Destiny Heroes are meant to be beacons of justice, but under your degenerated control they've become nothing more than tools for thuggish behavior."

"Like you even know what you're talking about!" Drake exploded. "Now, enough of this! It's my draw!" And with a vengeful flourish, he got back up on his feet and drew his next card, so now he held three in hand. "Time to send Destiny Hero – Plasma packing!" he announced. "It's got a lot of power that'll improve _my_ deck a lot, sure, but right now he's being a serious pain in my ass! So, go, Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800), in Attack Mode!"

A moment later Doom Lord appeared on the field, his claw-like fingers clicking together in expectation as his tattered cape billowed behind him. "Now, Doom Lord's effect activates!" Drake declared snidely. "When he's in Attack Mode, his power can remove one monster that you control from play for your next two turns, at a cost of me not being able to attack this turn!"

"And I suppose you're going to target Destiny Hero – Plasma for that effect?" Mr. Phoenix asked.

"You got that right!" Drake nodded.

But suddenly Mr. Phoenix laughed loudly. "You really are a fool, aren't you?" he remarked. "Haven't you noticed anything strange since you summoned Doom Lord to the field? Take a good look at him!"

"What?" Drake looked at Doom Lord—and only then did he notice that, for some odd reason, the monster was surrounded by a crimson-colored energy field. "Hey! What is this?" he yelled.

"That, my ignorant son, is the effect of Destiny Hero – Plasma at work," Mr. Phoenix replied. "As long as he's face-up on the field, his power negates the effects of all Effect monsters that are controlled by my opponent. And considering that every single Destiny Hero monster is an Effect monster…"

Drake looked at his deck in a sudden panic. "Oh, man—then that means all my monsters will be worthless as long as that Plasma is still on the field…!"

Mr. Phoenix looked knowingly at him. "It's still your turn…what're you going to do?"

"Hmm…" Drake looked at the field in annoyance. "For now, nothing. I'll just end my turn."

Shrugging, Mr. Phoenix drew another card. "Well, this would be where I'd attack Doom Lord," he commented, "but knowing the Destiny Hero deck like I do, that facedown card of yours is likely one of three cards: Destiny Signal, D – Counter, or D – Shield. If I do destroy your monster, Destiny Signal will let you Special Summon another Destiny Hero from your deck, and you'll probably go for Destiny Hero – Defender, who's got a DEF high enough to repel all of my monsters. Or, if I attack, D – Counter will destroy the attacking monster, which in this case is actually a one-in-three chance of destroying Plasma, but which would be a real headache for me regardless since it would entail unnecessary destruction of one of my monsters. Or, if the card is D – Shield, then you'll be able to shift Doom Lord into Defense Mode, make him impervious to destruction through battle, _and_ keep your own life points safe, all at the same time."

Jan whistled. "Very impressive…he really could read the kid like an open book."

"Actually, it's not so difficult to do once you have an intimate knowledge of a Destiny Hero deck, or of any deck for that matter," Mr. Phoenix addressed him. "Even if you possess only a casual working knowledge of a given strategy, that should be enough to prepare you for what type of cards that strategy will employ, no?"

"Don't divert your attention, Dad," Drake said ominously. "You're going to regret not having attacked me!"

"I'll believe that threat when I see it in action—right now, all you're doing is shooting off your mouth." Mr. Phoenix crossed his arms. "For the time being, I will end my turn…and in a little while, I will end your ownership of the Destiny Heroes as well!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ Well, now, what a pinch Drake is in! Face-to-face with the incredibly powerful Destiny Hero – Plasma, as well as other cards that have him backed up into a corner…what's he to do? Find out next chapter!


	39. Hatred

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Crimson rain falleth…and neomage is still not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 39 - Hatred**

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 4:45 p.m.

**DRAKE: 1500; Mr. PHOENIX: 5200**

"Master Phoenix…he's so skilled…!" one of the servants whispered.

"But now Master Drake's in a tough place…what'll he do?" another servant whispered back.

Indeed, the stats of the duel seemed to be heavily out of Drake's favor: He had 1500 life points, while Mr. Phoenix had a higher score of 5200. On Drake's side of the field, he had Destiny Hero – Doom Lord in Attack Mode and one other card facedown; on Mr. Phoenix's side, he had Destiny Hero – Plasma equipped with Drake's Destiny Hero – Dunker and with his ATK increased to 2500, Dark Crusader with 2000 ATK due to his effect, and Dark Elf powered by the Premature Burial magic card, all of them in Attack Mode, and he also had another card facedown. Each held two cards in hand.

Now Drake drew for his turn, so he held three cards. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode," he announced. "Then, for safety's sake, I'll shift Doom Lord into Defense Mode also…" Doom Lord then went down on one knee with his arms crossed before his chest. "And then I'll activate the effect of the Destiny Hero – Malicious that I sent to the Graveyard earlier! By removing him from play, I can Special Summon another copy of Malicious from my deck to the field—and this one I'll summon in Defense Mode as well!"

As the spirit of Malicious floated out of Drake's Graveyard, another Malicious soon appeared on the field, also in a defensive stance. "And with that, I'll end my turn," Drake finished.

Mr. Phoenix, however, was unconcerned even as he drew his next card to give him a total of three in hand. "Even though I have a good idea what your facedown card might be, I can't say for sure which of my three suspicions of that card is correct, so I'm refraining from attacking for the time being," he commented. "Knowing this, you're hoping that you can stall for time until you can draw your Destiny Hero – Dogma, the only monster in your deck with a base ATK that's higher than Plasma's ATK at present. And once you do get him, you'll be able to easily summon him, since Plasma's effect of suppressing my opponent's monsters' effects doesn't extend to monsters in the hand or Graveyard, which is also why your Malicious' effect wasn't stopped just now. Also, even though your monster effects have been stopped, you can still use your Magic and Trap cards with ease, so you're hoping for an opportunity in which you can use a card of that nature to turn the duel around."

Drake gritted his teeth at that, but said nothing in reply.

"Well, you should feel disappointed right now, son," Mr. Phoenix continued. "As I said before, I know the Destiny Hero deck far better than you do. I know the cards that work with the Destiny Hero strategy, the types of combos you can pull off with them, and also I have a wide knowledge of the types of cards you could potentially add to your deck to strengthen it further. Against me, right now, you have no chance of victory."

"You don't know that for sure!" Drake fumed.

"Don't I?" Mr. Phoenix countered. "Then perhaps _this_ will alter your perspective a little…" He held up one of his hand-cards. "The Magic card, Bait Doll. It'll force your facedown Trap card to activate, and if the timing for the card's activation is incorrect, its effect will be negated and it will be destroyed; on the plus side, if it's a Magic card after all, it'll simply be returned to its facedown position."

Without warning, Drake's facedown card got flipped, revealed to be the Trap card D – Shield. "Aw, nuts!" Drake sputtered—but then a hammer and nail emerged from out of nowhere, and the nail was roughly slammed into the flipped card, destroying it after a few strokes from the hammer.

"And before I forget to mention," Mr. Phoenix added, "after Bait Doll is activated, it is returned to the deck instead of going to the Graveyard, after which I shuffle the deck." And this he did with a flourish.

"A card that goes back to the deck instead of going to the Graveyard after it's been used?" Jessica shook her head. "Dad's really playing for keeps now…"

Mr. Phoenix then selected another card from his hand. "Next, I offer Dark Elf as a tribute to call upon the Timeater (ATK 1900, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!" And as Dark Elf disappeared from the field, in her place there emerged a huge clock-face with mysterious markings replacing its numbers. "Now, Dark Crusader, destroy Doom Lord!"

Dark Crusader dashed forward, carving Doom Lord cleanly in two with his sword a moment later. "Next, Timeater, destroy Malicious!" Mr. Phoenix commanded. In reply, the clock's hands began to spin round and round like mad—unleashing sonic waves that caused Malicious to cover his ears and scream out in pain even as he disintegrated into nothingness.

"When Timeater destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you must skip your next Main Phase 1," Mr. Phoenix explained. "And now, time to discover what your facedown monster is! Plasma, attack with Crimson Shower!"

Plasma raised his monster-arm and again fired a hail of red liquid drops at the facedown monster…and the card got flipped face-up, revealing itself to be Destiny Hero – Defender (ATK 100, DEF 2700). The massive stone warrior managed to withstand the attack, though, and Mr. Phoenix's life points dropped slightly from the backlash.

**DRAKE: 1500; Mr. PHOENIX: 5000**

"So, you did manage to get hold of the one Destiny Hero who could stand strong against Plasma's current strength after all," Mr. Phoenix chuckled. "Well, why don't we see for how much longer you'll be able to hide behind him, huh? In the meantime, I will end my turn."

"Who's hiding?" Drake demanded as he drew his next card. "I'm just biding my time, that's all! Good duelists know when to wait for that one right moment!"

He then studied the cards he was holding. "All right, Dad—since I can't conduct my Main Phase 1 because of your Timeater, I'll just skip to Main Phase 2," he announced. "And I'll activate the effect of the Malicious that's currently in my Graveyard, removing it from play to Special Summon a third one from my deck, in Defense Mode."

Again the spirit of Malicious floated away from Drake's Graveyard, and then his third like-named monster appeared on the field. "Then," Drake continued, "I'll use my Normal Summon and call on this guy: Destiny Hero – Departed (ATK 1000, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" And in the next moment there appeared a man in a gray pinstripe suit, wearing bandages that covered his face and hands, and carrying a cane with a skull at one end.

"Hmm…" Mr. Phoenix frowned at the sight of this new monster.

"And now, check this out!" Drake picked another of his hand-cards. "I'll sacrifice all three of my Destiny Heroes—Defender, Malicious and Departed—to Special Summon my Destiny Hero – Dogma (ATK 3400, DEF 2400) in Attack Mode!"

The three monsters instantly transformed into spheres of light that flew about and then collided together—and from the resulting light-show, out stepped Dogma, in full force. "Thanks to the effect of Plasma, Dogma won't be able to use his effect to halve your life points in your next Standby Phase," Drake observed. "But now I've got my strongest monster out, and he'll smash you and your little army over there into paste! Of course, it's just a shame I can't attack this turn since I had to skip both my Main Phase 1 _and_ my Battle Phase, but I'll be able to conduct the Battle Phase next turn. And…just to be on the safe side, I'll set my last card facedown, and end this turn."

"Hmph. At least give me _something_ to be surprised about, why don't you?" Mr. Phoenix sighed. "Like all the other Destiny Heroes, I know the effect of Destiny Hero – Departed. When he's in your Graveyard during your Standby Phase, he's Special Summoned in face-up Attack Mode on my side of the field. So, you intend to use him as target practice for Dogma, to lower my life points considerably." He smirked. "Even if Dogma's missing his effect, he's still a good beating-stick."

Jan bit his lip. _It's almost frightening, the way Phoenix's old man can predict what he's going to do with his strategy simply by sheer observation…there aren't many duelists who can do that successfully…_

Mr. Phoenix took his turn and drew his card. "Hmm…I'll just end my turn." He chuckled at Drake. "So? It's your turn now…are you going to do what I think you're going to do, and attack any of my monsters, or Departed once he shows up during your Standby Phase?"

Drake didn't respond, but frowned as he drew a card to replenish his empty hand. "All right, now it's my Standby Phase, so Destiny Hero – Departed comes on your side of the field," he intoned, and then Departed re-emerged, clutching his staff in hand.

Then Drake paused and scanned Mr. Phoenix's side of the field. _Now that I really think about it…that facedown card of his…_ His frown became deeper. _He hasn't even tried to activate it since he set it on the field…and I haven't launched an attack once since he set it…could it be that he's waiting for me to attack before he activates it? If that's the case, then I can't afford to do that just now, because Dogma's the only line of defense I've got right now to protect what's left of my life points! And if I lose him, then without a doubt I'll lose the duel, as well as my Destiny Heroes and my dueling rep!_

"Sorry, Dad, but I'm not falling into your trap!" he said aloud. "You want me to attack you—but I'll do something else altogether! And I'll do it now—by activating this Magic card, Misfortune!"

"Misfortune, huh?" Mr. Phoenix cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" said Drake. "In exchange for not being able to attack you this turn, I can select one of your face-up monsters and inflict damage to your life points equal to half of that monster's original ATK—and I choose Destiny Hero – Plasma!"

Misfortune's tuxedo-wearing creature immediately appeared on the field and snapped his fingers—and Mr. Phoenix's body glowed as his life points went down to 4050.

**DRAKE: 1500; Mr. PHOENIX: 4050**

"Plasma's original ATK was 1900, so I've lost 950 life points," Mr. Phoenix remarked. "And is that all you're going to do?"

"Yes," said Drake.

"Very well, then—my move!" Mr. Phoenix drew once again; he now held three cards. "And…I'll just have all my monsters shift to Defense Mode for a while."

To Drake's surprise, Dark Crusader, Plasma, and Departed all knelt down in defensive postures, while Timeater turned around so its face was facing the opposite direction. _All of his monsters in Defense Mode…I thought he'd left them in Attack Mode on purpose, to bait me into attacking with Dogma…so was that facedown card of his a bluff all this time?_

But then Mr. Phoenix continued, "And I'll activate my facedown Trap card, Zero Gravity! This will alter the battle positions of all monsters on the field!"

"WHAT!" Drake cried out—but much to his consternation, Dogma went onto one knee in a defensive pose—and all of Mr. Phoenix's monsters stood upright and facing forward once again! "That can't be right!"

"What a clever gambit," Jan chuckled. "Phoenix's old man tricked him into a situation where he'd be forced to choose whether to risk losing his monster or not…and all along that situation was right there ready to be sprung; only Phoenix himself didn't know it. And now he's about to lose his best monster because of that trap."

"Go now, Plasma! Defeat Dogma!" Mr. Phoenix commanded—and Plasma fired yet another burst of red hail from his monster-arm, burning the defending Dogma to ashes. "And now, Drake, your life points are open…say goodbye! Dark Crusader, end this duel now!"

Dark Crusader lifted his sword and charged forward, ready to slice Drake apart. But all at once Drake shouted, "You think I'm not prepared for that? I activate my own Trap card, D – Fortune!"

Suddenly, right before everyone's eyes, a disembodied form of Destiny Hero – Malicious emerged in front of Drake, blocking Dark Crusader's sword swing! "I could only activate D – Fortune by removing one Destiny Hero monster in my Graveyard from play when you declared a direct attack on my life points," Drake explained. "So I removed my third Malicious from the game…and now, the Battle Phase is prematurely ended. My life points are safe."

"But for how long?" Mr. Phoenix quipped, even as Dark Crusader and the other monsters on his side reluctantly stood down. "As I said before, I know the ins and outs of the Destiny Hero deck…so I figured that D – Fortune could be the only card you'd have to play in the situation you were just in. But do you remember my Magic card, Bait Doll, from a little while back? Just to put your mind at ease, I haven't drawn it again yet—and you'd better be grateful I haven't, because if I had had it in my hand just now, you'd be finished before you knew what hit you. Anyway, I'll end my turn now…" And he smirked a little as he did so.

Now Drake flinched as he looked at the field. _Shit…shit…shit…he's really got me trapped! I've got nothing left on the field or in my hand, and he's got four monsters primed to cut me down to size! _He cast a glance at his deck. _Just great…what the hell are the odds that I'll get anything that'll even remotely help me at this point? He's got me right where he wants me…and next turn, I'm going to lose this duel, and my…!_

_"Master Drake…Master…"_

"Huh?" Drake glanced to one side—and there saw the transparent form of Doom Lord. "Oh, great…"

_"It is not over yet, Master,"_ Doom Lord said to him. _"You still have a chance to turn the outcome of this duel around. Let your hope rest on the next card…and draw without fear."_ And then he vanished.

Growling, Drake looked down at his deck again. _This is utterly ridiculous…even if there IS a card that can get me out of this jam at this point, how can I be sure that I'll draw it right now? Ever since Dad brought out Plasma, all I've been doing is stalling…and now he's got me in a place where I can't stall any longer!_

"Well, Drake? Starting to regret having defied me?" Mr. Phoenix interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, shut up! I'm just thinking through what I'm gonna do next!" Drake snapped.

"But what else _can_ you do at this point?" Mr. Phoenix countered. "Face it, son, I've got you beaten. Your arrogance and greed paved the way to this conclusion. Now, all that's left to happen is that either you'll surrender the duel, or I'll wipe out what's left of your life points. What's it going to be?"

"What do you think?" Drake glowered.

Mr. Phoenix shook his head. "That's just like you…refusing to accept the facts even when they're right there in your face. Just like this whole ridiculous feud between you and Janus Yuki."

Drake glared at him. "What about it? What do YOU possibly know about it?"

"More than enough." Mr. Phoenix was firm. "Over these last few years I've seen it, Drake…I've seen the hatred grow inside of you, like an incurable cancer. How long do you intend to hold on to that hate, that anger? How long do you intend to continue laying blame on that boy?"

"Janus IS to blame! For all of it!" Drake exploded.

Jan cocked an eyebrow, even as the servants began whispering amongst themselves. "Eh?" said Jan. "What's this all about all of a sudden, now?"

"Um…" Jessica shifted a little uncomfortably. "Drake…he's been having an ongoing feud with Janus Yuki for a good while, now…"

"That's the Duel Academy kid who came in third in Dueltropolis, isn't it?" asked Jan. "What's your brother's beef with _him?"_

Jessica sighed, a distant expression on her face now. "A love triangle…one gone horribly wrong…"

"Hmm?" Jan blinked.

"Drake, do you seriously believe that you're the only one who's suffered from that day back then?" Mr. Phoenix demanded angrily. "What about Janus? Hasn't he suffered enough from all this?"

"He has stolen the most precious thing from me!" Drake flared up. "And no amount of apologizing from him will ever let me get it back! So I'm gonna beat him down as hard as I can and as far as he'll go until all my rage is satisfied and justice is exacted!"

"So, what—you intend to keep wallowing around in darkness?" Mr. Phoenix demanded. "What you're thinking of doing isn't justice!"

"You're one to talk!" Drake flung at him. "Justice by any means necessary to punish the wrongdoer—isn't that what you always used to preach? I'm just carrying out your teachings in my own way!"

"Even so, Janus is not a criminal in this! Why is it that you're the only one who cannot see that?" Mr. Phoenix exclaimed. "You've twisted your own sense of justice so that it's become a creed where you punish anyone who you perceive as having wronged you even in the slightest, no matter _what_ they've actually done! I've stood by too long and let you have your own way…but that stops here and now! You've proven yourself unworthy of holding on to the Destiny Hero deck, with that attitude of yours…so I'll take them back from you and relieve you of your dueling stardom!"

"Just try it!" Drake raged.

"Then go ahead and draw your card," Mr. Phoenix invited ominously. "I'll bury you no matter what card you draw now."

"Fine, then!" Drake furiously drew his next card…and paused when he saw what it was. "This…this is…"

"I told you already, whatever you draw is useless," said Mr. Phoenix. "It doesn't matter what card you've gotten, your fate has already been decided. You only have two choices—either give up, or I'll take you down hard."

Drake glared at his father. "A real duelist has his pride…and mine won't let me just throw in the towel." He looked down at the card in his hand. "This card shouldn't have to stay in my hand when I've got nothing else on the field…so I'll set it facedown. Then I'll end my turn."

"The lousiest attempt at a bluff if ever I saw one," said Mr. Phoenix, even as he drew his next card. "As a courtesy, I'll allow you to be defeated by the very power you craved for so greedily! Now, Destiny Hero – Plasma, end this with your Crimson Shower Attack!"

Plasma raised his monster-arm yet again, and the monster's mouth opened and fired numerous pelts of crimson hail at Drake…

…but then Drake shouted, "Activate—Mirror Force!"

Mr. Phoenix's eyes went wide. "WHAT!" But true to Drake's word, suddenly a force-field appeared around the boy, shielding him from Plasma's attack…and in the process reversing the attack onto all of Mr. Phoenix's monsters, destroying them in one fell swoop!

Jessica stared with wide-open eyes. "In…incredible…"

"Impossible is more like it," Jan muttered. "How could he have gotten a card that he so desperately needed just at that moment?"

Drake, meantime, smirked at his father. "So? Looks to me like I'm still in the game after all…"

"Yeah, right! That was just one lucky draw!" Mr. Phoenix shook his head. "On the other hand, I may not have Plasma on the field anymore, but I do have some good cards in my hand already that will help me bring him back!"

"Bring him back…" Drake's eyes narrowed.

"Watch this and see for yourself," and Mr. Phoenix held up one of the four cards he held in his hand. "I activate the Magic card, Monster Reincarnation! By discarding one card from my hand, I can add back one Monster card from my Graveyard to my hand—and naturally, I'm going for Destiny Hero – Plasma!"

Discarding a card for Monster Reincarnation's effect, he swiftly found Plasma in his Graveyard and added the card back to his hand. "And next, I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn," he finished. "After this, it'll only be a matter of time—and with the low chances you've got of getting something to save yourself, I won't have to wait too much longer."

Drake glanced down at his deck again. _Both of us might not have anything much on the field in terms of defense right now, but…now that he's got Plasma back in his hand…I'm gonna have to get an extremely good card on this next draw, otherwise…!_

Then he drew.

_Okay…what's he gotten this time?_ Jessica wondered.

_Is he going to get lucky again, somehow?_ Jan mentally asked. _Or is it a bad draw this time?_

All the servants looked on at the duel, some whispering to each other again. "What do you suppose Master Drake's gotten this time?"

"How should I know? Why don't YOU ask him?"

Mr. Phoenix cocked an eyebrow. "Well?"

Drake's eyes were overshadowed as he turned his head to look at the card he'd drawn…and a smirk crossed his lips. "Seems destiny has chosen to side with me today."

"Eh?" Mr. Phoenix blinked in surprise.

Then Drake held up his card. "Now, I activate…my Magic card, Monster Reborn! And I'll use its power to Special Summon my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander from the Graveyard, in Defense Mode!"

At once, Disk Commander appeared on the field in a defensive stance. "Ugh…when Disk Commander is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, you get to draw two cards," said Mr. Phoenix. "This is quite a turnaround…"

"Glad you know it," Drake sneered as he drew his two cards for Disk Commander's effect. "Now, hmm, let's have a look-see here…all right, I'll set one card facedown, and activate the Field Magic card—Clock Tower Prison!"

At once their surroundings changed, as Drake's trademark clock-tower appeared on the field. "Since you know so much about the Destiny Hero deck, you should be well aware of what the Clock Tower Prison's effect stipulates," Drake went on. "Sorry, Dad, but you're not getting your hands on _my_ Destiny Heroes. Now make your move."

Undaunted by this turn of events, Mr. Phoenix drew his card…and immediately, Destiny Hero – Departed reappeared on his side of the field. "Since Departed was destroyed by a card effect and not in a battle, he's Special Summoned back from your Graveyard to my side of the field," he noted.

In that same moment, the Clock Tower Prison's clock chimed as a clock-shaped token appeared on its face, over the numeral 1. "During each of your opponent's Standby Phases, the Clock Tower Prison gets one Clock Counter," Mr. Phoenix announced. "And when you get four or more on it, you don't get any Battle Damage."

"What're you going to do about it, then?" Drake challenged.

"Well…destroying that card when it's got at least four Clock Counters will allow you to summon Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster…" Mr. Phoenix's eyes narrowed as he pointed this out. "Then I'll just have to destroy the Clock Tower Prison _before_ it gets four Clock Counters, wouldn't you say?"

"That would make sense, but can you do it?" Drake asked. "If you know the Destiny Hero deck so well, it should be a cinch for you, don't you agree?"

Mr. Phoenix did not answer, but instead looked at the card he'd just drawn. _Well, well…seems I got back my Bait Doll magic card, so I can use it again as necessary. However…_ His eyes narrowed. _Based on the cards Drake just played…his facedown card is probably the Eternal Dread trap card, which will put two Clock Counters on the Clock Tower Prison. And I don't have anything in my hand right now that can destroy that card before it gets its Clock Counters…_

He leveled his gaze on Drake's facedown card. _On the other hand, I haven't got any guarantee that that IS in fact the Eternal Dread card he's got…so if I target it with Bait Doll, it'll be destroyed as long as the timing for the card's activation is incorrect. But…if it IS Eternal Dread, then my time that I'll have to find a way to destroy the Clock Tower Prison will be lessened…and if I don't use Bait Doll now, and he activates that card, and it really does turn out to be Eternal Dread…_

"What's wrong, Pop? Why so indecisive all of a sudden?" Drake chuckled.

"Who's indecisive?" Mr. Phoenix retorted. "All I'm doing is weighing my options…something _you _seem unable to do with your life."

"Say again?" Drake asked with a warning tone.

"What—is it really that hard to understand?" said Mr. Phoenix. "Ever since that day, Drake, all you've done is focus nothing but anger at Janus Yuki. Has it even entered your head once that there is such a thing as 'letting it go' or 'getting over it'? Because _he_ surely seems to have done just that…"

Drake's teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Then you don't know anything about justice—or you've forgotten what justice entails."

"And you're such an expert, then?" Mr. Phoenix countered. "I think not."

"Hmph. Just make your move, if that's all you have to say," Drake growled.

"Fine, then." Mr. Phoenix nodded. "Destiny Hero – Departed, destroy his Disk Commander with Staff of the Deceased!" And in response, Departed pointed the ghoulish business end of his staff at Disk Commander…and from the mouth of the skeleton on the end of the staff, a dark mist spewed out and corroded the other hero into nothing but a standing skeleton. "Now I end my turn for the moment."

Drake wasted no time, drawing his next card. "I see…so this is what I have, then? Well…I'll end my turn for now."

Mr. Phoenix cocked his eyebrows at that. "A card you couldn't play, I suppose?"

"Maybe," said Drake noncommittally.

Harrumphing, Mr. Phoenix drew again, so now he held four cards—and the Clock Tower Prison got another Clock Counter, covering the numeral 2 on the clock face. _Two Clock Counters…this would be an ideal time for Drake to activate that Eternal Dread, if indeed that is what it is…and if he activates it now, then his life points will be safe from battle damage thanks to the Clock Tower Prison…but STILL, one way or the other…_

He picked one of the cards in his hand. "I activate this Magic card, Stray Lambs! This allows me to Special Summon two Lamb Tokens to the field in Defense Mode, and they're treated as Earth-attribute, Beast-type, Level 1 monsters with 0 ATK and 0 DEF."

A moment later there appeared two fuzzy-looking lambs on Mr. Phoenix's side of the field. "AWWW! SO CUUUUTE!" Jessica squealed, hearts in her eyes.

"Girl, what is _wrong_ with you?" Jan glowered.

"The downside is, I can't summon any other monsters during this same turn, which is also why I couldn't activate it last turn since Departed was Special Summoned to my side of the field," Mr. Phoenix continued. "But I'm not in any rush—I'll bring Plasma back to the field come next turn. For the moment, I'll attack you directly with Destiny Hero – Departed!"

Almost instantly, the same dark mist from before spewed out of Departed's staff, surrounding Drake and sending a chilling, numbing feeling through his body as his life points dropped to a flat 500.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 4050**

"Only a little more, and then that'll be the end," said Mr. Phoenix. "I'll just end my turn, now."

"All right…so now you've assembled enough tributes to bring out Plasma once again," Drake said darkly as he drew his next card. "But I'm going to have to inform you that that will not happen! Because now I activate my Trap card…Cloak and Dagger!"

"Huh…!" Mr. Phoenix gaped.

But all at once, as Drake's Trap card flipped face-up, there appeared from it a man dressed in black combat fatigues, wielding a sniper rifle with a scope, aimed straight at Mr. Phoenix! "Surprise! You weren't expecting that, now were you?" Drake taunted him. "Cloak and Dagger is a Continuous Trap card that I acquired specifically for my tournament. You see, when I activate it, I declare the name of one Monster card…and if you Normal Summon, Special Summon, or flip that monster face-up, then both that monster and this Trap card will be removed from play. And so, the monster whose name I designate is…Destiny Hero – Plasma!" He grinned triumphantly. "So…still feel brave enough to call out Plasma now?"

"Damn it…!" Mr. Phoenix grated.

"Whoa…I didn't see _that_ coming…Drake never had that card before," Jessica noted.

"It's a rather dangerous card to use, still," said Jan. "Its effect requires that you have an intimate knowledge of the cards in your opponent's deck—although in this case, it was all right since it's already known that your old man had Destiny Hero – Plasma in his possession. Against any other opponent, though, unless your brother knows their decks inside out…"

Mr. Phoenix, in the meantime, was glaring. "Who'd have thought that you had a card like that…"

"And it's about to get even worse now," said Drake. "I activate my Magic card, Destiny Draw! Now, by discarding a Destiny Hero monster from my hand, I can draw two cards…and I'll discard the Destiny Hero – Dasher (ATK 2100, DEF 1000) that I'm holding in order to do so!"

Discarding the named card, he quickly drew two more cards—and his grin grew even wider. "Oh, Da-a-ad…time to amplify the turning of the tide!" he declared. "I summon a new warrior…Destiny Hero – Dread Servant (ATK 400, DEF 700) in Attack Mode!"

Moments later there appeared on his side of the field a warrior wielding an iron staff and a gauntlet-like shield on one arm, and sporting a frayed cape. "Dread Servant…the faithful keeper of the Clock Tower Prison," Drake said proudly. "When he's Normal Summoned, he places one Clock Counter onto the Clock Tower Prison." And as if to prove it, Dread Servant raised his staff toward the clock overhead, and a huge Clock Counter emerged, overshadowing the clock's numeral 3. "Now, Dread Servant, destroy one of the Lamb Tokens!"

Raising his staff, Dread Servant flew forward and cut down one of the Lamb Tokens in an instant. "Ack! Drake, that's mean! That was the cutest thing ever and you killed it!" Jessica screeched.

Jan shook his head in bemusement. "Girls…"

"And now…I do believe I'll end my turn." Drake chuckled.

His face sporting a grim expression, Mr. Phoenix drew another card so that he held four—and a Clock Counter concealed the numeral 4 on the Clock Tower Prison's clock. "Now that the Clock Tower Prison has four Clock Counters, you won't suffer Battle Damage…and if Dread Servant is destroyed in battle, his effect will destroy one Magic or Trap card you control, and you'll use that to destroy the Clock Tower Prison and bring out Dreadmaster," he noted.

"Still think I'm not worthy of the Destiny Heroes?" Drake smirked.

"Actually…yes." Mr. Phoenix nodded resolutely, even as he held up the cards in his hand. "I activate a Quick-play Magic card from my hand, Enemy Controller!"

"Say what?" Drake reared up at that—and just at that moment, a large video-game controller appeared on his father's side of the field!

"I suppose you know what this does," Mr. Phoenix remarked. "It's got two effects, one of which I must choose upon the card's activation. I can either change the battle position of one face-up monster that you control, or I can take control of one of your face-up monsters till the end of the turn by tributing one of my own monsters. And so, I'll tribute my remaining Lamb Token to take control of your Dread Servant! Now, input command, Enemy Controller—up, down, up, down, right, left, A!"

The remaining Lamb Token vanished from the field—and as Drake watched with a twitching eyebrow, his Dread Servant walked over to Mr. Phoenix's side as if hallucinating. "And next," Mr. Phoenix continued, holding up one of his three remaining cards, "I'll tribute both Destiny Hero – Departed and Destiny Hero – Dread Servant to summon a new beast…Diabolos, King of the Abyss (ATK 2800, DEF 1000)!"

Both Destiny Heroes vanished instantaneously from the field—then a large cloud of shadow emerged between the players. "What is this now? What's happening?" several of the servants were now whispering fearfully.

And then…from the shadows there emerged a large black dragon, with glowing red eyes, armor on its body, and what appeared to be a blue jewel on its forehead. Glaring down at Drake, it released a threatening growl even as sulfur-filled smoke poured from its mouth. "You didn't really think that my deck was centered _only_ around Destiny Hero – Plasma, did you?" Mr. Phoenix smirked. "Granted, I didn't expect you'd have that Cloak and Dagger trap card, but I did expect you'd have the kinds of cards that would be designed to keep your opponent's key monsters down for the count. However, it's always good to have a few backup cards, just in case—case in point, my friend Diabolos here. And, true, he won't be able to wipe out your life points since you've still got your Clock Tower Prison with four Clock Counters on it…but his effect will serve me just as well."

"His effect?" Drake asked incredulously.

"That's right." Mr. Phoenix nodded. "During your Draw Phase, before you actually draw, Diabolos's power enables me to see the card on top of your deck, and then I get to place that card on either the top or the bottom of your deck."

"So…in exchange for my stopping you from summoning your ace monster and doing battle damage to me, you've decided to take it upon yourself to play fortuneteller with my cards?" Drake scowled. "Oh, thanks a lot!"

On the sidelines, Jan watched the duel keenly. _So…is this a stalemate, then? No…the kid can still do damage to his father's life points via battle, but doing that is going to be rather difficult with this dragon on the field now…and…_ His eye roved over Mr. Phoenix's side. _The old man still has a facedown card…but what exactly is he waiting for, to activate it?_

Mr. Phoenix, in the meanwhile, looked at the two cards he had left in his hand. _Destiny Hero – Plasma and Bait Doll…I can't summon the one, and the conditions aren't right to use the other…but at least I can still carry on this duel for as long as I can, and I DO still have the advantage in life points! Whether he'll admit it or not, Drake's just barely holding on by a thread—all that's preventing me from wiping him out of this duel is the Clock Tower Prison with its four Clock Counters. Still…I can afford to bide my time now…it's just going to be a little while longer, that's all…_ "There's nothing more I can do for now. I end my turn."

"Uh-huh," Drake grunted as he prepared to draw—but a growl from Diabolos stopped him. "Oh, yeah—your dragon's effect…"

"Yes, indeed," said Mr. Phoenix. "Now, pick up the top card of your deck and hold it up so I can see what it is—you do not get to see the card yourself."

Frowning, Drake picked up the top card and held its face away from himself, and toward his father. From where Mr. Phoenix stood, the holographic display of the card revealed that it was the Equip Magic card, Cyclone Blade. "Hmm…that's not a good card for you to draw this turn," Mr. Phoenix mused. "All right—put that card at the bottom of your deck, and again, don't look at it."

"Yeah, whatever," Drake grumbled as he shuttled the card right at the very bottom of his deck slot. "Can I draw now?"

"Knock yourself out," Mr. Phoenix replied.

Shaking his head, Drake braced himself and readied his hand to draw…

----------

_**neomage:**_ Will Mr. Phoenix take the Destiny Hero deck back from Drake—or will Drake get his hands on the Destiny Hero – Plasma card? Only one way to know for sure—read on! And review soon, please!


	40. Preparations and Revelations

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Destiny is decided…and you should know by now that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**(WARNING: Spoiler alerts in this chapter for the end of Seasons 3 and 4 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX! For those who have not seen it yet, you have been warned! Plus, this chapter may get a moderate "M" rating for a hint of yuri and non-explicit stuff!)**

**CHAPTER 40 – Preparations and Revelations**

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 5:10 p.m.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 4050**

Drake was holding on with a scant 500 life points, while Mr. Phoenix still had 4050. On the field Drake had his Cloak and Dagger trap card and the Clock Tower Prison field magic card with four Clock Counters on it; meanwhile, Mr. Phoenix had Diabolos, King of the Abyss in Attack Mode, and he also had one card facedown. Drake was holding one card in his hand, while Mr. Phoenix had two—Destiny Hero – Plasma and Bait Doll. And now, mere moments after Diabolos had activated its effect, it was Drake's turn to draw.

_All right…here goes!_ Drake said to himself as he drew.

Jessica looked on intently. _What've you gotten now, bro?_

Jan's eyes narrowed as he watched. _So, Phoenix…do you have something now that'll break this stalemate you've got with your dad?_

On the other side of the field, Mr. Phoenix had a stern look on his face. _That effect that Diabolos just activated, it's got a double-edge…if it makes an opponent put a card from the top of his deck to the bottom, then the next card that follows might potentially be as good or better. So…_

Presently Drake examined the card he'd just drawn…then he looked up at his father. "All right, Dad…that facedown card of yours…it's a bother to me. So, I'll get rid of it, as well as my Cloak and Dagger and the Clock Tower Prison…with my Magic card, Heavy Storm!"

"Heavy Storm…!" Mr. Phoenix suddenly displayed a look of alarm.

All at once, from out of nowhere, a fierce wind began to blow, one so strong that several of the servants watching the duel had to fight to brace themselves so as not to be blown over. "Eeeek!" Jessica screeched, inadvertently clinging to the still-sturdy Jan for support. "Help me, Janny-poo!"

"Call me that again and you will regret it…" Jan muttered darkly.

Meanwhile, the windstorm obliterated Cloak and Dagger's sniper, the Clock Tower Prison and its Clock Counters, and Mr. Phoenix's facedown card as well. The latter card was forcefully flipped face-up even as it was torn asunder by the wind, and when Drake saw what it was, he smirked. "Oh? Well, well, well…"

Moments later the windstorm died down. "Damn it…" Mr. Phoenix glared at the spot where his facedown card had been moments ago.

"I have to hand it to you, Dad—I was really surprised," said Drake. "That facedown card you had—it was the Trap card known as Widespread Ruin, a nasty little card that destroys the monster with the highest ATK on my side of the field when I declare an attack. It seems you were saving it for just in case I managed to get Dreadmaster out onto the field…but that little plan didn't quite work, now did it?"

"Crap…" Mr. Phoenix flinched.

And then…from within the ruins of the Clock Tower Prison, a dark shadow appeared. "Heh…with the Clock Tower Prison's destruction, my great monster can be Special Summoned," said Drake. "And from my deck, here he comes…Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?)!"

As Mr. Phoenix watched, Dreadmaster appeared in full, the shackles on his limbs clinking as he moved. "Now, then…since Dreadmaster was Special Summoned through the effect of Clock Tower Prison, his effect Special Summons up to two Destiny Heroes from my Graveyard," Drake continued. "And I know which two I want, as well: Destiny Hero – Dasher and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, both in Attack Mode!"

Moments later, Dasher and Disk Commander appeared on the field next to Dreadmaster, ready to fight. "Now, let's resolve a few effects one by one," said Drake. "First, Disk Commander's…since he was Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I draw two cards…" And this he did, so now he held a total of three. "Then, Dreadmaster's…his ATK and DEF become equal to the combined original ATK of all other Destiny Heroes on my side of the field. So, since Dasher's ATK is 2100, and Disk Commander's is 300…"

"…Dreadmaster gets 2400 ATK and 2400 DEF," Mr. Phoenix finished—and, as if to confirm it, Dreadmaster roared aloud as energy washed over him and his ATK and DEF stats were adjusted accordingly.

"Now, before you say anything, I _know_ that none of my monsters right now has an ATK high enough to take down your Diabolos monster," Drake added. "But take a look at how that changes when I offer my Disk Commander as a tribute to summon a tougher monster—my Destiny Hero – Double Dude (ATK 1000, DEF 1000)!"

Dreadmaster's ATK lowered slightly to 2100 as Disk Commander disappeared…but then, in the latter monster's place appeared Double Dude in his gentleman-like demeanor, and almost immediately Dreadmaster's ATK shot up to 3100! "Now, between these guys, there's enough power to take down you and your dragon!" Drake taunted Mr. Phoenix. "Now go, Dreadmaster! Destroy that overgrown black lizard with your Fist of Dread!"

Dreadmaster promptly leaped high into the air, coming back down a moment later and slamming his fist into Diabolos's skull. There was a loud _crack_ as the fist connected, splitting the dragon's head in two and lowering Mr. Phoenix's life points to 3750.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 3750**

"Damn!" Mr. Phoenix grunted.

"Now you're wide open!" Drake announced. "Dasher, Double Dude, attack directly!"

Dasher was up first, bending down in his car mode and shooting forward to hit Mr. Phoenix head-on.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 1650**

Then Double Dude jumped forward, slamming his cane into Mr. Phoenix's gut.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 650**

"And of course, as you should know, Double Dude's effect lets him attack twice during the same Battle Phase!" said Drake. "So, Double Dude, attack again!" And Double Dude did that, this time transforming into his hulking alter ego as he slammed a fist into Mr. Phoenix's chest, sending him tumbling.

**DRAKE: 500; Mr. PHOENIX: 0**

The servants, having regained their wit enough to see the outcome, looked on with wide eyes. "Master Drake…he actually won…" one of them whispered.

"To think Master Aster could've lost…and being a former pro duelist, as well…" another added.

Drake wasted no time; even as he switched off his Duel-Disk, he walked over to where Mr. Phoenix was gingerly picking himself up off the ground. "Okay…I beat you, so that means you surrender Destiny Hero – Plasma to me. Fork it over."

Mr. Phoenix glared up at him a moment…then reached for the ground and picked up the cards he'd dropped when he'd fallen down. "You want it that bad? Then here." He held it out to Drake. "But know one thing, Drake: your greed and lust for power will be the end of you if you don't watch yourself."

Condescendingly, Drake snatched the card from Mr. Phoenix's hand. "Whatever, has-been," he said smartly. "Thanks for the card. It'll go to good use, I'll tell you that." Then he straightened up and looked at all the servants. "Okay, everybody, fun's over! Back to your posts, NOW!"

The servants at once hurried to go back inside the mansion; Drake coolly walked toward the front door himself, and some of the servants who were already there paused and stepped to one side to allow him to enter before them. Meanwhile, Mr. Phoenix got back on his feet, sighing as he straightened up. "I must be getting too old for this," he mumbled.

"Dad…? Are you all right?" Jessica asked worriedly, walking up to him.

"Eh, it'll take a lot more than one defeat to keep me on my back, sweetheart," Mr. Phoenix replied. "More importantly, though…" His look darkened. "The tournament he's got scheduled for tomorrow…tell me the plan he's got for running it."

"Huh?" Jessica blinked. "But—that's not supposed to be leaked to anyone before the tournament…"

Mr. Phoenix put a hand on her shoulder. "I am your father. That alone overrides any and all obligations you might have to this tournament. Now…what is Drake's plan for it?"

"You want to know how it's going to be run, right?"

Father and daughter looked up at Jan. "Janny-poo…!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Would you _kindly_ quit mincing my name like that?" Jan growled at her. "And to you sir," turning to Mr. Phoenix, "if you want to know how he plans to run the tournament, I'll tell you. He never told the House of Cards not to say anything about it."

"Fine, then," Mr. Phoenix nodded. "Let's go inside. You can tell me everything then."

----------

DUEL ACADEMY INFIRMARY, 5:20 p.m.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki lay in her bed in the school's infirmary, while not far away Nurse Fontaine was busily going through some files. Presently the vice-principal turned to look at the nurse. "Nurse Fontaine…a minute, please?" she called softly.

"Eh?" Nurse Fontaine turned. "Oh, dear…are you in pain?" she asked, alarm on her face.

"No, no, nothing like that," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki chuckled. "I just wanted to chat a little, if you're not too busy. It's kinda boring listening to the silence around here."

Nurse Fontaine relaxed. "Oh…of course." Setting down the files she'd been sorting, she pulled up a chair next to Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's bed and sat down. "So…what's on your mind?" she inquired.

"Well…it's actually a little embarrassing to recall it now…but…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki blushed a little, then looked quite thoughtful. "Do you remember…back then…when I was pregnant with Janus?"

Nurse Fontaine immediately looked thoughtful, too. "So, you were thinking about that," she remarked. "My dear, I'll never forget it…I'm still amazed you were still able to carry the pregnancy to term without any serious complications…especially with what you had told me happened that particular night…"

"Yeah." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki sighed a little. "I still remember it…what happened…and what I was told…"

----------

2003, 15 YEARS EARLIER

_Alexis emerged from the bathroom, a small towel wrapped around her head to contain her still-drying hair and a larger one wrapped around her body to conceal her nakedness. "Whew…that was a pleasant bath," she sighed contentedly. "Now, where did I put that robe of mine…"_

_ Crossing over to the open closet, she began to rummage through it for the robe she was trying to find. "Nope…nope…nope…dammit, where'd I put it again?" she growled, frustration clear in her voice as her searching became more impatient. "I could've sworn I had it here…I know I put it on THIS side of the closet so I'd have it handy…"_

_ "Looking for this?"_

_ Starting at the sound of the voice, Alexis spun around. "Who…!"_

_ In reply, there came a soft chuckle of amusement. "My, humans are so easy to scare, it seems. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already." Then, in one corner and seemingly out of thin air, there emerged a being with long, spiky hair done in white on one side and dark blue on the other, large black wings on her back, claws on her fingers and toes, and a large third vertical eye in the middle of her face. In one hand she held the missing robe._

_ Alexis recognized the figure instantly. "You're…Yubel!"_

_ "So, you do remember me, then," Yubel remarked. "Good…then this won't take a lot of time."_

_ "What are you doing here? And…how is it that you're even here, anyway?" Alexis demanded. "I thought Jaden fused you with his own soul, or something like that…?"_

_ "He did," Yubel nodded. "However, I AM a Duel Spirit…and there is one day out of every year, in this dimension, when Duel Spirits can gain physical flesh and interact with humans. And that day happens to be today."_

_ "Oh, yeah…I'd almost forgotten about that," Alexis said sheepishly. "Who'd have thought it was today…" Then a thought struck her. "But that still doesn't tell me why you're HERE."_

_ "Impatient, now aren't we?" Yubel cocked an eyebrow. "Very well, then, let me get straight to the point, if you so wish. Listen carefully…I won't repeat myself."_

_ "Uh-huh…" Alexis looked at her expectantly._

_ "You have been married to Jaden a year now, yes? And he has told you about his past heritage?" Yubel asked._

_ Alexis nodded. "He's the reincarnation of a prince from many years ago, who was destined to defeat the Light of Destruction…and in order to help that prince, you allowed yourself to be transformed into a Duel Spirit. From that time, you and that prince have been long connected…and that connection continues today between you and Jaden, since he is the only hope of defeating the Light of Destruction once and for all." She sighed. "At least, that's what he told me…but wasn't the Light of Destruction taken care of when he defeated Sartorious, back when we were at Duel Academy?"_

_ "Would that that were the case," Yubel sighed. "However, what Jaden exorcised from Sartorius in that confrontation was only a fragment of the Light of Destruction. It still exists out there…waiting for its time when it will wreak havoc on all reality. With the passing time, it has grown ever stronger…and the more negative emotion that radiates from all reality, through emotions such as anger, hatred, sorrow, and such, the stronger the Light of Destruction becomes. Eventually, even with the inherited power of Haou the Supreme King running through his veins, Jaden will have a difficult battle against that malevolent power. Chances are, he may even lose that battle…and then everything will be lost."_

_ "So…if that's the case, what're we supposed to do, then?" Alexis asked gravely._

_ "That's why I have come here to you, tonight," Yubel said softly, turning to look at Alexis. "I have a plan, one that may very well aid Jaden in that battle when the time comes. However, I cannot implement it without your help…as it depends rather heavily on the child you are carrying."_

_ Alexis blinked. "My…baby…?" she asked, unconsciously putting a protective hand over her inflated abdomen._

_ "Answer me this. You are five months along, yes?" Yubel asked pointedly._

_ "Uh…yes…why?" Alexis asked guardedly._

_ Yubel nodded. "Your concern for your child is understandable, but hear me out," she said. "The power of Haou the Supreme King was given specifically to his reincarnation, Jaden…however, since Jaden was a reincarnation of Haou and not his descendant, the power will not be passed on to any offspring he has. Thus, he alone bears the power of that ancient king, which is needed to defeat the Light of Destruction…but as I said before, even with that power flowing through him and even with my added assistance, that may not be enough to fend off the Light of Destruction. So, my plan is this: find a way to somehow double my power, a way that will neither endanger Jaden or any of his loved ones, nor put the world at risk inadvertently. And…that is where your child comes in."_

_ "And what exactly are you going to do to my baby?" asked Alexis._

_ "Simply put, I intend to infuse a portion of my power into the child, while it is still in the womb," said Yubel. "No need to fret—it will only be a tiny fraction, since this is a fetus we're speaking of…but, as the child grows to maturity and comes of age, that power will grow as well, until it reaches a level on par with, or close enough to my own power or the power of Haou the Supreme King. And since that power will grow naturally within the child, it will be all the more powerful. That power within the child will be dormant until such a time as it shall be awakened…but when it is awakened, it will protect and nurture the child, and the child will learn to harness that power…as a force for the darkness of the universe's justice, to combat the Light of Destruction. And…at this stage in your pregnancy, this is the best possible time for me to share my power. Truly, it must be fate that this moment falls on the same day when we Duel Spirits can gain corporeal form."_

_ As she spoke, Yubel reached a hand out and gently placed her palm against Alexis's abdomen. "Uh…is that how you intend to transfer your power?" Alexis asked warily. "Because from what I remember, your power corroded whosoever you gave it to…I mean, granted, you were under the Light of Destruction's influence back then, but still…"_

_ "Again, maternal instinct speaks." Yubel chuckled. "Yes, I am mindful of that also…but the method I have in mind is quite different, one which I have never before used to share my power with anyone. And since I have never used this method previously, I feel that it will be safe for your child."_

_ "And this method is…?" Alexis cocked an eyebrow._

_ Yubel smirked. "This method will require that you and I…copulate."_

_ "Copu…?" Astonishment emerged on Alexis's face as the term's meaning sank in. "Uh…that's a bit…freaky and…unexpected…and how exactly do you intend to…well, you know, do THAT…without, um…"_

_ "You'll soon see." Yubel nodded. "However…right now whether I do or don't, depends on your answer. Will you allow this? Will you allow me to grant my power to your child?" She looked intently at Alexis. "You do not need to feel as though you have no choice here. If you do not wish to put your child through this, I can always try to find another way to prepare for this inevitable confrontation with the Light of Destruction. So…what will you do?"_

_ Alexis seemed indecisive for a moment. She looked at Yubel, then down at her abdomen where, deep within her womb, the new life she was carrying continued to grow and mature. Again, she put a protective hand over her belly, and swallowed._

_ Then, as Yubel watched, Alexis reached for the corner of her towel and undid it, allowing it to fall to her feet._

_ Yubel smiled. "That is your decision…thank you." And then she took a step forward, reaching out with one hand and caressing Alexis's cheek. "Now, then, let us…play…for a while."_

_ And as Alexis watched in ever-growing astonishment, something seemed to…grow…from somewhere below Yubel's nether-regions, resembling a plant-stalk that was beginning to grow toward the light…_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY INFIRMARY, BACK IN THE PRESENT

"…and then, after that…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki trailed off.

"Yes, thank you for NOT going further," Nurse Fontaine shook her head. "Still…are you really certain that you did the right thing, that night?"

"Well, now…Yubel had no reason to lie to me. After all, she did protect Jaden, all said and done, and especially back during that time when the entity called Darkness nearly sent the world into nothingness…without Yubel there to aid him, Jaden likely would've failed. So…if I could do anything to help protect the world, for the sake of my child…I'd do it. And if I could make that decision again, I'd choose the same thing, without a doubt."

"Alexis…" Nurse Fontaine said softly.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's face became thoughtful again. _Still…Yubel…even if that power which resides within Janus now will aid in that battle with the Light of Destruction, that battle that you said is inevitable…can that power help my son heal the ache he's carried in his heart all these years…the ache that will now lie at the heart of Drake Phoenix's tournament tomorrow…?_

----------

KAIBA CORPORATION, 6:15 p.m.

"Master Seta, sir!" a suited employee spoke up. "Everything is ready for your departure!"

On the roof of the Kaiba Corporation building, several suits were standing together in formation, while technicians ran to and fro with tools and other equipment. They had been servicing a large white helicopter with the company's logo on the side; oddly enough, the front of the chopper itself was shaped to resemble the face of a dragon. "The Blue-Eyes White Copter is good to go!" one technician announced.

Standing close by was Seta Kaiba, clad in his familiar white suit. On one arm was his Duel-Disk, and he was currently going through his deck of cards with calm written all over his face and in his movements. "All right," he replied. "Now all that's left is to wait for Yugo to show up, and then…"

Behind him, at that moment, the door to the roof's elevator opened, and out stepped a tall man with graying hair, a thin mustache, and sunglasses over his eyes. "Master Seta, sir! Mr. Yugo Muto has arrived!" he announced importantly.

"Thanks, Roland, but I think he can announce that for himself," Seta chuckled. "Isn't that right, Yugo…?"

"Eh, no worries—I think the fanfare is cool, after all," Yugo's voice spoke up—and out of the elevator he emerged, clad in his familiar black jacket with rolled-up sleeves and fingerless black gloves, and with his Duel-Disk on his arm. Behind him came Jillian Uriah, also sporting her Duel-Disk.

"Sir Seta…" Jillian nodded at Seta. "Now that Yugo is here, everything is set for our departure."

"Without a doubt," Seta nodded. "You ready for this, Yugo?"

"Naturally," said Yugo. "Plus, I took a little time and spruced up my deck a little bit. Can't go to a tournament unprepared, after all."

"That's good," Seta nodded again. "Now…what say we go and show Drake Phoenix and those duelists he's amassed just why we came in the top two places in Dueltropolis, huh?"

"Sounds good to me!" Yugo grinned.

"Sir Seta, don't forget we need to make a stop before we go to Kaiba Land," Jillian reminded him.

"I know," Seta agreed. "I already called ahead…let's hope _he'll_ be ready by the time we get there."

"He'll be ready, knowing him," said Yugo. "Now, let's get going!"

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 6:20 p.m.

"Okay! Preparations are finally done!" Janus grinned, pushing his now-completed deck into a box and putting that box into his jacket pocket.

"Do you have any idea just how long you were working on your deck?" Jiro asked, even as he stood nearby shaking his head in astonishment. "Over three hours!"

"Three hours?" Janus blinked. "Wait a minute, preparing my deck wasn't all I was doing, you know—I was still packing my traveling bag, as well!"

"Nonetheless, I thought you would've noticed it when the others and I left the room, came back, left again…" Jiro sighed. "But you were so engrossed in what you were doing that it really didn't register, did it? Then again, I suppose that's how it is with duelists who really focus on their preparation."

"And what about you? How long does it ever take for you to spruce up your deck or pack your bags?" Janus challenged.

"Not a lot of time…not that it needs that much sprucing up, anyway…" Jiro shrugged. "And plus, I've never had to pack bags for a tournament."

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Hey, open up—we've got a whole bunch of stuff here!" Ricardo's voice called.

Jiro hurried to the door and opened it, and in came Ricardo, Cassara and Natasha, each bearing a loaded plastic bag. "Hey, Janus, we decided to get some stuff from the cafeteria for you…Natasha insisted," Cassara told him, holding out her bag to him. "Help yourself to some of these."

Accepting the bag, Janus looked inside—and saw, to his delight, several sandwiches! "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "Chicken with mayo…tuna…grilled cheese…fish…!"

"In the time it took you to structure your deck and finish packing your bag, we had dinner at the cafeteria ourselves, then Ricardo here had a couple ice-cream sandwiches, and we _still _had time to fetch these sandwiches," said Cassara. "Honestly, why'd it take you so long just to do two simple things?"

"Hey, come on now—I had to make sure I had all the best outfits for this trip!" Janus protested. "Plus, I needed to make sure I could fit the cards you gave me into the deck properly, so they could flow with the cards I've got already. A duelist can never be too prepared, you know."

"That may be true, but there's only so much time that even a duelist can spend on preparation," Ricardo replied.

"Cut me some slack, would you?" Janus argued.

"Well, as long as you think you're fully primed now, Janus, I'm not gonna complain," Natasha said warmly, reaching into her bag and pulling out a soda. "I just hope the cards we gave you really will make a difference in Drake Phoenix's tournament."

"Hmm…about Drake Phoenix…" Jiro looked thoughtful all of a sudden. "I've been considering it ever since Natasha mentioned it earlier. Why _does _he have a grudge against you, if it IS true that he does?"

At once Janus appeared thoughtful, as well. "Well, that now…"

"Oh, the vice-principal told us about that," Natasha stepped in, pausing to take a swig from her soda bottle. "She said it's because of a love triangle from when they were younger."

"A kiddy love triangle?" Cassara looked very interested.

"Yeah…" Janus nodded slowly.

At once the other four noticed a shadow crossing Janus's face—but before any of them could comment, a familiar voice at the doorway spoke up. "So you were here all along, Janus! Is your stuff ready for the weekend?"

"Huh?" Janus looked up to see his father standing at the doorway. "Oh, uh, yeah! My bag's packed, my deck's boxed up—I'm good to go!"

"Good," said Principal Yuki. "Because Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba are on their way here right now by helicopter to pick you up. They should be arriving in another hour and a half."

"Really? They're coming here for me?" Janus's face brightened. "Awesome!"

"So I thought I'd come and find you, so you can give your mother a proper goodbye—she's still in the infirmary and isn't allowed out of bed yet, you know," Principal Yuki continued. "So, you coming?"

Janus nodded. "All right."

----------

A short while later, Janus and Principal Yuki arrived at the infirmary. "Mom?" Janus called.

"Over here, dear…in the same place you left me," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki grinned from her bed. "You know, your father told me about Drake Phoenix's tournament that you've been invited to participate in. How's your preparation coming along…are you good to go?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty much done," Janus reported. "I got some cards from my friends to pump up my deck, and my bag's packed and good to go."

"That's good." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's face then became serious. "I know about the competition you'll be facing there, also. Be careful, Janus—those people who Drake's invited to the tournament are all extremely powerful. I've seen them in action before, so I know what I'm talking about."

Janus chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Mom—of course I'll be careful."

"But that's not the only reason I'm telling you to be careful, baby." A melancholy look crossed Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki's face as she reached a hand out to touch Janus's cheek. "I'm sure you've deduced it on your own already, but…Drake's the one who's hosting this competition. He might have it rigged in his favor, against you…because of that feud between the two of you. You might treat it much more light-heartedly than he does, but his hatred is still boiling hot, even all these years after…what happened."

Now the smile was gone from Janus's face. "Yeah, Mom. I know." He nodded solemnly.

"It may not be much consolation, son," Principal Yuki stepped forward, "but at the very least, Drake's anger won't be directed at just you in this tournament. He'll likely try to rig the odds against Yugo and Seta, too, since the three of you claimed the top three spots in the Duel Monsters World Championships while he himself was unable to participate. By trampling the three of you together, he'll achieve three goals at once: rubbing out his three greatest rivals for the rank of Number One Duelist, avenging his own inability to contend for the top spot in Dueltropolis, and…settling the score between you and him over Racquel."

Janus's eyes narrowed in determination. "Then the only way to stop those three goals of his…is to beat him, right?"

"Except, it won't be so easy to do," Principal Yuki reminded him. "As I showed you earlier, you'll be going up against the strength of pro-league duelists, not to mention the fact that you may very well end up facing Yugo or Seta in the tournament."

"I understand. But I won't forget what you've told me…or what you've both taught me from before." Janus smiled a little. "After all, I got training from Duel Academy's two best legends, didn't I?"

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki laughed. "I don't know about myself being a 'legend,' but I'll take the compliment anyway," she said.

"Okay, then…" Janus reached for his mother and hugged her. "Wish me all the best."

In return, she tousled his hair with one hand. "Dummy…of course I do."

Principal Yuki smiled as he looked on at this, but he said nothing himself.

----------

DRAKE PHOENIX'S FAMILY MANSION, 6:30 p.m.

Jan lay on the bed in his room, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "So…tomorrow the fun begins," he muttered to himself. "Oh, joy…"

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Hey, Shimizu, are you in there?" Mr. Phoenix spoke up. "Let me in. I want to talk to you."

Jan cast a glance toward the door. "It's open."

A moment later Mr. Phoenix stepped into the room, looking grim. "I was hoping for a chance to see you in private, Shimizu," he said. "Or should I say…Mr. Jan Bakura?"

Jan cocked an eyebrow. "Hmph…so you found out my original identity."

"It wasn't _that_ hard," said Mr. Phoenix. "Ever since Drake told us you'd be staying here and introduced you to us, it always stuck in my mind how similar you looked to that archaeologist, Ryou Bakura, and your striking resemblance to that boy who made the top eight in Dueltropolis, Kyo Bakura. So I did a little searching of my own…turns out, Ryou Bakura did indeed have two sons, but the elder of the two disappeared from Domino City one day, without a trace. Missing-persons reports were filed, your father set up search parties within Domino City and even abroad, but no trace of you whatsoever could be dug up. And now, years later, Drake just happens to have found you."

Jan fixed his gaze onto the ceiling again. "And I suppose you want me to tell you how we met?"

"You don't have to," said Mr. Phoenix. "You're a former criminal, who was being held in an Egyptian prison, but Drake evidently has connections there that allowed him to free you and purge your record. I talked to our helicopter pilot—Drake had sworn him to secrecy, but my authority overrides Drake's by plenty, if you know what I mean."

"I can guess," said Jan. "And you probably didn't just find out about this—so you could've blown the whistle on me at any time."

"Then why didn't I—that's what you're going to ask, yes?" said Mr. Phoenix. "Simple—it wouldn't be good if my daughter, my wife and all my employees were to become aware that we've got a former con under our roof. There'd be a whole lot of pandemonium in this house, which I'd rather not have."

"Hmph." Jan couldn't help but chuckle a little at the brief mention of one of his own cards, Pandemonium. Then his face became serious again. "So what're you going to do, then?"

Mr. Phoenix looked pointedly at him. "I'm going to ask you, very kindly and very politely, to leave this house and never come back. Go back to Domino City, or go somewhere else, I don't care—just don't stay here. Since you've changed your name and your past identity has been officially considered long-missing anyway, and your criminal record has been wiped clean, nobody will really notice, right?"

Now Jan sat up. "To be perfectly honest with you, Mr. Phoenix—not that I expect you to believe me, anyway—I'd much rather be staying in that cell in Egypt than here in the lap of luxury, especially when I know I don't deserve any of this. In all the time I've been gone from Domino City, I've…done things…that not even an 'official' purging of my criminal record will ever wipe away. But in spite of that, your son's got quite a hold on my fate…in exchange for me giving him my services as a top-notch duelist, he won't repeal my pardon and send me back to prison."

"And why do you care about that? After all, you were just singing the tune of a wannabe sacrifice, weren't you? To atone for whatever it is you've done in the past…" Mr. Phoenix cocked an eyebrow.

Jan turned his head toward the window, a faraway look coming into his eyes. "Well…call it foolish sentiment, but…all of my actions were motivated by resentment and hate, just as your boy's actions are now. I figure, if I can somehow work things out…so that I can start making it up to everyone I've wronged…and I can do that far better out here in freedom, than behind prison bars…"

"Make amends?" Mr. Phoenix cocked an eyebrow. "Well, it's not unheard of for criminals to reform…but you _do_ realize you're not working for a noble cause here, don't you? With what Drake has in mind, especially for the outcome of this tournament of his…"

"I suspected that much," answered Jan. "Still, I have to do what I need to do. After all this is over and done with, I'll be gone from your family's lives, just as you wish."

"Hmm." Mr. Phoenix turned away. "Well, just know one thing—the longer you aid my son in his endeavors, the more heartache you'll cause for everyone associated with him and Janus Yuki." And with that, he exited the room, leaving Jan alone again.

_Hmph…_ Jan got up from the bed, walked over to the door and pushed it shut. _We'll see just how much heartache is caused in all of this, if any…in any case, I need to start getting ready…based on what the kid Phoenix said, we'll be on our way out of here in a little while from now…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ Dear readers, let me tell you, this revamping of this entire story was admittedly difficult to edit. But finally, it's done! Now, next chapter begins the saga you've all been waiting on…the actual beginning of the Phoenix Herald Crown Saga! And…remember that phone call that Principal Yuki was going to make a while back, after his phone conversation with Yugi Muto? Well…who exactly was it he was going to call—and will that person in fact be the "insurance" that good ol' Jaden was referring to just now?

kriztrigun: "Phoenix Herald Crown Saga…?" You're making it sound as if you're a scriptwriter for an actual Yu-Gi-Oh series.

yamikriz: In a sense, he is, isn't he? First there was Yu-Gi-Oh! Forever, and now this…

kriztrigun: (shrugs) I guess.

neomage: Anywho, folks, review soon, please!


	41. Journey to Kaiba Land

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 41 – Journey to Kaiba Land**

DUEL ACADEMY, 8:30 p.m.

The Blue-Eyes White Copter was now hovering over the school's front courtyard, slowly descending toward the grass below. From the front of the chopper, a headlamp shone and illuminated everywhere in its path…and not far away, the lights on the school's main building provided additional radiance that revealed almost everything in the vicinity. And inside the chopper, Yugo looked out with a smile. "So, this is Duel Academy, huh?" he remarked.

"Sure is," said Seta, sitting next to him. "And look who's down there, ready to greet us…"

Indeed, waiting below was Janus Yuki, with his father and friends standing close by. Janus was waving his arms to greet them. "Hey, guys! What took you so long?" he called.

Moments later the helicopter touched down, and as the door slid open Yugo and Seta jumped out, while Jillian remained on board. "Sorry we kept you waiting," Seta apologized as he and Yugo approached the group. "Are you ready to go?"

"You bet!" said Janus. "My deck and I are itching for some action!"

"Same here." Yugo grinned and touched fists with Janus. "I tell you, Janus, I'm really looking forward to seeing you duel—and to duel against you—again."

Seta then turned to Principal Yuki. "Mr. Yuki, it's been a while…and you don't need to worry, we'll take good care of Janus."

"I'm sure you will," Principal Yuki nodded. "My wife gives her regards to you and Yugo as well, and wishes you good luck in this upcoming tournament. Give our thanks to your father as well, for providing the transport for Janus."

"As for me and Yugo," Seta nodded. "Don't worry, I'll let him know."

Behind Principal Yuki, Ricardo, Natasha, Cassara and Jiro all stood together. "Hey, guys!" Natasha waved to them. "Remember me and Ricardo?"

"Like we could forget you!" Yugo grinned. "And the other two are…?"

"I'm Cassara, and he's Jiro," Cassara spoke up, stars shining in her eyes. "Gosh, I can't believe it—I'm actually talking to the World Champ! This is just so cool!"

"Anyway, sorry we can't stay long—the sooner we reach Kaiba Land, the more time we'll have to rest up for tomorrow," said Seta. "But don't you guys worry, when we're finished with this tournament, we'll come right back here and have you guys in on the celebration."

"Sounds great!" Natasha beamed.

"Oh—and if it's not too much to ask, after the tournament could I get an exclusive interview with you two?" Cassara appealed to Yugo and Seta. "I'm the editor-in-chief of our school's paper—it'll make a great story for Monday's edition!"

"Hey, what about me? I'm gonna be the one who wins the tournament, after all!" Janus protested.

"Eh, I see you at class and at the dorm every day—I can talk to you whenever I feel like," Cassara waved him away indifferently. "But it's not every day that ordinary folk get to rap so closely with the past and current World Champions!" Stars shone in her eyes again.

"And besides, these two guys are ranked higher in the world than you—who's to say one of _them_ won't win?" Jiro added.

"Some cheerleading support you guys are…" Janus grumbled as he picked up his bag.

"Anyway, we're off!" said Yugo. "Make sure you guys follow our duels on TV, all right? We'll all put on a good show for you!"

"I'll be tuning in, that's a promise!" said Natasha.

"As will I," added Ricardo.

"Hey, Janus, make sure you don't waste those cards we gave you, or you'll be sorry!" said Cassara. "Hey, Jiro, say something too!"

"Huh? Oh, well…do your best, I guess," said Jiro.

"That's the best you could come up with?" Cassara exclaimed.

"All right—I'm off!" Janus raised his hand in farewell, then turned to join Yugo and Seta as they prepared to re-board the copter.

Watching the three boys go, Principal Yuki crossed his arms and smiled a little. _They'll all be all right…and…_ His eyes narrowed a bit. _With any luck, the "insurance" I called in for them will be right there at Kaiba Land, ready to lend help where necessary in case things get out of hand…But as for you three, Godspeed!_

----------

Fifteen minutes later, the Blue-Eyes White Copter was flying across the ocean, its three passengers comfortably seated on board. Yugo and Seta were seated side by side, while Janus and Jillian sat opposite them. "So, Janus…" Seta began. "I'm looking forward to seeing you put on a good show at the Phoenix Herald Crown. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping I'll get a chance to duel you this time around…see firsthand just how skilled you truly are."

"Well, my deck's changed between Dueltropolis and now, naturally," said Janus. "And of course, I got some cards from my friends back there at Duel Academy, so my strategy's gotten a little stronger."

"Let's hope so," Jillian eyed him. "There will be intense competition waiting for us—second-rate preparation will not suffice."

"No worries…as you well know, Jillian, I've gone back through my deck and toughened it up a bit," Seta smirked. "Just ask Yugo here—he and I have dueled each other often enough since the end of the World Championships to know that we've both continued to improve our respective strategies card by card."

Yugo crossed his arms. "You guys, right now I'm more concerned about the competition we'll meet up on at the tournament. You saw the pictures of those eight pro-league duelists during Drake Phoenix's announcements today, right? And of course, Raven and Honey Pegasus will be there, and so will Malachi Jordan and his crew."

"Hmm." Seta's smirk grew a little. "I just hope all of those guys have gotten stronger. Otherwise, the tournament will be no fun."

"I'm just a little disappointed that your other friends weren't invited as well, you guys," said Janus. "You know—Kyo, Jenna and Miki. After all, they were able to get into the Kaibacorp Challenge Cup, the Intercontinentals in England, and Dueltropolis too. They're all great duelists, from what I saw of them."

"Yeah…about that…" Yugo's face was serious. "My father spoke to me about that. Drake Phoenix's motives for hosting this tournament in the first place—he just wants to show up the three of us just because we claimed the top three spots in the World Championships, while he himself never got to participate in that because of the whole Zodiac affair."

"That's what my father figures, as well." Seta was no longer smirking. "According to him, Drake is the kind of guy who holds grudges easily…although with _why_ he was held back from competing in Dueltropolis, he'd have a good enough reason to be resentful toward me…"

Jillian looked over at him. "Sir Seta…"

"There was something else Dad said to me," Yugo said thoughtfully. "He didn't go into any great detail, but…Janus…" Here he fixed his gaze on the other blond-haired boy. "He hinted to me that there's a bit of history between you and Drake, and because of that you'd be best able, out of all of us, to say just what Drake's capable of doing."

"Hmm, yeah…well…" Janus sighed. "Yeah, Drake and I go way back. I can't go into detail about it, but he and I have been having a…feud of sorts for years. He's probably my biggest dueling rival, next to you, Yugo."

"I myself don't know all the details about Drake Phoenix, so if possible, perhaps you can fill in those details as necessary," Jillian spoke to Janus. "But what I do know about him so far—he has a serious lack of respect for people, based on how he chose to meet with Sir Kaiba about the tournament arrangements."

"Yeah, that does sum up Drake in a nutshell," Janus admitted. "He's always been a boor. He has little to no respect for anybody he considers weaker than himself, especially when it has to do with his stock in trade—Duel Monsters."

"Then we should be doubly prepared for any bias against us in the tournament, plain and simple," said Yugo. "Besides resenting us for being able to take part in the World Championships and taking the top three spots, he's likely got a specific beef with me for being the current Number One…with Seta, for being with the Zodiacs who prevented him from being in the tournament in the first place—even if Seta's involvement with them wasn't by choice…"

"Thanks for remembering that," Seta nodded at him.

"…and definitely with you, Janus, for whatever reason there is between the two of you," Yugo continued. "Why else would he describe our invitations as 'special' the way he did on TV all day today?"

"Then we should be glad that we three aren't getting into this by ourselves," said Seta. "Right, Jillian?"

"Yes, sir," Jillian nodded. "Sir Kaiba had Drake Phoenix make a slight alteration to the tournament roster, to include me as a competitor. So, besides keeping a close watch on Sir Seta, I can monitor Phoenix and intervene in any scheme he may have in mind, if necessary."

"Thanks a bunch, Jillian," said Yugo. "Anyways, let's forget about Drake Phoenix for a bit, and concentrate on the competitors who'll be there, and the venue itself. You know about the eight pro-leaguers who've been invited to take part, Seta, and of course your dad's company owns Kaiba Land. What can you tell us about those that we should be prepared for?"

Seta smiled. "All right—first I'll tell you about Kaiba Land," he said. "This one is one of four branches in Japan—there's one Kaiba Land in each province. No doubt, the whole length and width of this one will be open to the participants, unless Drake decides to work with some other format."

"Kaiba Land has every attraction imaginable," Jillian added. "From haunted houses, to roller-coasters and gondolas, to miniature jungles and volcanic sites—and quite a few of these have Duel Monster themes. Also, there are restaurants there, from franchise stores to one-shot burger stands, and there are even a few shopping malls for the tourists."

"Now for the eight pro-leaguers," Seta went on. "As you probably figure already, all of them are incredibly tough duelists, even though none of them actually got to perform at Dueltropolis. If they HAD, though, they would've smashed the competition. They're all incredibly popular among dueling fans worldwide. Of course, I won't reveal their dueling strategies here—you'll need to see them for yourselves when we get there—but I can tell you what I know of their personal respective histories."

"That's all right," said Yugo. "Go right ahead—tell us."

"All right," said Seta. "First things first, there's Alyx Brodie. She's an American duelist, and she's real hot-blooded to boot. The way the story goes, she's of a military background—her father was a mercenary-for-hire, it seems, and her mother was a Marine nurse. Then there's Usagi Saiou…from what I understand, she's of Japanese heritage but was raised in Romania. She's a fortune-teller whose predictions have always been right on the mark—they say she's been making predictions ever since she was ten years old."

"So, wait—Usagi can actually predict the future?" Yugo interrupted incredulously.

"Can she read minds, too?" Janus wondered.

"Some say she can, some say she can't," Seta shrugged. "And there are skeptics who say she's faking it, even though her predictions have all come true exactly the way she's predicted them."

"The only way to know is to witness her skill directly, I suppose," Jillian shrugged.

Seta moved on. "Next there's Buck Morgan, another American duelist. He's made a name for himself throughout the entire Southern United States…he's originally from the bayou, so he's pretty much in tune with game-hunting and whatnot. Then, next up is Diane Chill…actually…very little is really known about her." He frowned. "She gives her nationality as Russian, but she just doesn't have the accent to match that claim. Other than that and her dueling strategy, which again I won't spoil now, precious little else is really known about her."

"An enigmatic potential opponent…" Jillian tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Fortunately, I can tell you a bit more about the next person—Gaston Altair," said Seta. "He's the national Duel Monsters champion of France, and has been for at least four to five years now. He's a real aristocratic type—born into a moneyed family, versed in the finer arts, accustomed to caviar and the finest wines, that sort of person. Mark you, though, he doesn't look down on the lower classes…in fact, from what I hear, he pays a regular one-tenth of his tournament winnings to the most currently available charity, either at home or abroad."

"Sounds like a real likeable guy," said Janus.

"Oh, he is, he is," said Seta. "I've spoken to him personally before—he's a very sociable fellow. And I will tell you, he has quite a way with the ladies…I almost feel jealous of him sometimes."

"Hmm," Yugo chuckled.

"The next person is Caleb Link…he's a British duelist with a pretty bad reputation," Seta continued. "What I mean is, he's said to partake in ante-duels—duels where the loser forfeits his rarest or most powerful card to the winner. Ante-dueling is forbidden in sanctioned tournaments, but somehow this guy never seems to get caught."

"Our rarest cards?" Janus now had a worried look on his face. "But—my rarest card is one-of-a-kind! There's no _way_ I'd ever let anybody take it from me in an ante-duel!"

"Nobody likes having their cards taken from them one way or another, but that is the rule of ante-duels," Jillian replied solemnly.

"Then we'll just have to make sure we don't run into this guy during the tournament—and hope that he gets eliminated early on," said Yugo.

"Right," Seta nodded. "Anyhow, moving on…the next one is named Kent West. He's Canadian, and a real happy-go-lucky type. But underneath that, he's fiercely competitive, and not just in Duel Monsters—in practically _everything,_ from videogames to eating contests."

"Eating contests? Ha! He'd never beat me!" Yugo boasted.

"Nor me!" Janus spoke up.

"Hmmm," Jillian shook her head a little. "Anyway, Sir Seta, that's seven out of eight…"

"Yeah…and the last one is somebody that everybody who follows the pro leagues knows well," said Seta. "Reno Dawkins…he's a rather shady character. Rumors say that he's connected to certain well-known crime families, but nobody knows how exactly. He keeps a low profile, hardly ever addresses his fans, and stays out of the limelight whenever he can do so—he only really comes out into the light when he's going to take part in any tournament."

"A criminal in the pro leagues?" Jillian asked in amazement. "How does anyone sanction that?"

_"Alleged_ criminal, mark you," Seta clarified. "Nobody's ever been able to concretely prove anything against him, and he's never once answered questions about himself before."

"Hmm…and you can vouch for their skill at Duel Monsters, yeah?" said Yugo.

"Indeed I can. I've been witness to most of their individual matches, and these duelists truly play to win, and play for keeps," said Seta. "If I dare make a comparison, I'd say that they're about as ruthless as the Zodiacs themselves were."

"I see," said Jillian. "And if what you say is true and Drake Phoenix tries to manipulate the tournament against you, then…"

"Then we'll just have to beat those guys—or hope the others who're entering the tournament beat them," said Janus. "It's as simple as that, right?"

"Well, anyway, let's not worry about that for the time being—when we get there, we'll know how to proceed," said Seta. "Now, if I may…Janus, that pendant you're wearing—where'd you get it?"

"Hmm?" At once Janus looked down at the Shadow Charm Pendant, still hanging from his neck. "Oh, this…well, uh, how do I put it…"

Yugo grinned. "A gift from a girl?"

"H-h-hey, it's not quite like that!" Janus protested. "Look—have you heard of the Jewel Duelist? She's the one who gave this to me!"

"Wait…_the_ Jewel Duelist?" Jillian cocked an eyebrow. "The one they say has been going around using Duel Monsters to fight crime?"

"I've heard of her," said Yugo. "So, she's the one who gave that thing to you, Janus? But why would she do that?"

"I have to admit, she was a bit mysterious about it," Janus admitted. "But I've been putting it to good use already…"

"I see," said Seta. "So, what—you wear it as a sort of good luck charm or something?"

"…you could say that…" said Janus.

Jillian shrugged, then yawned. "Sorry, gentlemen, but I do hope we'll reach our destination soon," she said. "Sir Seta, how long do you reckon we have before we arrive at Kaiba Land?"

"At our current speed, I'd say…about another two and a half to three hours, give or take," Seta surmised. "We can always take a nap now if we need to, and they'll wake us when we get there. Does that sound agreeable?"

"That's certainly fine by me," said Jillian. "In that case, all I'll say to you now is…good luck tomorrow, Sir Seta. Do your best, Yugo. And you, Janus…you owe me a rematch from the Dueltropolis tournament, since I haven't forgotten how you defeated me then. I look forward to when we should meet up in this tournament."

With that, she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. Looking at her a moment, Seta sighed and stretched one arm upward. "Yawn…guess I'd better catch some rest, myself," he said, settling back in his seat.

"Same here," said Yugo, and he leaned back into the seat as well with his hands behind his head. "Nightey-night."

In what seemed no time at all, the three were lightly snoring…and this left Janus as the only passenger still awake. "Sorry, but I can't sleep," he said softly. "I guess I'm just too pumped up about this tournament."

**"But you should also be wary,"** a familiar voice spoke to him, even as the Shadow Charm Pendant shone a little—and then Senshuken appeared in spirit form. **"Your nemesis is in charge of this competition, after all,"** Senshuken went on. **"There will be much at stake for you once it gets underway."**

"I know," Janus said softly.

**"But you needn't worry—you won't be alone,"** Senshuken continued. **"After all, you do have the support of your parents, plus you have the cards your friends gave you. You also have these allies here with you at this very moment. Then there are Elemental Hero Neos and the Neo-Spacians—and me, too, of course."**

"I know," Janus said again. "And I'm glad for that, really."

**"Remember, I have been inside you for the longest time," **Senshuken went on. **"So I know about that heavy burden you carry on your heart, where your rival and your lost love are concerned. But you shouldn't feel as if you need to carry that burden on your own much longer…if you will allow it, I want to carry some of that burden as well. You and I are one, after all, though our origins may differ."**

"Yeah…well…since we're one and the same, I guess you'd have no choice but to help me carry the burden anyway, right?" said Janus. Then he cast his eyes downward. "I just wish…this pain could end, you know? For me…and for Drake, too…"

Senshuken looked at him. **"You are a very kind boy, to wish the best even for the one who hates you the most. Not just anybody could have the strength of heart to do such a thing."**

"I guess…but then again, the fault doesn't lie with either of us, him or me, does it?" Janus asked quietly.

**"Given your memory of what happened…only you and he together will be able to properly answer that question,"** said Senshuken. **"You will find your answer soon, of that I am certain. Now…you go ahead and rest. You have a long trip ahead of you…and a big day tomorrow, too."**

"Yeah…" Janus slowly leaned back into the seat, his eyelids seeming to fall down on their own…and a short while later he, too, was in the Land of Dreams.

----------

_ A grim scene opened before Janus's eyes. Several yards in front of him, six-year-old Racquel was in the back of a car…a car on fire. She was banging frantically on the rolled-up window and screaming loudly, and even though the window was up and the car was that much distance away, nonetheless Janus could hear her pleas clearly. "Janus, help!" Racquel wailed._

_ "Hang on—I'm coming!" Janus shouted, and he started to run forward…but to his utter surprise, he seemed to be running __**backwards**__ instead. Eyes widening at this development, he tried to run forward harder—but he only ended up running backwards all the more._

_ "Janus! Why won't you save me?" Now tears were spilling down Racquel's cheeks. "Janus…I thought you liked me…"_

_ CHA-KOOM! Without warning the car suddenly exploded into a monstrous fireball, with such ferocity that Janus got knocked backwards and landed on his rear. Stunned for a moment by the shockwave, Janus shook his head to clear it…and then could only watch as the car burned. "…no…" He feebly raised a hand toward the doomed vehicle. "No…no…!"_

_ "You little turd, Janus…"_

_ Looking up at the sound of the condemning voice, Janus saw Drake—towering several dozen stories over him. "It's all your fault," Drake intoned. "And I'll never forgive you…she'll never forgive you…nobody will ever forgive you!"_

_ And as Janus watched helplessly, Drake lifted one foot and prepared to stamp down on him…!_

----------

"Dude, wake up…wake up!"

"Wh-wh-wha…!" Janus started, eyes wide and bewildered. "Huh…what…?"

Yugo stood in front of him, a bemused look on his face. "Take it easy, man," he told Janus. "We've arrived."

"Arrived…?" Then it clicked in Janus's head. "Kaiba Land?"

"For sure," Yugo nodded. "Look." He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, indicating that the door of the chopper was open.

And as Janus looked, he saw that it was indeed true: Outside were the grounds of an airstrip, illuminated by numerous lights set around the perimeter, with suited employees standing in two straight lines, shoulder to shoulder, from the door of the helicopter to a large stone arch several meters away. And beyond that arch, there was a large neon sign with the name of the place blaring for all to see: _Kaiba Land._

Standing just outside the helicopter were Jillian and Seta. "Glad to see you're finally awake, Sleeping Beauty," Seta chuckled. "Now, shall we go?"

----------

A FEW MINUTES LATER

"So…this is Kaiba Land, huh?" Janus remarked as he and the others walked through the arched entrance and along a concrete pathway toward a large building with a huge parking lot in front of it. "I was expecting it to be a little more cheerful than this…"

"You should see it when it's daylight," Seta told him. "That's when everything really comes alive."

They were being escorted along by two male and two female guards; now, one of the female guards spoke. "Master Seta, sir," she addressed him, "just to let you know, the other invitees to the tournament have all already arrived and have settled in their rooms from earlier this evening."

"Rooms…then is it correct to say that the building in front of us is a hotel?" Yugo asked.

"Yeah, it is," Seta nodded. "It was constructed at the same time as the other attractions here. It provides overnight guests with ten-star treatment—Jacuzzis, plasma-screen TVs, and mini-bars in every room, and a dining area with a huge buffet selection."

"For now, we should concentrate on getting enough rest for tomorrow," Jillian told them. "As soon as I'm shown to my room, I'm going to take a quick shower and then head straight to bed."

"That sure sounds good…and then a big breakfast tomorrow morning to tide us over for the tournament!" Yugo drooled a little.

"Wipe your mouth, man," Seta grunted, looking at him with disgust.

The party crossed through the parking lot and entered the hotel. "Honored guests, your rooms are upstairs," one of the male suits now spoke. "Master Seta, your room is Number 302, on the fifth floor. Ms. Jillian Uriah, yours is Number 300, also on the fifth floor. Janus Yuki, your room is Number 245, on the third floor. Yugo Muto, yours is Number 281, on the fourth floor."

"You will be called on at 8:00 tomorrow morning to come to the dining area for breakfast," the second male suit told them. "Promptness will be expected of all of you. Now, we will show you to your rooms."

Yugo looked at the other three duelists. "All right, guys, let's turn in. We don't want to be late for the breakfast buffet tomorrow."

"Typical Yugo—thinking of his greedy belly first," Seta chuckled. "But you're right—we do need to go to bed for now, so we can wake up refreshed for the tournament."

"I'll be going to my room, then. Good night, gentlemen," said Jillian.

"Back at you," said Janus. And with that, the four headed off, each with one of the four suits in tow.

----------

EN ROUTE TO KAIBA LAND, 11:30 p.m.

On the highway leading to the roadway entrance to Kaiba Land, the Phoenix family limousine cruised along, rapidly approaching its destination. Although it was late by this time, the driver showed no sign of fatigue as he drove along, carrying his passengers to the place where they needed to be. In the back sat Drake Phoenix, his sister Jessica, and opposite them sat Jan Shimizu. Jessica was leaning back in her seat, fast asleep, her lead lolling to one side. Drake, on the other hand, was wide awake, arms crossed and one leg propped on top of the other, his face steely with determination. Jan's face had no emotion whatsoever on it as he glanced out the window at the dark scenery passing by.

Presently Jan turned his eyes away from outside and looked at Drake. "Yo, Phoenix…"

"What?" Drake queried.

"The other guys in the House of Cards…you said they should've already arrived at Kaiba Land's hotel, yeah?" said Jan.

"Of course," said Drake. "By this time, most, if not all, of them should've checked in, and those who haven't yet, may be on their way even as we are right now. But knowing them, they'll probably already be there."

"Just as we should have been from hours ago," Jan sighed.

"You needn't complain," said Drake. "The drive from the Phoenix mansion to Kaiba Land is approximately four hours, give or take. We had an early enough start, and we're almost there now. Our rooms have already been reserved—all we need to do once we get there is to just head straight to bed and get as much rest as the hours before dawn will allow." He glanced over at the sleeping Jessica. "At least she's got the right idea."

Jan looked intently at him. "But you yourself…you won't be getting a lot of sleep, will you?"

Drake cocked an eyebrow. "And that's your concern, because…?"

Jan shrugged. "Eh, whatever. You're right—whether you rest or not is your business. Nothing to do with me whatsoever." And then he turned his head and went back to watching the passing dim scenery outside the car.

Drake sighed a little and settled himself into his seat. _Shimizu likely doesn't know it, but he's got a point…knowing that I'm THIS close to defeating and humiliating the three biggest nuisances in my rise to the glory I've long deserved…how CAN I sleep?_

An image of Yugo Muto's face crossed his mind's eye. _The little no-name nobody from Domino City who stole the World Championship title that should've rightfully been mine from the start… _Then an image of Seta Kaiba. _The treacherous bastard whose little club of Zodiacs prevented me from even being in the World Championships and cost me the chance to claim the Number One spot in the first place…_ And then the always-present image of Janus Yuki—and at this one Drake's eyes narrowed a little more. _And my greatest long-standing rival and most bitter enemy, who stole the most precious thing from me so long ago… _And as the limo turned off the main highway and drove along the road toward the Kaiba Land hotel's parking lot, a very slight but cruel smirk appeared on Drake's mouth. _To put those three punks in their place, using this tournament to do so…and to do it on national broadcast television, as I've so carefully arranged…nothing would be sweeter! Absolutely nothing!_

----------

KAIBA LAND HOTEL, AT THAT MOMENT

Inside her hotel room, Alyx Brodie watched through the window as, several floors below, Drake Phoenix's limousine pulled into the parking lot. "So, he's finally arrived," she muttered. "About freakin' time, too." Turning away, she walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. "Can't wait for daylight to come…then I'll really show them…I'll show them all!"

----------

"Woo-hoo! My deck's finally completed with upgrading!" Buck Morgan grinned as he slotted his deck into a box. "Now I just gotta wait till tomorrow…then I'll give all my adoring fans a show they'll never forget—a show worthy of my skill as Buck Morgan, duelist of the Southern States!" Then he yawned. "Of course, first I need some shut-eye…"

----------

Diane Chill was sitting at a little table in her room, carefully assembling her deck. "I'll make this the best deck in this tournament…even if I have to stay up until dawn," she muttered as she shuffled through her cards.

----------

Gaston Altair was already fast asleep in his room, the sheets pulled up to his chest. On the side-table next to his bed lay his deck, neatly piled together and stashed in a transparent plastic box.

----------

Reno Dawkins's face was stony even as he stared up at the ceiling from his position on his bed. He was on his back, arms folded over his chest, his left knee pointing upward even as his foot remained flat on the bed, and his right leg was crossed over the aforementioned knee. "At last…a clear chance for revenge," he said aloud. "Just a matter of waiting a few more hours…and then everything will be completely settled…the debt will be collected in full!"

----------

Caleb Link sat up in a chair, numerous Duel Monster cards spread out on his bed in front of him. "Hmm…what shall I use…I'd better make sure I make the most of this choice…" His eyes narrowed. "Considering the enemies I'll be going up against tomorrow…this deck had better be in tip-top shape…"

----------

Kent West looked quite thoughtful as he shuffled his cards together into one single deck. "Hmph…so, the world's three top-ranked duelists will be among my opponents in this competition, huh? Well…"

Putting his cards to one side, he stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the night sky. _Whether it was a fluke, or genuine skill, that got those three into the position of the world's three best duelists, the fact remains that it'll be a mistake to underestimate them or to look down on them. Still…come tomorrow they and everyone else will be made to see why I'm worthy of my title as a pro-league contender…and why I'm going to be the one who'll win this tournament…_

----------

Comfortably settled in her own room in the meantime, Usagi Saiou was sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking down at several Duel Monster cards neatly spread out facedown and in a long row across the width of the bed. She raised her head a little and looked toward her window. "Drake, Jessica, and that Jan Shimizu have arrived," she said softly. "Now everything will fall into place, and the tournament will get underway. But first things first…" Her hands moving with purpose, she picked three of the cards at random and drew them across the mattress closer to her, keeping them facedown. "What do the fates have in store? Since Drake's three 'specially-invited' guests have just now arrived, I have glimpsed short pieces of what their destinies will be in this upcoming tournament…now I will confirm the destinies I have foreseen, using these cards. And I will look upon Seta Kaiba's destiny first—see his past, present and future, and how all of these will be impacted though this tournament."

Selecting the first card, she flipped it face-up and revealed it to be the Magic card known as Gravedigger Ghoul—but the card image was upside down. "Hmm…this card is representative of death—but the card is upside down. Seta Kaiba tried to kill his own hateful past as the strongest warrior and tool of the Zodiacs' criminal organization…yet he was only marginally successful, at best." She then selected the second card, flipping it face-up and revealing it to be the Trap card known as Numinous Healer—and this one was right-side up. "Now, he seeks healing—healing for the past that caught up to him during Dueltropolis. And…" Flipping over the third card, she beheld the Magic card called Stop Defense, its image being upside down. "During the tournament tomorrow, forces will conspire to break down the defenses he has managed to repair after his experience in Dueltropolis…but this card is upside down, so he still has a chance to maintain himself, if he proceeds with caution."

Turning those three cards facedown again and putting them all to one side in a pile, she carefully selected another three facedown cards from the row in front of her. "Next I will see the past, present and future of Yugo Muto," she said, and she flipped the first card face-up. "Hmm, the Field Magic card, Yami…in the past, an immense darkness filled his heart…the darkness known as resentment, because he hated having to live up to his father's incredible dueling legacy." The second card was turned over and revealed to be another Magic card, Change of Heart. "In modern times…Yugo Muto has let go of that darkness that filled his soul for so many years, mainly through his association with his friends and his realization of himself as an individual." Then the third card was flipped face-up and shown to be the Lady of Faith (ATK 1100, DEF 800), but it was upside down. "Nonetheless, in spite of the progress Yugo Muto has made, both as a duelist and as a person, he will have a very hard fight ahead of him to keep from slipping back into that darkness, starting with this tournament."

Again the cards were flipped face-down and put aside, and again another three cards were pulled from the card-row. "And now, for Janus Yuki's past, present and future," said Usagi as she flipped the first card over—revealing it to be Dancing Fairy (ATK 1700, DEF 1000), albeit upside down. "I see…Janus Yuki knew incredible happiness as a child, as is expected of one's days of childhood…but since this card is upside down, it means that that happiness was soon replaced by equally incredible pain and sorrow."

Then the second card was flipped, and revealed to be Polymerization, right-side up. On seeing this, though, Usagi cocked an eyebrow. "What is this…? Janus's spirit is currently comprised of _two_ different beings inhabiting the same soul? But how can this be? Every individual in this world should consist only of one body and one spirit! Hmm…perhaps the card that will show me his future will clear this up…"

That said, she flipped the last card face-up—and revealed it to be the Trap card, Astral Barrier. "I see…so, during the tournament's duration, Janus Yuki will be shielded by this same strange force that has currently bonded with him…yet…" Her face contorted into a frown as she unconsciously flipped the three cards back facedown. "This is completely unexpected…to think I could not have foreseen such a phenomenon like this…"

She tapped her cheek with one finger. "Could it be that there's a mistake in my fortune-telling…? No…my fortune-telling has never been wrong…I have always predicted past, present and future right down to the minutest detail. So, what is the meaning of this, then? How is it that I could make this kind of incredible prediction about a person? I've made all sorts of fantastic predictions for people over the years, and all of them have come true, but this one beats them all hands down…" She nodded her head with determination. "Very well—it seems I will have to get to the bottom of this mystery…and I'll have to do that during the tournament…uncover this mystery about Janus Yuki…find out what it is about him that allowed me to make such a prediction as I've made…"

----------

Outside the hotel, the security detail was making the rounds, the guards bearing emotionless visages that belied their determination to duty. Still, if any of them had had the mind to glance up toward the hotel's roof, they would've noticed a certain familiar figure lurking around up there, face concealed by a small mask and the hood of a blue duffel jacket.

"All the players in Drake Phoenix's perverse little scheme are now in place," the Jewel Duelist said quietly. "Now…from here on out all I can do is watch…and see whether Janus Yuki will be able to survive this game borne of Drake Phoenix's revenge-inspired drive. And…" She looked skyward at the not-quite-full moon. "If he can't, then may heaven help both of them…"

----------

EN ROUTE TO KAIBA LAND, 12:15 a.m.

A sleek black Harley-Davidson motorcycle zoomed along the highway, its rider clad in a dark brown body suit, black leather gloves, light brown boots, and a maroon-colored safety helmet with a face-concealing visor. The rider took no notice of the scenery that seemed to be flashing by in a blur. Indeed, the rider's eyes were fixed on the road ahead…and subconscious was fixed on the destination.

_Good thing I got all the rest I could get for this trip. But the hard part will be just up ahead…once I get to Kaiba Land, I'll have to make absolutely sure I don't get caught by the security detail there…if I'm caught, it'll be hell to try and sneak back in._ _Still…if I CAN get in and avoid being caught for the duration of this tournament…it'll be well worth it. To see __that guy__ in action…to find the answer to that question that's been eating at the back of my mind for a while now…All right, Kaiba Land—here I come!_

----------

_**Neomage:**_ And the game's afoot, Watson! Review, everyone!


	42. The Tournament Begins

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(staring ruefully at a hole that a certain rebellious iron has burned into a formerly good pair of trousers) **Argh…I'll scrap this thing if it's the last thing I—huh? Oh, fine, Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine.)

**CHAPTER 42 – The Tournament Begins**

KAIBA LAND HOTEL, THE NEXT MORNING, 7:50 a.m.

The suited guard rapped on the door of Room 245. "Janus Yuki! Mr. Janus Yuki! Are you awake yet?"

He paused and waited—but no response. Frowning, he pulled a master key-card out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the door. "Mr. Yuki?" he called.

And what a sight greeted him. Janus was still in bed, the sheets completely rumpled up, the pillows tossed here and there, and he himself was positioned diagonally on the mattress, his head at the foot of the bed. "Ungh…c'mon, Dad, just another five minutes…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

The suit, however, would not be swayed. "Mr. Janus Yuki, get up!" he ordered.

"H-h-hwa…?" Janus's eyes cracked open and he looked in the direction of the voice. "Oh…geez…what time is it?"

"Ten minutes to eight," the suit answered. "Breakfast will be at 8:00 sharp. Please hurry and get dressed."

"Breakfast?" Janus was instantly awake. "Why didn't you say so first? I'll be right with you!" And then, to the suit's astonishment, the boy dashed right out of bed and headed straight for the shower.

"Uh…all right…" The suit blinked behind his sunglasses. "I'll just…wait outside for you, then…" He turned and walked back out the door. "Odd kid…"

----------

Exactly ten minutes later, Janus came down to the hotel's dining area, fully dressed and with a grin on his face. "Mmm-mmm-mmm! Smell those pancakes!" he exclaimed.

"Well, now, look who's decided to join us," a familiar voice hailed him. "How's it been, Janus?"

The dining room consisted of several rectangular tables strategically positioned close to each other. The tables seated four patrons each, and at the moment most of the tables were occupied by several familiar faces. At one table was Raven Pegasus, who'd just hailed Janus's entrance, and alongside him were his sister Honey, Jillian Uriah, and Seta Kaiba. Close by at another table were Malachi and Miriam Jordan, and David and Luke Jericho. Near to them was Yugo Muto, though he sat on his own. "Hey, Janus, come on over here and keep a fellow company, huh?" said Yugo.

Chuckling, Janus maneuvered his way past the table and sat down at Yugo's table. "So, everybody ready for today?" he asked the group at large.

"My mates and I are always ready," Malachi said dryly, and his three companions nodded in agreement.

"Honey and I are as ready as we'll ever be," said Raven. "Isn't that right, Honey?"

"I know I am," smiled Honey.

"My deck's already been prepared—and I got enough rest last night," said Jillian.

"And you don't have to ask _me _if I'm ready for this," said Seta. "Are YOU ready, though?"

"Knowing Janus, he very likely is already," said Yugo. "More importantly right now, though—where's breakfast? I'm starved!"

Suddenly David looked up. "Eh? Oy, mates, looks like we've got additional company."

Luke nodded. "Yes…that it does, bro."

Entering the dining area were eight additional figures, with varying expressions on their faces. "The eight pro-leaguers that were invited to this tournament…" Miriam breathed.

Malachi scoffed. "Bah."

Alyx Brodie, Buck Morgan, Caleb Link, and Reno Dawkins all sat together at one table; Kent West and Diane Chill sat together at another table close by. Gaston Altair and Usagi Saiou, however, approached Janus and Yugo's table. _"Bonjour, monsieurs!" _Gaston greeted the two. "Might we, perhaps, join you?"

"Oh—uh, yeah, sure, please," Yugo invited.

"Thank you," said Usagi, and she made to pull out one of the empty chairs.

"Please, madam, allow me," said Gaston, and he promptly pulled the chair out for her.

"Thank you, Gaston," said Usagi, settling herself into her seat. "So, gentlemen, how do you do this morning? Feel nervous about this competition?" she addressed Janus and Yugo.

"Not me!" Janus replied brightly. "I'm feeling pretty pumped right now, actually! Imagine, getting a chance to duel with pro-leaguers like you guys! It's a real privilege!"

"You flatter us, _Monsieur _Yuki," said Gaston, by now having seated himself. "But dare I say, it is we who should feel honored, getting the opportunity to duel alongside some of those who took part in the great Dueltropolis tournament—and more so, the three who claimed the top three dueling positions in the world!"

"Now _you're_ the one flattering _us,"_ Yugo chuckled.

Then everybody's attention was drawn to something else: Drake Phoenix was entering the dining room. Only, he wasn't dressed in his familiar outfit of a green trench-coat, black shirt, blue jeans and blue suede shoes…now he was clad in a silver body suit that covered him from neck to shins, gray bracelets with round spikes on them, and black knee-high boots, and he also sported a sleeveless gold duster trench-coat that had bright silver buttons and a deep yellow trim on the edges. "Good morning, everybody," he said in a voice full of self-importance.

"Geez…look at the guy, would you? He's way overdressed, looking like that!" David whispered.

"Oh, shut up, David," Miriam chided him. "He's got money—it's his business how he wants to spend it. And I, for one, think he looks absolutely smashing in that get-up."

"Heh…it seems my new threads have caught the eyes of some of you," Drake spoke again, looking directly toward their table. "Regrettably, this outfit is only for until the end of this tournament, but in the meantime it _is _quite fitting for my role as tournament host. And after all, outfits like this seem to be quite the in-thing, especially in recent weeks…wouldn't you agree, Seta Kaiba?" And here he turned and grinned at the blue-haired boy's table.

Seta narrowed his eyes at the implication—he remembered the outfit style all too well.

"So, Drake…you gonna have breakfast with us?" asked Janus.

"Thanks, but no," Drake answered, his gaze turning icy as he swiveled toward Janus. "I had to eat my breakfast earlier than the rest of you. Being tournament host, I do have to make sure I'm on time to do what needs to be done, after all. Now…" He spoke to the group at large. "Breakfast will be served for you in another few minutes or so, and so I advise you all to enjoy it now. In a short while the tournament will begin, with instructions for the lot of you. Good morning."

With that he swished out of the dining room, the tails of his coat flapping behind him in a rather dramatic fashion as he made his exit. "Geez…just one look at him and already I hate the guy," Yugo grumbled.

"Don't let it get to you," Janus chuckled. "I've known him far longer than you have, so I'm used to that sort of thing from him. It's not the nicest role model behavior in the world, but they say you can't change a tiger's stripes…"

_"Oui, oui,"_ Gaston nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, what he said about breakfast is true—they're setting it out on the buffet table, and the plates and other utensils are already in place as well," Usagi pointed out. "Dear gentlemen, shall we eat?"

"Let's!" Yugo answered, perking up at once. "Everybody else is going for the buffet table now, anyways!"

Meanwhile, the others were in a line formation, picking various food items from the breakfast buffet selection and arranging them on their plates. Kent was waiting in line behind Caleb, and was currently in the act of placing two sausages on his plate. "Hey, Caleb…what d'you think of the three 'special guests'? You know, Muto, Kaiba and Yuki?"

Caleb was dishing out scrambled eggs onto his plate. "Easy pickings."

Behind the two boys, Alyx was putting a generous helping of maple syrup on top of the stack of pancakes she'd served out for herself. "Easy pickings? That's all you can say, Link?" she chuckled at Caleb.

"He's got a point, though," Reno, behind Alyx, remarked as he picked up two slices each of watermelon and pineapple from the fruit section. "Those kids don't deserve to hold the world's top three spots in dueling. And _we_ are going to be the ones to prove it."

"Damn right about that," Diane, behind Reno, agreed as she poured out a serving of baked beans next to the two fried eggs on her plate. "Especially that little upstart, Yugo Muto. How did he ever get into Dueltropolis in the first place, I wonder?"

"Personally, I think it'll be fun to duel those three guys," Buck, behind Diane, said cheerfully as he helped himself to some fried potato cutlets. "If we can have fun while we're dueling them, then won't it be more lasting when we beat them?"

Not far away, Raven and Honey had already picked out their breakfast items of choice and were heading back to their table. "Did you hear those guys back there, Raven?" said Honey. "They really intend to do in Yugo, Seta and Janus but good, don't they?"

"That's not surprising," Raven said reasonably as he sat himself down. "Those three guys are the world's top duelists right now. Therefore, it stands to reason that they're the ones to beat for the rest of us to stand a chance in this tournament."

Jillian and Seta were soon joining the siblings at the table once again. "Sir Seta…you shouldn't let that Drake's comments get to you," Jillian said warmly. "He's just full of hot air, as far as I'm concerned."

"Yeah…that he is…" Seta replied, a scowl on his face as he sat down. "And I can't wait for this tournament to start, so that I can put him in his place for wearing that mockery of an outfit…"

"Mockery?" Raven looked at him.

Seta's voice was low. "You guys saw the outfit that I was made to wear at Tokyo Dome…when the Zodiacs had me under their control, didn't you?" he said. "That outfit was a deliberate mockery of the one my father wore during his Battle City days. As soon as I could get myself out of it, I burned it…and now here I am, seeing a reminder of it on the body of a guy who has it out for the world's top three duelists!"

"Well, Seta, you can't help but admit, outfits like that one aren't really anything new," Honey pointed out. "As far as anybody will know or care, it's simply a matter of making a fashion statement."

"Even so, people equate that particular fashion statement with certain people or events," said Seta. "My dad's Battle City costume is the first thing most duelists think of when referencing him, next to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon strategy he employed back then. The costume I wore when I was under the Zodiacs' control was, as I just said, a mockery of that memory by Gozaburo Kaiba. And now, this…it pisses me off!"

Jillian sighed. "Please, Sir Seta, take your mind off that even for a little bit…just enjoy your breakfast, the best you can," she advised him. "If it's any consolation, you can work off that frustration during the tournament—and that won't be very long from now."

"Yeah…I guess you're right," Seta sighed, mechanically picking up his knife and fork to start eating his food.

----------

AN HOUR LATER, 9:00 a.m.

There were several big-screen TVs on billboards strategically positioned throughout Kaiba Land's perimeter, in and around the hotel, near several of the rides and other attractions, and even out on the highway near Kaiba Land's entrance. And—suddenly, as one, all of them lit up, showing Drake Phoenix's face on them. Patrons entering the amusement park, and those who were already inside and were close to one of the billboards, looked up at them with excitement even as Drake began to speak. Some patrons knew well that this broadcast was not limited only to Kaiba Land—indeed, this was an international broadcast.

"Good morning, all fans of Duel Monsters," Drake said. "Today marks the beginning of my new Duel Monsters tournament that I announced on TV yesterday—the Phoenix Herald Crown. For those of you who may have missed that announcement yesterday, I am Drake Phoenix, the host of this tournament—and we're broadcasting live from Kaiba Land in the Honshu province here in Japan."

Drake's face was then replaced by a panning camera shot of Kaiba Land; those patrons in the vicinity of the billboards immediately looked around, wondering if perhaps they would be caught on camera as well. "As most of you may know," Drake continued in voice-over, "Kaiba Land is owned by Mr. Seto Kaiba, the CEO and majority share-holder of Kaiba Corporation. We must take this moment to express gratitude to him for his generosity in letting us borrow Kaiba Land for the tournament's venue, and also express our thanks to all the patrons here for your support of this grand amusement park.

"But getting back to the tournament itself," Drake went on, as his face reappeared on the big-screens and, indeed, on every television set that was tuned in worldwide at that moment. "In my initial announcement yesterday, I gave a list of eight pro-league duelists who would participate here this weekend…and here they are again, for your benefit, viewers!"

Again Drake's face vanished, replaced by shots of the eight pro-leaguers. "Gaston Altair! Diane Chill! Alyx Brodie! Reno Dawkins! Caleb Link! Kent West! Usagi Saiou! Buck Morgan! Those of you who know their names and faces, and were disappointed that they couldn't be included in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship, take heart—they are here, and ready to please all their fans out there!" Drake gave assurance. "But they're not the only ones in attendance…"

The faces of the eight pro-leaguers vanished from the screen, replaced moments later by seven different faces. "For those of you who were following the Dueltropolis tournament, these faces should be familiar to you," said Drake. "For those who may not recognize them, here are their names: Malachi Jordan, Miriam Jordan, Luke Jericho, David Jericho, Raven Pegasus, Honey Pegasus, and Jillian Uriah—all invited by yours truly to take part. And…there are three extra-special guests here to compete alongside all those I've just introduced…"

The seven new faces vanished, replaced a moment later by three new and undoubtedly familiar faces. "Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, and Janus Yuki—the three Dueltropolis contenders who snagged the top three spots in the world of Duel Monsters!" said Drake. "Now, folks, not to fear—during the course of the tournament, information about each of these participants will be displayed for your viewing benefit. Now, without further ado, let's move on to the actual rules of the tournament itself."

Again a camera shot of Kaiba Land was shown, except this one was a shot taken from the air. "The tournament will begin at 9:30 a.m. today and end tomorrow evening at 8:30 p.m. This gives our participants a full 35 hours to defeat their rivals and come out on top. During that 35-hour duration, the entire length and breadth of Kaiba Land will be the battle stage. It may be in one of the park's funhouses, or on one of the rides—but wherever two of the participants meet, they will duel. The only spot in all of Kaiba Land where dueling will not be allowed is the inside of the hotel where all participants and other guests are staying—in other words, the hotel will be the only 'safe zone' for duelists in all of Kaiba Land.

"Duelists will begin every duel with 8000 life points each. However, unlike in times past, the coin toss that is usually mandatory at the beginning of duels to determine who will go first, will not exist in this tournament. Whichever of the two participants in a duel calls the first turn will be granted it; there will be no objection allowed from the other player. Also, if a competitor is challenged at any time by another competitor, he or she _must_ accept the challenge. In the interest of fairness and to allow competitors a chance to experience different strategies from other players, no duelist will be permitted to challenge the same opponent twice per day.

"All participants will receive a gauge on their Duel-Disks in order to monitor their progress in the tournament. This gauge will appear where the life point counter is usually situated on the Duel-Disk, and will be active at all times except when the participant in question engages in a duel. Each duelist will begin with 1000 points on this gauge. For every tournament victory, the winner gains 1000 additional points on his or her gauge, while the loser forfeits 1000 points. If any duelist loses all points from his or her gauge, that duelist will be immediately ousted from the tournament. However, for the purpose of brevity, any duelist who has accumulated 5000 points or more may bet any amount he or she desires on the outcome of a duel, provided that amount is in multiples of 1000; any duelist to whom this bet is proposed must also have 5000 points or more in order to be eligible.

"Now, to our participants, a word of warning…hidden throughout Kaiba Land are special 'eliminator' duelists who, as their name suggests, will be waiting to strip you of all the points on your gauge. For those of you who are old enough to remember, this will be similar to the 'player eliminators' who were present in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, many years ago. If a participant should happen to meet upon one of this tournament's eliminators, he or she will lose all the points that have been accumulated up to that moment, and the eliminator will claim them. On the plus side—if any player happens to defeat an eliminator, he or she will gain all of that eliminator's accumulated points.

"Now, once a player has managed to defeat all opposition, he or she may then come here…" Drake's voice paused a moment as the screens showed a huge castle-like structure, at the far northern part of the Kaiba Land map. "…to the Dark Lord Castle, one of Kaiba Land's newer additions in the last four years, and from where our live broadcast feed is outgoing. I will be waiting here at the Dark Lord Castle, and the player who comes here will be privileged to face me in one final duel, for the chance to become the champion of the Phoenix Herald Crown!"

The screens shifted back to Drake's face. "And now for the best part…the spoils of victory," he went on. "The winner of this tournament will receive the following prizes: a cash award of five million dollars, an all-expenses-paid trip for four to Hawaii, U.S.A. for next weekend, and a lifetime sponsorship from the Phoenix family for all future tournaments he or she may enter."

The park patrons began to chatter excitedly as Drake concluded, "Now, to all participants, get yourselves ready! Scatter yourselves throughout Kaiba Land, and formulate your strategies well! When the clock hits 9:30…the tournament begins!"

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle…

"And you're off the air!" the cameraman announced to Drake.

"About time," Drake sighed with relief. "I was starting to wonder how much longer I'd have to sit here sounding all sappy for the camera. Now…" His face became all-business. "All cameras are in place to cover duels wherever they may happen?"

"Everywhere, sir," came the reply.

"And Kaiba Land's security personnel have their orders?"

"Affirmative, sir."

"Good." Drake then glanced to the sidelines, where seven figures stood: Jessica, Jan, Victor Greaves, Felix Sanchez, Chris Gear, Vasha Morrison, and Calhoun Vincente. "Now, you all know what you need to do?"

"We sure do, brother," Jessica nodded.

"Good. Then hurry and spread yourselves out. You don't have a moment to waste." Drake nodded. "Jessica, Shimizu, you know where you two need to go. The rest of you, I don't care where you go, as long as it stays within the bounds of Kaiba Land. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it," came the reply in unison.

"Fine, then." Drake's eyes narrowed. "Now…the fun will really begin."

----------

KAIBA LAND, 9:26 a.m.

"So, you guys…you finalized all your preparations?" Janus queried.

"Sure did," Yugo grinned. "I'm ready to take on anybody now!"

"Same here," said Seta. "My deck's primed and ready to go."

The three boys were standing together in the midst of the park's main square, where there stood a large clock that slowly but surely ticked off the minutes to the appointed time for the tournament to begin. Many patrons passing by chattered excitedly amongst themselves at the fact that standing right there were the three top-place finishers of the Dueltropolis tournament. "Heh…you hear all that chatter?" Seta commented.

"Yep…the folks expect big stuff of the three of us," replied Yugo. "So let's go all-out today, what do you say?"

"Everybody else has already fanned out—we need to hurry up and do the same," said Janus. "The sooner we collect enough points to go challenge Drake and win this tournament, the better, right?"

"Mmm-hmm," Seta nodded. "Well, guys, I'm off. Make sure you don't get eliminated too early, you hear?" and he hurried off.

"Right back at you!" Yugo answered as he himself walked off in another direction.

"Well, I'm gonna jet right now—catch you guys later!" Janus waved as he took off.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 9:27 a.m.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Ricardo, hurry up!" Natasha urged.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ricardo protested as he bustled through the door with a large bag in hand.

"I hope you got the orders right—because if not, I'm sending you straight back to the cafeteria," Cassara warned.

"Just make sure my sandwich that I asked for is in there, all right?" said Jiro.

"Geez—what am I, your slave or something?" Ricardo fumed as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Well, let's tune in now and hope the action hasn't started yet!" Natasha eagerly turned her attention to the TV set. "Okay, Janus, show us your stuff!"

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, AT THE SAME TIME

"Mom, Dad, hurry up and sit down! The dueling's going to start any minute now!" Jenna urged her parents.

"Don't worry, baby, Dad's here!" Mr. Wheeler jumped over the couch and plopped down beside his daughter. "Hey, Miki, where's your dad? He shouldn't be missing this for anything!"

"I'm not sure," Miki admitted, hurrying into the living room while bearing a tray piled high with sandwiches. "Dad, where are you? The action's going to start!"

"Here I am—you won't catch me missing this for anything!" a voice yelled from the top of the stairs as Mr. Taylor practically slid down the banister. "Serenity, Mai, you guys still in the kitchen?"

"Yes, Tristan, we're still in here," Mrs. Taylor's voice called from there. "Don't worry, we can see the TV from here. But in the meantime we have to make sure everybody's well-fed for this."

"Just make sure Joey doesn't eat everything in one go, all right?" Mrs. Wheeler added her voice from the kitchen.

"Aw, Mai, honey, that's not fair!" Mr. Wheeler pouted.

"Anyway, kids, it's a good thing you told us about this whole tournament—I never got to see the announcement on TV yesterday," said Mr. Taylor. "But now, to get to see our very own Yugo in action again—this is gonna be so exciting!"

"Yeah, you know it, Uncle Tristan," agreed Jenna. "Now if they'd just hurry up and start already…!"

----------

YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"Thanks for inviting us over to watch the tournament with you, Mr. Muto," Kyo said gratefully.

"Yes, Yugi, this was very kind of you," Mrs. Bakura nodded. She was in the kitchen with Grandma Muto, looking about sandwiches.

"No problem, no problem," Mr. Muto said modestly. He was sitting in the living room alongside Kyo and Mr. Bakura. "Just hurry and come with the sandwiches so you don't miss any of the action, okay?"

"No rush, Yugi; the duelists have already had the last half hour to finalize preparations before things kick off—what's another few minutes?" Mr. Bakura asked.

"My dear, it's very sweet of you to offer to help, but really, you didn't have to," Grandma said to Mrs. Bakura as they bustled about the kitchen.

"But I insist, Mrs. Muto," said Mrs. Bakura. "Many hands make lighter work, right?"

"Well, fellows, while we wait on the sandwiches, let's cheer on my boy, what do you say?" Mr. Muto asked.

"I say, he'll need all the support we can give him," Mr. Bakura replied. "After all, there are pro-league-level duelists there at Kaiba Land today."

"Well, whatever for those guys, Dad! Go, Yugo!" Kyo cheered.

----------

THE KAIBA MANSION, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Kaiba sat in the easy chair in his living room, a cup of coffee and some well-cut and well-trimmed sandwiches on a tray next to him even as he kept his eyes on the plasma-screen TV in front of him. "All right, Seta…show those jokers there what you're truly made of!" he mumbled, though he couldn't help the small smile on his face.

----------

KAIBA LAND, 9:29 a.m.

The hands of the clock ticked down the time. 5…4…3…2…1.

And then it was 9:30—and the Phoenix Herald Crown was officially underway!

----------

Raven Pegasus was already walking along through the park, his Duel-Disk on his arm and his cards slotted in place. He looked down on the life point counter on the Duel-Disk, and—sure enough—there was a gauge that showed 1000 points. "Hmm…so, somehow they got permission to input this little feature into the Duel-Disk's electronic system, just for this tournament," he remarked. "Well, it's all right…by the end of today, I'll have more than enough points added to this to win this competition."

----------

Malachi Jordan, as reticent as ever, walked along, paying no heed to the whispering patrons he passed by. He knew those whispers were about him…and he remembered all too well his reputation that was cause for those whispers. Still, it didn't matter much to him—as long as he could find a strong duelist, that was all he cared for.

----------

Jillian Uriah looked up at the entrance to the fairy-tale funhouse. Inside she could see holographic renditions of various characters from the classic tales—Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Tom Thumb, and others. "This place…this is where Leon von Schroeder fought Rebecca Hawkins, so many years ago," she mused. "Unlikely that anybody would come here to duel now, though." She turned away. "Well, let's keep searching…all these duelists have spread themselves out far and wide throughout Kaiba Land, so I'll have to search hard and well. And then there are those eliminators Phoenix was talking about…I'll have to be on my guard for them…"

----------

David Jericho glanced inside the Twirl-a-Whirl ride, noting that the kids in the cars were squealing their heads off as said cars moved around at incredible speed. "Hmm…no duelists hiding around here," he sighed. "I wonder how the other blokes are doing…knowing Malachi, he's probably already found himself a challenger…well, better get back on the move!"

----------

"Mr. West! Mr. West, over here!"

"Eh?" Kent West turned at the sound of his name being called. "What's this, now?"

Approaching him were a young woman and a small boy. "Mr. West, my son and I are big fans of yours," the woman spoke up. "Could we please have your autograph? It would mean so much to us!"

"Hey, sure!" Kent nodded. "Now, let's see here, I think I have a pen and some paper in my pocket…"

----------

Reno Dawkins stayed beyond the tree-line near some of the attractions, safely out of sight of the passing patrons. "The last thing I need right now is a bunch of fans crowding around me and cramping my style," he muttered. "Now, where are those duelists…or even those eliminators…?"

----------

Miriam Jordan watched as one of the rollercoaster rides whizzed round and round above her head, and she listened to the excited screams of the riders. "Hmm…if I had more time on my hands, I'd probably ride on this thing," she sighed. "Maybe one day…me and the guys, we can come back here and just…have fun…"

----------

Usagi Saiou looked all around her as she approached a water fountain near a ring-the-bell attraction. Then she turned her head and stared hard to her right. "I see…so there's a duelist this way…" She turned and walked off in that direction.

----------

Buck Morgan was running for his life. "Ladies, ladies, ladies! I know y'all love me and everything, but I don't have time right now!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Behind him, several fan-girls were chasing after him. "Aw, come on, Bucky! Just one autograph! Just one photo with me! Please?" the cries resounded from the crowd over and over.

"Heh…it's not easy being a celebrity…" Buck sighed even as he renewed his running away from the fans.

----------

"I should come here on a date with Seta sometime," Honey Pegasus sighed contentedly as she sat on the park's carousel. Rising up, up, up into the air, she was able to get a bird's-eye view of everything within a good range. "I wonder if I can see him from here…or any of the other participants, for that matter…"

----------

Luke Jericho was walking through a section of the park marked "Jungle Safari." As he walked, he kept a sharp eye on all nearby trees, bushes, and rocks. "Gotta stay on my guard…those eliminators could be hiding anywhere, as well as the other main duelists in this tournament," he mused. "But if I do run into any of 'em, I'll show 'em just how much stronger I've become since Dueltropolis. Nobody's gonna get the drop on me this time around!"

----------

Caleb Link walked into the yard of one of the park's attractions—a haunted house. Eyes obscured by his sunglasses, he entered without seemingly any care, his Duel-Disk at the ready.

----------

"Here you go, Monsieur Gaston!" the friendly food vendor beamed as she handed a cheese dog to the duelist.

_"Merci, mon cheri,"_ Gaston answered. "I have never actually tried an American 'cheese dog' before…but now is as good a time as any, I suppose." He then looked down at the cheese dog—a large, long wiener in a warm bun, smothered in ketchup, mustard and relish, and with melted cheese on the inside of the bun—and took an experimental bite.

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle…

Drake sat in a room all by himself, watching the tournament's proceedings on a large wall-mounted TV. Idly, he picked up the remote and pushed a few buttons—but instead of changing channels, as it were, he was flicking from one video-camera in Kaiba Land to another, and then to another, and another. "No duels yet…this first hour is going to be boring if I don't see some kind of action soon…"

Then he paused and looked at the screen. "Eh? Well, well, well…"

On the screen, he saw Alyx Brodie and Diane Chill preparing to face off. "This should be interesting," he chuckled.

----------

On TV screens the world over, it could be seen that Alyx and Diane were standing opposite each other at Kaiba Land's volcano exhibit. As well, graphics emerged on viewers' screens to provide information on each of the two duelists. First, Alyx's information was shown. _**Alyx Brodie. Age: 23. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2014; consistently in the Top 10 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Volcanic monsters.**_

Then Diane's info was shown a minute or two later. _**Diane Chill. Age: 22. Nationality: Russia. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2014; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 5 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2016 onward. Deck strategy: Ice theme.**_

At the actual site, the two women were glaring at each other hard. "Okay, you bitch…time to settle things," Alyx said darkly.

"Now, now, Little Miss Brodie, is that any way for a lady to talk? Remember you're on live television," Diane reminded her.

"So what? It'll just mean your defeat here will have that much more of an impact!" Alyx declared.

"Actually, my plan is to turn you into a bad case of frostbite, just as you deserve," said Diane. "We may both be members of the House of Cards, but I have not once ever liked you. Now, I'll use this tournament as an opportunity to put you out of my misery."

"You won't get that chance—because you'll be reduced to cinders by the time I'm done with you!" Alyx spat. "Now enough chatter—get yourself ready to lose, you frigid sow!"

By this time a crowd of spectators had gathered around the area. Many immediately began cheering for Alyx. "All right, Alyx! Roast that girl alive!" they yelled.

Others of the spectators, however, had different ideas. "Put her on ice, Diane!" they shouted.

"Looks like our fan-base is here," Diane observed. "Too bad those misguided morons cheering for you are about to realize that they wasted their money coming here for nothing, after all."

"Oh, really?" Alyx shot back. "Well, when I turn on the heat, _your_ retarded fans are gonna have to clear on out of here!"

"Enough!" Diane shouted. "There's only one way to settle this—so let's go!" She activated her Duel-Disk. "The loser of this match will be on the next plane going home!"

"Don't worry, I'll come and see you off at the airport," Alyx replied. "Now, bring it on!"

----------

_**neomage:**_ The tournament has begun at last! And the first match—Alyx Brodie vs. Diane Chill—is about to get underway! And considering that Diane's deck strategy has been revealed in this chapter, the question becomes: Which will triumph, fire or ice? Stay tuned and find out!


	43. Fire and Ice

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Kazuki Takahashi is the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh…as if you didn't know that already.)

**CHAPTER 43 – Fire and Ice**

KAIBA LAND

**ALYX: 8000; DIANE: 8000**

Diane and Alyx swiftly readied their Duel-Disks, while their life point counters both rose to 8000 and all around them their respective fans cheered loudly. "Since we're inside a volcano exhibit, and volcanoes happen to be my specialty, I'll go first!" Alyx announced, even while she drew her first card. "And to start things off, I'll light up this field with my Field Magic card—Molten Destruction!"

Immediately the model volcanoes around them seemed to come to life, bubbling magma that flowed around them in rivers and streams. "And as you ought to know, as long as Molten Destruction remains active, all Fire monsters will gain an additional 500 ATK in exchange for losing 400 DEF," Alyx continued. "Now, I'll add to that by summoning my Volcanic Blaster (ATK 1200, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" And a moment later a mini-volcano burst from the ground, and her dome-shaped metal monster emerged from thence—its ATK rising to 1700 and its DEF dropping to 200 in the process. "And then I'll place one card facedown, and that concludes this first turn."

But Diane didn't look one bit impressed as she drew her card. "The heat must've gone to your head—you actually think such a weak set-up will intimidate me?" she demanded. "Then how about I bring home to you just _who_ you're facing—with this card!" She held up the very card she'd just drawn. "The Magic card, Cold Wave!"

All at once a huge glacier formed over Alyx's facedown card, even as a chilly wind blew past her! "This is…!"

"Cold Wave could only be activated at the start of Main Phase 1—or, for your slow mind, it had to be the first card I played at the beginning of my turn," Diane told her. "But now, until my next turn, neither of us can activate or set any Magic or Trap cards, or activate their effects. Which is fine by me, since all I'm going to do is set one monster card facedown in Defense Mode…and then hand back to you."

"I'm not scared yet," Alyx said defiantly as she drew another card. "Because your Cold Wave doesn't negate increases or decreases caused by Field Magic cards—which will work well for my next monster: Volcanic Rocket (ATK 1900, DEF 1400)!"

One burst of magma-flame later, Volcanic Rocket appeared with smoke rising off its body—and Molten Destruction increased its ATK to 2400 while decreasing its DEF to a flat 1000. "When Volcanic Rocket is summoned, I can add one 'Blaze Accelerator' from my deck or Graveyard to my hand—and I'll add this one from my deck," said Alyx, and she thumbed through her deck till she found the card she was looking for. "Too bad I can't activate it right now, but what the hell—I've still got time. Now, Volcanic Rocket, take out her facedown monster with Volcano Fire Blast!"

Volcanic Rocket opened its mouth and fired a stream of brimstone at the facedown monster. As the attacked card combusted, it got flipped face-up and revealed a blue-furred grizzly bear roaring in agony before being reduced to ashes. "And you made a tactical mistake by attacking my monster head-on like that!" Diane announced. "That was my Mother Grizzly (ATK 1400, DEF 1000), and when she's sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I get to Special Summon one Water monster from my deck to the field in Attack Mode, so long as that monster's got 1500 ATK or less! And the one I choose will be a second Mother Grizzly!"

At once a second blue bear appeared, growling at Alyx's two monsters. "Hmph! Well, thanks for allowing me to score the first blow of this duel, dumb bitch—because my Molten Destruction card is still active, and my Volcanic Blaster can still attack!" Alyx jeered her rival. "Go, Volcanic Blaster, burn that big blue bruin to ashes!" In turn, Volcanic Blaster's turret turned and fired, scorching the second Mother Grizzly beyond recognition.

**ALYX: 8000; DIANE: 7700**

"You may have struck the first blow, but it's I who'll strike the last!" Diane announced. "And as for my Mother Grizzly, I'll use her effect to bring out a different monster, one whose power will shield me from your monsters…Neo Aqua Madoor (ATK 1200, DEF 3000)!"

In that moment, even with the heat of Molten Destruction's field effect, a gust of ice-filled wind blew all around Diane's side of the field—and then standing there was a masked individual with spiky blue hair, a yellow cape, and sub-zero temperatures flowing all around his person. "Surely you knew I'd bring this monster forward, if you saw what my Mother Grizzly monsters were capable of?" Diane taunted Alyx. "After all, you surely _have _seen me use his services before. Or perhaps you're not capable of understanding strategy?"

"Piss off," Alyx snarled. "Anyways…I end my turn."

"Come on, Diane! Put her on ice, now!" Diane's fans yelled to her.

"Heh. Who am I to disappoint my supporters, hmm?" Diane asked as she drew her card. "In that case…how about I bring an end to this ridiculous show of flames and molten lava—with my own Field Magic card, Umiiruka!"

"What…!" Alyx's eyes widened—but before she could say anything else, fountains of water burst forth from the ground even as frost-filled winds covered the volcanoes and snow-capped peaks took their place. "What is this?"

"What—you miss your oven already?" Diane mocked her. "Well, Umiiruka will increase the ATK of all Water monsters by 500 while decreasing their DEF by 400—and sorry to say, your monsters are Fire monsters, so they will not benefit." And true enough, the stats of Volcanic Blaster and Volcanic Rocket changed back to normal…while Neo Aqua Madoor's stats changed to 1700 ATK and 2500 DEF.

But suddenly Alyx began to laugh. "Okay, now maybe you're suffering from brain-freeze or something," she said, "but at least your Neo Aqua Madoor's original DEF would've shielded you from my attacks! If you've lowered his defense, then all I have to do is get a stronger monster on the field, and then both you and he are sitting ducks!"

"Quack, quack," Diane taunted. "I'm well aware that Neo Aqua Madoor's defensive capabilities would be hampered by Umiiruka's effect. Which is why, instead of defending with him, I'll tribute him…to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch (ATK 2400, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

"…no! Not him!" Alyx suddenly looked panicked.

A sleet-filled wind surrounded Neo Aqua Madoor completely, to the point that viewing him was near-impossible now—and then the wind blew back, revealing a hulking giant covered in ice and snow and clad in a blue cape. "Remember him? He's just dying to get reacquainted with you," Diane said scornfully, while Umiiruka sharply increased Mobius's ATK to 2900 and decreased his DEF to 600. "And his effect will put things into perspective for you: when Tribute Summoned successfully, he can destroy up to two Magic or Trap cards on the field, but I only need him to destroy one—the facedown card you possess!"

Mobius waved a hand—and immediately a hail of ice buffeted Alyx's side of the field, consuming her facedown card in the process. "And by himself, Mobius is strong enough," said Diane, "but who says I can't give him a little extra backup? I'll remove the two Mother Grizzlies in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon a different kind of beast—Fenrir (ATK 1400, DEF 1200), in Attack Mode!"

The images of the two Mother Grizzly monsters appeared on Diane's side of the field, encased in ice—then both ice blocks transformed into mist-like sleet, taking the form of a huge, brutish-looking snow wolf. On appearing, it raised its head and howled loud and long, even as Umiiruka increased its ATK to 1900 and decreased its DEF to 800. "Now, Fenrir! Destroy that ridiculous-looking Volcanic Blaster!" Diane commanded, and the snow wolf heeded the call—pouncing forward and biting, hacking and overall savaging the dome-shaped metal monster.

**ALYX: 7300; DIANE: 7700**

"Argh…when Volcanic Blaster's destroyed in battle, I can place one 'Volcanic' monster that's in my deck, on top of my deck," Alyx groused, even as she pulled her deck out of its slot and thumbed through it. "And I know just the one I want…my ever-trusty Volcanic Doomfire (ATK 3000, DEF 1800)!" And this card she put on top of her deck.

"And in case you don't realize it, my Fenrir has an effect of his own," Diane countered. "When he destroys one of your monsters in battle, you must skip your next Draw Phase. And anyway, now it's time for your Volcanic Rocket to go! Mobius the Frost Monarch, attack with Sleet Shower!" And again Mobius waved his hand, and this time Volcanic Rocket was bombarded with an ice-shower so thick that it became frozen to the point of being brittle and falling to pieces.

**ALYX: 6300; DIANE: 7700**

"And, finally, just to make sure the loose ends are tied up," said Diane, "I'll set one card facedown, and call it a turn."

Alyx scowled. "You think I'm just going to roll over for you, don't you?" she griped. "Guess what, sister—that's not the way it works with me! I give in to NOBODY!"

Diane smirked. "Almost exactly what you said to me the last few times we clashed—but you remember how those encounters turned out, don't you? Don't you?"

"Shut your trap! This time it'll be different—just you watch!" Alyx answered wrathfully. "Now—my draw!"

At that, however, Fenrir reared up and snarled at Alyx. "Forgot what I said already?" asked Diane. "Because Fenrir destroyed one of your monsters in battle just a while ago, you have to forfeit drawing for this turn. Boy, you've really got the attention span of a fly, don't you now?"

"Grr…all right, so I can't draw for this turn," Alyx grumbled. "Well, it doesn't matter—I've still got enough cards in my hand to tide me over for the moment. Now…" She scanned the four cards in her hand. "Okay. I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and activate my Blaze Accelerator magic card!"

In a moment her cannon appeared next to her, its metallic surface glistening. "Next, I'll activate my Blaze Accelerator's effect!" Alyx continued. "By sending one Pyro-type monster with 500 ATK or less from my hand to the Graveyard, at the cost of not being able to attack this turn, I can destroy one monster that you control…and I've got a monster in my hand that fits that criterion: Volcanic Scattershot (ATK 500, DEF 0)!"

Almost instantly, her three-headed metallic creature appeared on the field and got stuffed into Blaze Accelerator's barrel. "And the monster that I'm gonna get rid of is that pathetic Fenrir!" Alyx went on…and Blaze Accelerator fired, blasting through the snow wolf even as it yelped from the pain.

"Fenrir…" Diane wasn't smirking now, but glaring with utter hate at Alyx.

**ALYX: 6300; DIANE: 7200**

"And here's where it gets worse for you," Alyx went on, pleased with herself. "When Volcanic Scattershot's sent to the Graveyard, you get 500 points of damage, as you've just experienced…and if it was sent to the Graveyard for the effect of my Blaze Accelerator card, then I can send two more Volcanic Scattershot cards from either my hand or my deck to the Graveyard to destroy all of your monsters! And it just so happens, I do indeed have two more in my deck!" And as she said this, two more Volcanic Scattershot monsters appeared on her side of the field at that moment, and one after another they were fired off onto Diane's side of the field. One of the shells hit Mobius dead-center in the chest, incinerating him instantly; the other slammed into Diane, sending her stumbling backwards.

**ALYX: 6300; DIANE: 6200**

"Since I sent two more Volcanic Scattershot cards to the Graveyard, that's 1000 life points you lose in addition to your monster," Alyx grinned. "Hmm, anything else? Eh, why not—I'll set one more card facedown, and end my turn. Your turn now, Ice Princess."

Off to the side, Diane's supporters began to cheer her on. "Come on, Diane! Don't let that sack of hot air get you down like this!" they cried. "Show her why you're better than she'll ever be!"

"Boooooo!" Alyx's supporters shot them down. "Alyx, girl, you've got this duel in the bag! Make her sweat some more!"

"Sweat?" Diane scoffed. "As if a girl should really do something so undignified. Well…I draw!"

And indeed she drew her next card. Then, examining it, one corner of her mouth curled upward in a smirk. "I do believe the tide has just begun to turn," she said. "I'll set one monster facedown…for now. But now what'll you do—especially since you've basically trapped yourself?"

"Trapped myself? What the hell are you talking about?" Alyx snapped.

"Maybe you haven't been paying attention to your own deck, but I always make sure to observe what my opponent does—something you could learn to do for yourself, smoke-for-brains," said Diane. "A couple of turns back, didn't you elect to put your 'trusty' Volcanic Doomfire on top of your deck? Well, you're going to draw it for your turn now—but what good will it do you as long as it's stuck in your hand?"

Alyx blinked…and it clicked. "Crud…"

"So? Go ahead—draw!" Diane prompted her, with a taunting smirk.

Gritting her teeth, Alyx drew her card to replenish her hand…and indeed it was her Volcanic Doomfire card. "All right, so what I've drawn can't help me right now—but so what? At least I don't play useless cards!" she barked. "Take, for example, my facedown Trap card—Volcanic Recharge! It'll allow me to return up to three 'Volcanic' monsters from my Graveyard to my deck! And I elect to return all three copies of my Volcanic Scattershot to my deck!" As she finished speaking, a huge metallic construct with molten lava boiling inside of it erupted from the ground behind her, spewing out three fireballs in the process. The fireballs swiftly transformed into cards, which Alyx then caught skillfully in between her fingers and shuffled into her deck. "And with that, I'm done," she finished.

Diane shook her head as she drew her card. "Desperate playing to make up for a poorly-thought-out strategy," she remarked. "In that case, watch a real master at work and see how it's done! Now… first, I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster—a monster you ought to remember well—my Crystal Seer (ATK 100, DEF 100)!"

Her monster card flipped face-up, revealing a woman in red and black robes, the lower half of her face concealed by a purple veil, and three round blue crystal orbs—one bigger than the others—floating in midair in front of her face, even while Umiiruka lowered her DEF to 0 and increased her ATK to 600. On seeing the new monster, Alyx frowned. "This is…"

"Forgotten about her already? Well, she hasn't forgotten about _you,_ let me assure you," said Diane. "Since I've flipped her face-up, I can now pick up two cards from the top of my deck…then, I'll add one of those cards to my hand, and place the other at the bottom of my deck. So, let's have a look at what I'm about to get, hmm?" So saying, she picked up two cards from the top of her deck and examined them. "Hmm…how providential that I should get _this_ card now," she chuckled, and with that she added one of the cards to her hand—so she now held three—and slotted the other at the very bottom of her deck. "And now, here is where you start saying your prayers—it's about to become a very brutal Ice Age for you!"

"Really?" Alyx shook her head. "Well, forgive me if I don't believe you…"

"Then bear witness!" Diane held up the card she'd pulled for Crystal Seer's effect. "I sacrifice my Crystal Seer to call forth one of my Ice deck's heavy hitters: Frostosaurus (ATK 2600, DEF 1700)!"

Almost instantly Crystal Seer was encased in a gigantic block of solid ice—then seconds later, that ice block broke into pieces, revealing a gigantic dinosaur made completely out of ice. It unleashed a roar that caused the arena to tremble and a blast of cold air to blow all around its body, while Umiiruka increased its ATK to 3100 and lowered its DEF to 1200. On seeing the monster's appearance, Alyx's supporters hissed and booed. "Lucky draw!" they yelled.

Diane's fans, on the other hand, were ecstatic. "Good play, Diane!" they cried. "Now stomp her flat!"

"Hear that? My fans are saying to stomp you flat—and who am I to refuse them the entertainment they paid to come and see?" said Diane. "Go, Frostosaurus! Reduce her facedown monster to powder!" And in response, Frostosaurus opened its mouth and blasted Alyx's facedown monster, transforming it into an icicle that just as quickly shattered into tiny crystal particles.

But suddenly Alyx grinned. "Look who's talking about observing things, frost-head—the monster your big icy dinosaur attacked was my Volcanic Counter (ATK 300, DEF 1300)…and now that that one's in my Graveyard, do _you_ remember what that means?"

"Actually, I'd suspected that your facedown monster was Volcanic Counter," Diane replied. "And I remember fully well what its effect entails—when next I inflict battle damage to you, you'll remove that monster in your Graveyard from play, and if you've got another Fire monster in your Graveyard at that time aside from Volcanic Counter, then you can inflict damage to me equal to the damage you took."

"Glad to see you have something called good memory," said Alyx, turning up her nose at Diane. "That means you know what'll happen next, if you attack me with that overgrown popsicle lizard of yours."

"Whatever," Diane growled. "Just take your turn now—like you'll get anything worthwhile."

Whereupon Alyx drew her next card, so she now held two. Examining the new card, she cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "All right—prepare to burn! I activate my Magic card, Soul of Fire!"

Suddenly, all around Diane there erupted a large ring of fire! "Ungh!" she grunted, instinctively putting up a hand to shield herself from the heat of the flames.

"You ought to recall how this one works," said Alyx. "First, you get to draw one card…"

Gingerly, Diane complied even as she glared daggers at Alyx.

"Then," Alyx continued, "I select one Pyro-type monster in my deck and remove it from play—after which you get damage to your life points equal to half of the selected monster's original ATK." Whereupon she immediately pulled out her deck and thumbed through it. "And the one I pick is Volcanic Hammerer (ATK 2400, DEF 1500)!"

In that instant the ring of fire closed up around Diane. "Yeeargh!" she screeched.

**ALYX: 6300; DIANE: 5000**

"Volcanic Hammerer's original ATK was 2400, so you just lost 1200 life points," said Alyx. "Even if I can't attack for whatever reason, you're still gonna burn as long as I'm your opponent. I'm calling it a turn now…"

"Hmph." Diane drew another card, giving her a total of four in hand. "All right, Alyx Brodie…time to put you out of my misery! I call upon my personal favorite monster, a monster you ought to remember well…Cold Enchanter (ATK 1600, DEF 1200)!"

A cold wind blew all across Diane's side of the field at that moment…and moments later there appeared a young girl in light-blue and white robes, wielding a staff with an end that resembled a huge snowflake. As she settled onto the field and glared at Alyx, Umiiruka decreased her DEF to 800 while increasing her ATK to 2100. Alyx, in turn, glared back. "Geez…what an annoying monster…I thought you'd have gotten rid of her by now."

"And why should I do such a thing to my favorite monster?" Diane shot back, and Cold Enchanter nodded in agreement. "Anyway," Diane continued, "I'll activate Cold Enchanter's effect! By discarding one card from my hand, I can place an Ice Counter on one face-up monster on the field…and who better to put that Ice Counter on than my Frostosaurus?"

Cold Enchanter raised her staff, which in turn began to generate a great deal of ice and snow. The frost took on the shape of a giant snowflake, blowing onto Frostosaurus's forehead. "And for every Ice Counter on the field, Cold Enchanter's ATK increases by 300 points!" Diane added—and Cold Enchanter's ATK rose to 2400 accordingly.

Alyx scowled visibly. "This sucks…"

"And lest we forget, I've still got two more cards in my hand—and I'll discard both of them so my Cold Enchanter can put two more Ice Counters on Frostosaurus!" Diane added, even as she discarded the last two cards from her hand to the Graveyard. In turn, Cold Enchanter conjured up two more giant snowflakes, putting both of them onto Frostosaurus's forehead and increasing her own ATK to 3000 in the process. "Now, Cold Enchanter, attack directly with Blizzard Blast!"

Cold Enchanter pointed her staff at Alyx, unleashing a hail of ice at her. Alyx crossed her arms over her torso and flinched while the icicles hit her all over. At the same time, though, Alyx managed to pull her Volcanic Counter out of her Graveyard—and the monster's image appeared momentarily on her side of the field, blasting a huge fireball at Diane.

**ALYX: 3300; DIANE: 2000**

"Ungh…" Diane smarted from the effect of the fireball. "So you used the effect of Volcanic Counter just as you said…but now you don't have anything left to counter my next attack! Frostosaurus, attack directly!" And heeding its mistress's command, Frostosaurus blasted a wave of ice from its mouth straight at Alyx, who flinched as the cold air hit her with full force.

**ALYX: 200; DIANE: 2000**

"Grrr…" Alyx glowered at Diane. "So what if you've knocked my life points down by this much? I'm still in the duel, aren't I?"

"Not for much longer, you won't be," Diane answered ominously. "Just do what you have to do. I end my turn."

Straightening up and shaking off the frost from her shoulders, Alyx drew her next card. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ice Princess, but I'm going to level the playing field again! And I'll do that by activating the effect of my Blaze Accelerator once more to destroy your Frostosaurus!"

"Huh?" Diane looked up in alarm—but just at that moment the Blaze Accelerator blasted Frostosaurus and the Ice Counters it sported into pieces, sharply reducing Cold Enchanter's ATK back to 2100.

"And of course, the monster I just discarded to activate the Blaze Accelerator was—can you believe it?—my Volcanic Scattershot!" Alyx continued. "Now that it's gone to the Graveyard, you get 500 points of damage—and since it's gone to the Graveyard for Blaze Accelerator's effect, I'll send the other two Volcanic Scattershot cards that are in my deck to the Graveyard to destroy your beloved Cold Enchanter as well!" And as she finished speaking, she quickly went through her deck and shuttled the other two copies of Volcanic Scattershot to the Graveyard—and the Blaze Accelerator blasted two more shells into Diane's remaining monster, burning her to ashes in the process.

**ALYX: 200; DIANE: 500**

"Argh…again, I lost the extra 1000 points because of those other two Scattershot cards that went to the Graveyard," Diane glowered. "But don't get too excited, hot-shot—it's my turn now, since you can't play anything else!"

"Like you've got anything better to say about yourself!" Alyx argued. "You better pray that the next card you draw is a damn good one, because when my turn comes around again, I'll stamp you flat! Believe that!"

"Dream on," Diane said coldly, even as she readied herself to draw again…

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle…Drake remained seated, continuing to watch the duel between Alyx and Diane on the wall-mounted TV. "Hmph…now _this_ is the sort of thing that should be on pay-per-view," he chuckled.

A little distance away, the door opened and in stepped Jessica. "Hey, bro."

"Shouldn't you be where you were assigned to be?" Drake asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know—but it's still early yet for anybody to come and challenge me where you stationed me," said Jessica, plopping down onto a nearby velvet couch.

"Hmm…that's true." Drake nodded at the TV. "Anyway, check it out—Alyx and Diane are at it again, in the volcano exhibit."

"What were the odds those two would find each other?" Jessica rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Drake, how long have those two been feuding?"

"It's been quite a little while, actually," said Drake. "Diane's consistently ranked higher than Alyx in every tournament they've been in together. Of course, there's the rumor-mill that spouts all sorts of other reasons for their quarrel…like the most persistent one that says they're two-thirds of a love triangle from way back when…"

"That's not what I've heard," Jessica chuckled. "I hear that their disputes are just for show—that they're actually quite, um, intimate with each other away from the paparazzi. Like I've heard Wade Ocean and Blaze Redman are now."

Drake wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Whoever started _that_ one had to have been desperate for a story to put in the paper. And as for Wade Ocean and Blaze Redman—nobody's been able to confirm or deny anything of the sort. They've been rivals for years, after all."

"It's not unheard of for some pairs of rivals to be romantically attached," Jessica pointed out.

"Not unheard of, true, but in Ocean and Redman's case, very improbable at best—they're too much like oil and vinegar," said Drake. "But getting back to _these_ two here…"

"Yeah…y'know, it's pretty amazing that they can be members of the House of Cards without going at each other's throats, IF their hatred of each other is for real," said Jessica.

"That's because they know better than to carry on with any foolishness when I'm around," Drake said pointedly. "Still, they've been putting on a good show up to now, and the duel's almost done. But the way the odds and the life points have been going, even I can't be sure which of them will win this one."

----------

At that very moment at the volcano exhibit, Diane was in the act of drawing her card to replenish her hand. She looked at the card…and smirked. "All right…it's time to send you packing!" she announced. "I summon Fog King (ATK 0, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!"

All at once, a burst of frost exploded on Diane's side of the field—and from it there came a knight clad in grey armor and wielding a sword. "If you didn't remember any of my other monsters, you should definitely remember my Fog King!" she said triumphantly. "It's true that Fog King's a Level 7 monster, but I can Normal Summon him either with one tribute, or without any tributes at all…and his ATK is equal to the ATK of the monsters I tributed to summon him. Now, I didn't tribute any monsters for him, but—remember I still have Umiiruka active, and Fog King's a Water monster!"

A look of horror came over Alyx's face at the implication. "Damn!"

"Go, Fog King! Finish this duel with Ice Sword Attack!" Diane commanded. In turn, his ATK increased to 500 by Umiiruka, Fog King unsheathed his sword—whose blade instantaneously transformed into ice—and dashed forward, slashing Alyx so hard that she was knocked down.

**ALYX: 0; DIANE: 500**

"NOOOO!" Alyx's fans screamed as their idol was felled.

"AWESOME!" Diane's fans cheered aloud.

"Hmph." Diane touched a button on her Duel-Disk, and the holograms vanished. Then she pulled her cards together, including the facedown card she'd had on the field before—the Trap card, Frozen Soul. "It got to the point that I couldn't use this card, but in the end it didn't matter," she chuckled. "I win—again."

Meanwhile, picking herself up, Alyx impulsively drew a card from the top of her deck…and flinched when she saw what it was. "Tri-Blaze Accelerator…damn it, if only I could've held out till my turn…damn it, damn it, damn it…!"

"Give it up, Brodie," Diane addressed her. "You'll never beat me, full stop. So hang up your duds and go on home."

Alyx gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "Just watch and see, sub-zero cow!" she swore. "You'll get yours one of these days! One of these days!" And then she turned and stomped off, with several of her fans running after her—even as, on her Duel-Disk, her tournament points dropped to 0.

Diane simply shook her head and chuckled, then looked at her life point counter—and observed that her tournament points had increased to 2000. "One duelist down, plenty more to go," she said aloud, even while her fans continued to cheer for her and chant her name.

----------

"Heh." Drake smirked as he watched Alyx's exit and Diane's accolades. "Alyx never could take defeat very well…"

Jessica glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes when he said that. _Like a certain SOMEBODY I know,_ she mused, but she didn't voice it.

"Well, anyway, let's browse and see if any other duels are starting anywhere else in Kaiba Land," Drake continued, turning his attention back to the TV.

----------

David Jericho was standing at the entrance to the park's Jungle Safari zone. Straight ahead there was one large meadow, on the outskirts of which lay some dense forest, with booths set up here and there and manned by attendants dressed up as various animals. Parents and children were going from one booth to the next, all chattering with excitement. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to make a short stop and check out what they've got here," David remarked aloud.

So, stepping through the Jungle Safari's entrance, he strolled up to a booth manned by an attendant in a zebra costume. "Hello there!" she greeted him. "Are you one of the participants in the tournament?"

"Uh, yeah, I am," David nodded. "What've you got here on sale?"

"Oh—we have a lot of items here today," the woman answered. "Kaiba Land T-shirts, badges with famous duelists' portraits on them, collector mugs, caps, mini-video games…"

"Badges with duelists' portraits, you said?" David asked. "By any chance, do you have badges with Malachi Jordan's picture on them?"

"Malachi Jordan?" The woman's voice suddenly hinted at a frown, though it couldn't be seen under her zebra mask. "Hold on…I think I recognize you now. You're one of those duelists who're always hanging out with him, aren't you?"

"Yeah." David nodded. "David Jericho's the name."

"Mmm-hmm." The attendant swiftly glanced left and right, as though afraid of eavesdroppers. "Listen, I have to ask you…" Her voice was a whisper now. "Why on earth do you stick around that guy? I hear he's a few cards short of a full deck, if you know what I mean."

David sweat-dropped. "I've heard that before," he said.

"ONE SIDE, COMING THROUGH! MAKE WAY! MOVE!"

"Huh?" David looked up—just in time to have someone barrel full-tilt into him, knocking him flat onto his back. "Gyaaa!"

"Goodness!" the attendant exclaimed, astonished.

"What's the big idea?" David demanded as he started to get back up—but next thing he knew, he found himself getting trampled by a stampede. "Oof! Ow! Ack! Ungh!" he grunted over and over as seemingly hundreds of feet stomped him into the dirt.

"My God! Are you all right?" the attendant cried, coming out of her booth in a rush and kneeling down beside David.

"Aaahhh…" David, with plenty of shoe-prints all over his body, had swirls in his eyes and a bit of foam coming out of his mouth. "I think…I see a beautiful meadow…plenty of flowers…"

"No, no! Stay with me now—I'm not about to have a dead body on my résumé!" the woman frantically slapped his cheek, even as several onlookers now worriedly approached.

----------

"Geez…and I couldn't even stop to say sorry to that poor guy I knocked down," Buck Morgan lamented, even as he put his hand up to steady his hat.

Behind him, the fan-girls continued their pursuit with no sign of letting up. "C'mon, Buckyyyyyyyy!" they screamed.

Looking wildly left and right, Buck caught a glimpse of something. "At last—salvation!" he whispered as he abruptly turned left and headed into some nearby bushes.

"Ack!" The girls at the front of the pack nearly stumbled over each other, having not quite anticipated Buck's sharp left turn. "Don't lose him! He's gonna get away!"

Somehow managing not to trample all over each other, the girls followed Buck's path into the bushes—and every last one of them stopped cold. "Huh?"

For there now, right before their eyes, was a section of the park built to resemble a Wild West town. There were several people there, both tourists and attendants, dressed in similar attire: cowboy hats of various colors, denim jeans trousers or skirts, brown or black leather boots, and some were wielding imitation pistols. In other words, aside from being either exclusively male or female, the people basically looked alike.

"Spread out!" one of the fan-girls screeched. "He can't have gotten far! Search everywhere in this place!"

The idea caught on quickly—the fan-girls rushed out in singles, twos or threes, startling the imitation cowboys and cowgirls with their frantic searching. Some entered the makeshift buildings, while others brazenly grabbed random individuals and lifted up their hats to see their faces…and remaining blissfully unaware that one of the cowboys was sneaking off while doing his best to remain unseen…

----------

"Ow…ow…ow…" David flinched as a wet cloth was applied to his bruises. "I think I can taste my intestines…"

"Well, you're still alive—thank heavens for that," the zebra-costumed attendant smiled as she dabbed the cloth against his face.

"Ungh…but what exactly happened?" David asked in bewilderment.

"Oh, that was Buck Morgan that ran you over, it looked like," the attendant explained. "Poor guy—everywhere he goes, fan-girls are always trying to get a piece of him. It was a whole crowd of them that ran you over, I take it."

"Sheesh…" David shook his head. "So…Buck Morgan, huh? One of the pro-league duelists taking part in this tournament, right?"

"Yes," the woman replied. "He's quite famous as a duelist, you know, especially with his strategy that he employs. It's said that anybody who challenges him has a rather small chance of beating him."

There had been a small crowd lingering close by, watching as David received his first-aid treatment. Now one member of the crowd chanced to look up to one side. "Hey—look! It's Buck Morgan! He's coming back this way!"

"What? Buck Morgan?" David became panicky. "Somebody help!"

"Relax…it doesn't look as if he's got that stampede behind him this time," the attendant remarked.

A little ways away, Buck was indeed coming through the Jungle Safari's entrance. Now, seeing David, he jogged up to him. "Hey, man, sorry about knocking you over before; you all right?" he inquired.

"I will be, once I can feel my ribs again," David said ruefully. "This pretty zebra here just told me what happened."

"Pretty zebra?" the attendant cocked an eyebrow under her mask. "Your injuries must be worse than I thought…"

"Yeah, about that…gotta apologize again, man," said Buck. "Y'know, fans—they can never give you a break. I guess that's the price you pay for being a celebrity, huh?" He laughed sheepishly.

David shrugged a little. "Oh, well, at least I'm alive to tell the tale, so…no harm done, I guess."

Only then did Buck notice David's Duel-Disk. "Hey—wait a sec. You're one of the participants in this tournament, aren't you?" he asked. "Yeah…I remember your face now. You're one of that guy Malachi Jordan's pals, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged," David nodded. "David Jericho's the name."

Buck nodded. "Tell me, partner…how's about a duel, eh? I'd appreciate it if you'd accept."

David's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Duel you? Me?" he asked.

"Why not?" said Buck. "I'm real curious to see just how you'll do against my dueling style. Besides which, I guess you could consider it an apology for my fan-girls mowing you down just now."

"Hmm." David seemed to consider it for a moment. "Well, sure, why not? I do need to increase my tournament score—and find out just how far I've come in my training with Malachi and everything."

"Then it's settled!" said Buck.

The patrons nearby began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves, shifting backwards a little until they'd formed a close circle around the duelists. For her part, the attendant moved back into her stall, adjusting her zebra mask a bit. "So, a duel between the two of you, huh?" she spoke to David. "But are you sure you'll be all right against Buck Morgan's style?"

"Hey, I won't know until I've tried, right?" said David. "So, let's hurry and do this!"

"Yeah…before my crazy fan-girls come back this side…" Buck sweat-dropped a little.

----------

The duelists' information came up on the TV screen even as Drake and Jessica continued to watch. First, Buck's was shown. _**Buck Morgan. Age: 19. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2016; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2017. Deck strategy: Snake theme.**_

Then David's was shown. _**David Jericho. Age: 15. Nationality: Great Britain. Professional dueling experience: Has participated in British Intercontinental Championships from 2016 onwards; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Beast-Warrior monsters.**_

"Hmm…so they've got basically the same amount of dueling experience," Jessica said thoughtfully.

"Not quite," Drake disagreed. "The records on this David Jericho guy show that in every tournament he's been in, he's never even made it past the first elimination round. On the other hand, Buck's record speaks for itself."

"But hasn't Jericho been training alongside Malachi Jordan?" Jessica queried. "Jordan's got a reputation for solely seeking out strong opponents in the dueling world, so it stands to reason that he'd expect any of his companions to be on the same level of skill as he is."

"Malachi Jordan's skill is his own skill. David Jericho's skill is something else altogether." Drake scoffed. "And against Buck Morgan, this little punk doesn't have a prayer."

"Let's wait and see, huh? He may surprise us," said Jessica. "Okay—it's started!"

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Of course, experienced readers know how this will turn out…but as I've said, I'm too lazy to change ALL the footnotes in ALL the chapters. Anyway, more to come!


	44. Snakes and Chains

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 44 – Snakes and Chains**

KAIBA LAND

**DAVID: 8000; BUCK: 8000**

"Let's go!" Buck cried as he and David activated their Duel-Disks.

"Way ahead of you, mate!" David answered.

The onlookers began to cheer. "Give us a good show now, boys!" someone in the crowd yelled.

The two duelists drew their first five cards. "Okay—I call the first turn!" Buck announced, drawing his sixth card. "And to start off, I'll summon my Venom Serpent (ATK 1000, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And he brought forth a huge, green, slithering, two-headed snake onto the field. "Then I'll place a card facedown, for later."

David made a face as he drew his card. "THAT'S your big strategy—snakes?" he asked. "C'mon, man, I've seen scarier things than this in my lifetime!"

"Prove it," said Buck.

"Be glad to oblige!" David answered. "Okay—I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf (ATK 2000, DEF 100) in Attack Mode!" Then there appeared on his side of the field a gigantic, four-armed wolf-man. "Squash that snake!"

Snarling, and with froth flying from its mouth, Gene-Warped Warwolf lunged forward, its claws all ready to slice Venom Serpent to pieces—but suddenly Buck interjected, "And I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but now I activate my Trap card, Ambush Fangs!"

In that moment Gene-Warped Warwolf halted in its tracks, its claws just short of one of Venom Serpent's heads—as several snakes suddenly emerged from out of nowhere, bearing their fangs at the wolf-man. "I could only activate Ambush Fangs when one of my face-up 'Venom' monsters was chosen as an attack target," Buck explained. "Then, I could negate that attack and end the Battle Phase…and as a bonus, the monster that was attacking gets a Venom Counter." And as he said this, a small snake emerged on the wolf-man's shoulder.

"Ungh…" David grimaced. "All right. I'll end my turn."

Buck drew again. "I'll allow, your wolf-man's pretty strong…but he won't last long against my deck strategy," he remarked. "Where I come from, snakes are always a nuisance, and then they become a real problem if you get yourself bitten. But for me, snakes are my friends. I understand their nature well—I've been bitten so many times in my life, I think I've developed a natural anti-toxin against them, ha, ha."

He examined the cards he held, then turned his attention back to the field. "I'm going to activate Venom Serpent's effect now. Once per turn, I can use his effect to put one Venom Counter on a monster you control…and seeing as you've only got one monster on your side, that's the one I'll select."

Immediately Venom Serpent slithered forward and bit Gene-Warped Warwolf on the leg; as the wolf-man flinched and whimpered from the pain, another little snake emerged on its other shoulder. "That's two Venom Counters he's got there, now," said Buck. "And he's about to get a few more—because I'll tribute Venom Serpent to summon my deadly Venom Boa (ATK 1600, DEF 1200)!"

Venom Serpent vanished from the field—and was replaced by a purple boa constrictor that had a third eye right in its forehead and a small snake's head at the base of its tail. "Venom Boa's got an effect, too," said Buck. "Once per turn, at the cost of him not being able to attack for the turn, I can have him put _two _Venom Counters on a monster you control—and again, since you've only got one monster, he's the one I pick"—and the boa slid forward and wrapped itself around Gene-Warped Warwolf in a crushing grip, while its snake-tail delivered two quick bites to the wolf-man's neck. As the wolf-man yelped in protest, two more small snakes emerged on its chest.

"That's four of those things…" David frowned. "But what're they good for? It's not like they're affecting him or anything."

"Maybe you won't think so when I play my next card," said Buck. "My Field Magic card…Venom Swamp!"

And then—all at once, they found themselves standing knee-deep in swampy water, with dead trees here and there and a foul odor in the air. "Ugh…mate, that's _rank!"_ David wrinkled his nose in disgust, as did several of the spectators.

"That should be the least of your concerns," Buck said coolly.

Suddenly, from the swampy water there emerged numerous snakes, latching firmly onto Gene-Warped Warwolf! As the wolf-man howled and thrashed violently, the snakes dragged him under! "NO!" David exploded, watching helplessly as the water flashed around from the struggle…and then was still.

"I reckon I ought to explain," said Buck. "As long as Venom Swamp's active, any monster that has a Venom Counter on it loses 500 ATK for each Venom Counter it's got—and it's destroyed if its ATK goes to zero by that effect. And since your Warwolf had four Venom Counters on him, and his ATK was 2000, he was as good as gone when I played this card. Oh, and just so you know from now, during each of our respective End Phases, I can put one Venom Counter on each face-up monster on either side of the field, excluding monsters with 'Venom' in their names."

"Wonderful…" David gritted his teeth.

"Now, I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn for now," Buck finished. "But what're you gonna do now, partner? You're not planning on giving up now, I hope?"

"And why should I? This duel's just getting started!" David retorted…but as he drew his next card, his thoughts told a different story. _Oh, great…what am I gonna do? His deck strategy seems to be really strong…and if I misstep even once, he won't hesitate to finish me off on the spot! I guess I'm just going to have to play it safe for the time being, at least until I can get a card that'll let me destroy that Venom Swamp card of his…_ Then he examined the six cards he was holding. _Hmm…if I can just play my cards right, I may have a shot…all right, then, here goes!_

"Okay—I summon Panther Warrior (ATK 2000, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode!" David announced—and there appeared an armor-clad black panther, sword and shield at the ready as he snarled at Buck. "Unfortunately, he can't attack unless I offer another monster as a tribute first, and I don't have any other monsters on the field at current, so…I'll just set two cards facedown and end my turn."

"I gotta say, partner, if I were any other duelist, what you did just now would be a good strategy," said Buck. "The only problem with what you just did is, this is Buck Morgan you're up against—and that kind of thing won't work on me. Case in point—you've ended your turn, so that gives me license to activate Venom Swamp's effect and put a Venom Counter on your Panther Warrior." And just then, out of one the overhanging dead trees that was part of Venom Swamp's scenery, a small snake fell and landed right on top of Panther Warrior, lowering his ATK to 1500 in the process.

"Now, time for me to draw!" Buck continued, and he drew his next card so he held three in his hand. "And the next snake for me to call up is…Venom Snake (ATK 1200, DEF 600)!" Then there came onto the field, next to Venom Boa, a red and brown rattlesnake with blade-like protrusions sticking out from its hide, and an iron rattle on its tail. "Now it's time to take a bite out of your life points! Venom Boa, swallow his Panther Warrior whole!"

Venom Boa slid forward, its mouth open and exposing its deadly fangs. But then David shouted, "I don't think so, snake-boy! I activate the Trap card, Mirror Force, to destroy your monsters!"

"Huh…!" Buck blinked—just as Venom Boa slammed full-tilt into a force-field that popped up out of nowhere, right in front of Panther Warrior. The boa constrictor was hurled back with incredible force, barreling right into the hapless Venom Snake and destroying the two of them in one shot.

"Take that!" David cheered.

"Don't celebrate yet, partner," Buck spoke up. "Especially since I've got a Trap card right here—Snake Whistle! When a Reptile-type monster I control is destroyed, I get to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Reptile-type monster from my deck—and I pick Venom Cobra (ATK 100, DEF 2000), to be summoned in Defense Mode!"

A whistling hiss could be heard all around them—then moments later a large white snake with a red underbelly appeared on Buck's side of the field, coiled up in a protective manner even as it hissed at David. But David didn't falter. "And I've got an answer for that, too—my other Trap card, Triggered Summon! I could only activate it when a monster was Special Summoned to your side of the field…and now, we can each summon one Level 4 or lower monster from our hands! And I've got one here I'd just love to introduce you to: Vorse Raider (ATK 1900, DEF 1200), Attack Mode!"

As Buck watched, a green-skinned monster clad in battle dress and wielding a vicious-looking axe in both hands emerged on the field, next to Panther Warrior. "Well, unfortunately, I don't have any monsters in my hand that fit the requirement for your Trap card," Buck said ruefully. "So I'll just end my turn now…and give each of your monsters a Venom Counter courtesy of Venom Swamp."

More small snakes popped out and onto David's two monsters, with the result that Panther Warrior now had two Venom Counters and his ATK was now at 1000—and Vorse Raider had one Venom Counter and his ATK was at 1400. But David merely shook his head as he drew his next card. "I have to admit, you're pretty good as a duelist," he told Buck. "But the truth is, I hang around guys who always strive to become stronger…and one of them is definitely stronger than you. Training with him all the time's made me stronger, too…and I'm going to prove it now!"

David then held up the card he'd just drawn. "I sacrifice both Panther Warrior and Vorse Raider to bring out one of my deck's toughest monsters—Mystical Knight of Jackal (ATK 2700, DEF 1200)!"

At once both of his monsters disappeared from the field—and then, in their place stood a bipedal jackal armed with two bladed weapons, one to each hand, and clad in an Egyptian battle headdress and blue cape. On seeing the new arrival's stats, Buck narrowed his eyes. "Huh…okay, so it looks as if I'm gonna be in a bit of problems…"

"You haven't seen anything yet, mate!" David boasted, holding up one of his two remaining cards. "I'm not really keen on having my Mystical Knight of Jackal get any more of your Venom Counters, so I'm going to give us a change of scenery—by activating the Field Magic card, Sogen!"

Abruptly the swamp disappeared—and now they were standing in the middle of a lush, green meadow—and as though on cue, Mystical Knight of Jackal's ATK and DEF rose to 2900 and 1400. "Sogen increases the ATK and DEF of all Beast-Warrior and Warrior-type monsters by 200 points," said David. "And since my monsters are Beast-Warrior-types, this card works wonders with them. But enough about that for now…Mystical Knight, destroy that Venom Cobra! Anubis Sacrifice!"

Snarling, the jackal warrior rushed forward at the hissing serpent—and mere seconds later, the Venom Cobra was nothing but sliced-up scales. "And here's a bit more news," David added. "When Mystical Knight of Jackal destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I can then return the destroyed monster card to the top of your deck…and I'll have you return that Venom Cobra card to the top of your deck, please."

"Hmm." Buck obliged, pulling the Venom Cobra card from his Graveyard and putting it back on top of his deck. "I think I understand what you're planning to do, now. You intend to make me keep drawing Venom Cobra each turn by returning it to the top of my deck after destroying it with your jackal friend there, and meanwhile any other monsters you summon will have clear shots at my life points once Venom Cobra is put out of the way…right?"

David blinked. _…how'd he figure THAT out so quick?_

"Ha, ha, ha." Buck touched the tip of his hat with one finger. "I have to hand it to you, buddy, it's an interesting strategy at least…and certainly the first time any opponent I've ever faced has pulled it on me. And it probably would've worked…if it weren't for one minor detail…" Suddenly a deadly-serious expression covered his face. "And that detail is that your opponent is a PRO! LEAGUE! DUELIST! And if you end your turn now, I'll show you exactly what I mean!"

David frowned more deeply. "Yeah, okay, sure. I end my turn. Give me your worst…if you've even got anything to give."

"You'll soon regret that challenge," said Buck, taking his turn and re-drawing the Venom Cobra card. "And the regret starts…with this card!" He then held up one of his other hand-cards. "The Magic card, Snake Rain! By discarding one card from my hand…" and here he held up the Venom Cobra card before discarding it. "…I can select four Reptile-type monsters from my deck and send them to the Graveyard! And they are…" Pocketing his remaining hand-card for a moment, he then pulled his deck out of the Duel-Disk and thumbed through it. As he did so, by and by he pulled out four cards, holding them up for David and everyone else watching to see. "Another copy of Venom Cobra…another copy of Venom Snake…another copy of Venom Serpent…and…" He presently held the fourth card up high. "Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

On seeing that last card, some of the spectators began whispering to each other furiously. David, noticing this, lifted an eyebrow. "All right…do these people know something I don't?" he asked.

"I reckon they do, partner," Buck answered. "And I reckon I'm about to prove their suspicions right, when I play the last card in my hand—the Magic card, Monster Reborn—to revive Vennominon from the Graveyard to the field in Attack Mode!"

With a grand flourish, Buck played his last card…and suddenly, out of one section of the grassy meadow a whole legion of snakes burst out! The snakes wrapped around each other, seeming to climb higher and higher…and presently they took the shape of one giant green serpent, clad in black and purple robes with a green and gold headdress shaped like a viper's head. As his snake-limbs hissed ominously, his ATK rose to—3500!

"Whoa, whoa! What the hell's up with his ATK all of a sudden?" David exclaimed, pointing incredulously at Vennominon.

"Thank his effect for that," Buck answered, grinning. "Vennominon's effect makes his ATK equal to 500 times the number of Reptile-type monsters in my Graveyard, you see. So, doing a quick count, there're seven there now: two Venom Cobras, two Venom Serpents, two Venom Snakes, and one Venom Boa. And seven times 500 is 3500, so…your Mystical Knight of Jackal is about to be snake food! Attack, Vennominon—use Serpent Consumption!"

Vennominon's snake-arms lashed forward and bit rapidly and repeatedly at the jackal warrior, until there was nothing left but a standing skeleton. "Aw, man…" David groaned.

**DAVID: 7400; BUCK: 8000**

"And trust me, I haven't even _begun _to play for keeps yet…" Buck grinned again as one of his eyes flashed. "But the way things are right now, you're not going to win anyhow, so maybe you'd better give up."

"Give up?" David shot him a look. "And if I were to just give up, what would I say to Malachi? How would I be able to face him? No way, mate—I'd rather keep fighting and lose, than forfeit!"

"Your choice." Buck shrugged. "Do your thing. I'm ending my turn."

Grimly, David drew his next card. "Oh…geez…this can't help me…well, um…I end my turn…"

"Too bad for you," said Buck, drawing once again. "Well, now, what have we here, hmm? All right—I'll just set this card facedown for the time being, and…Vennominon, attack directly!"

And, with his snake appendages hissing madly, Vennominon prepared to do just that…

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake scoffed as he watched Vennominon's snakes strike repeatedly at the screaming David, reducing his life points to 3900 in the process. "What did I tell you, huh, Jessica? Huh? What did I say?" he asked. "Didn't I say that that little punk wouldn't stand a chance against Morgan? Didn't I?"

"Oh, come on, bro, give the guy a little credit, would you?" Jessica countered. "David Jericho's been doing quite well against Buck up to now."

"Doing well?" Drake repeated. "When I see him beat Morgan, _then _I'll say he's doing well. Face it, Jessica, the guy's nothing more than a hanger-on, using Malachi Jordan's clout to give himself a little recognition. He's not a duelist…he's nothing but a pushover. Just look at him—Morgan isn't even dueling seriously, and already he's got the rat-bag against the wall."

Jessica shook her head hopelessly. "Boy, Drake, you're cold…"

----------

**DAVID: 3900; BUCK: 8000**

David was on one knee, gingerly holding the places where Vennominon's snakes had bitten him. "This sucks…"

"So? Still not about to give up, partner?" Buck eyed him. "The more you resist, the more my snakes are gonna bite you. What'll you do?"

"I…" David shook his head. "I thought I told you, mate…I'm not going to roll over just because you want me to! Even if I lose…I'll go down fighting!"

"…" Buck looked at David for a long moment…and smiled. "Even if a weak duelist has the determination to go on to the bitter end, that's more than enough. I respect that in any duelist, no matter how much or how little experience they've got." He touched the brim of his hat. "And you've earned my respect, partner. All right…do your thing."

Standing to his feet, David drew again. Then…he paused and examined the cards in his hand. _Okay—with this card combo now, it's victory or bust!_

"All right, snake-boy—watch this!" he said aloud. "I summon Tiger Axe (ATK 1300, DEF 1100) in Attack Mode!" He then brought out a huge tiger-man armed with a heavy-looking axe. As Tiger Axe growled at Buck, Sogen increased his stats to 1500 ATK and 1300 DEF. Then David continued, "And next, I'll equip Tiger Axe with this Magic card, Amulet of Ambition!" And as he played the card, Tiger Axe found himself wearing a gold amulet designed to resemble a large eye with a star right behind it and a circle behind the star.

"And what's that amulet supposed to do for your monster?" Buck wondered.

"Let me explain," said David. "Amulet of Ambition can only be equipped to a Normal Monster—but if the equipped monster battles with another monster whose level is higher, then during that battle only, the equipped monster gains ATK equal to 500 times the difference in the two monsters' levels. And let's see here, Tiger Axe is a Level 4 monster, and my Duel-Disk info is telling me that your snake over there is a Level 8 monster…so, your monster's level is higher by 4…4 times 500 is 2000…and 2000 added to my monster's current ATK will give me…"

Buck frowned. "It'll only give you enough to force both our monsters into a stalemate, partner. What you're thinking of is suicide!"

"Maybe it is…but…" David smirked a little. "When my mates and I got into Dueltropolis…all of them managed to make it into the second round, but I got beaten in the very first round and couldn't go any further. And after all the time I spent training…I haven't been able to live that down much…but at least this way, I can redeem myself to them even a little bit. Now…Tiger Axe, go get 'im!"

Tiger Axe charged forward, even as the power of the Amulet of Ambition increased his ATK to 3500. Reaching Vennominon, he swung his axe down and into the snake-man's head—just as Vennominon himself countered by lunging his snake-limbs forward and having them bite the tiger-man all over his torso. Crashing together, both monsters disappeared in a shower of holographic pixels. "Take that!" David cheered.

Buck's hat-brim overshadowed the upper half of his face…but it didn't conceal his grin. "You've got spirit there, partner; being so willing to make that kind of sacrifice just to give yourself an edge…" Then the grin disappeared, replaced again by the serious expression. "However…you've only made your defeat here a certainty—because when you destroyed Vennominon, you made it possible for me to activate my Trap card: Rise of the Snake Deity!"

As he said this, his facedown card flipped face-up. "When Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes is destroyed," Buck explained, "this card lets me Special Summon my deck's most terrifying snake of all, either from the deck or my hand…and this time it'll be Special Summoned from the deck! Now—come on out, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

Suddenly, from below the ground there came an ominous rumbling—then out burst a fearsome sight. It was a gigantic purple snake, with a humanoid upper body, numerous snakes for hair, and two massive cobras for arms. The cobra-arms themselves hissed at a stupefied David, revealing in the process that their tongues were mini-snakes in and of themselves. And…suddenly the reptile's ATK shot up to a whopping 4000! "Vennominaga's effect, right there," said Buck. "She gets 500 ATK for every Reptile-type monster I've got in my Graveyard, just like Vennominon…and with Vennominon added to my Graveyard, that makes eight Reptile-types—times 500 points—for a grand total of 4000 ATK points for Vennominaga here!"

Staring at the humongous snake being, David felt his arms go limp…then his legs gave way…and he found himself sitting on his behind as a cold sweat broke out over his forehead. "Shit…this thing…it's…too strong…"

"I told you, didn't I? I told you that, as interesting as your tactics are, they wouldn't work on a pro-league duelist like me," Buck said calmly. "All right now, partner…you've got two choices. You can either surrender now, and keep some dignity…or Vennominaga here's gonna eat you on my next turn. So…what'll it be?"

"Keep…my dignity…by surrendering?" A hard look came over David's face. "No retreat…no surrender."

Buck shrugged. "If that's your decision…then I'm gonna take my turn now." He then drew his card, replenishing his hand. "Vennominaga—finish him off!"

And as David slowly stood back up, Vennominaga thrust her two snake-arms at him…

**DAVID: 0; BUCK: 8000**

----------

Back at the Dark Lord Castle, Drake shook his head. "Weakling. I don't even know why I bothered inviting him and his sorry group of friends to compete in this tournament…"

Jessica sighed aloud when she heard this, but she didn't bother to comment.

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 10:20 a.m.

Caleb Link was still inside the park's haunted house, his eyes obscured by his sunglasses. All around him were weird noises that would've chilled anyone else's blood—but he didn't even flinch. "Curtain," he muttered, walking right past a display with a stereotypical bed-sheet ghost.

"Chamois hair on an iron frame," he grunted next, as a lifelike werewolf statue suddenly popped out from a wall.

"Plastic mannequin," he sighed a few minutes later as a gigantic Frankenstein's monster emerged from behind a door.

As he began to ascend a flight of stairs, eerie laughter suddenly erupted and echoed in his ears. "Pre-recorded laughter on a rigged sound system," he mumbled.

"Do you HAVE to do that? It takes away from all the fun of fear, you know."

Having alighted on the staircase's upper landing, Caleb paused. "Only children are scared of harmless things like these—and I stopped being a child ages ago. Come out here where I can see you."

The noise of approaching footsteps caught his ears from the right…and as he turned to look that way, he came face-to-face with a man sporting wild black hair and clad in full black. "Someone ought to teach you to have more reverence for the things that go bump in the night," the newcomer said crossly.

Caleb merely adjusted his sunglasses with one finger. "I remember your face…you're one of those Zodiacs who tried to break up Dueltropolis…and presumably, one of those who Drake decided to hire to take part in this tournament."

"That I am," said the other man. "Victor Greaves' the name…and I know all about you, Caleb Link. A pro duelist from England, who always takes his opponents' rarest cards after defeating them. If ante-dueling is your style, then we really should have a nice, friendly chat one of these days."

"Sorry. I don't do nice, friendly chats." Caleb shook his head. "You're one of the eliminators…so a whole lot is riding on me defeating you. And if I defeat you here, I'll move up in the tournament's ranks far faster than all these other chumps."

But Victor shook his head. "I think you'll soon find that defeating me won't be as simple as you're wishing. I _was_ a member of the Zodiacs, after all, and all of us were crack-shot duelists. If anything, I'll be taking _your_ rarest card—as well as all of your tournament points."

Caleb shook his head. "Good luck."

----------

Drake and Jessica watched as new information popped up on the TV screen. First, there was info on Caleb: _**Caleb Link. Age: 23. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2012 and remained champion until 2014, when he was defeated by Malachi Jordan for the title. Consistently in the Top 10 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onwards. Deck strategy: Chaining.**_

Then came Victor's info: _**Victor Greaves, appointed Eliminator. Age: 26. Nationality: Canada. Professional dueling experience: Participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. Deck strategy: Zombie-type monsters.**_

"So now the third duel begins…and with one of the eliminators participating, no less," Drake sighed. "Still, just like the last duel between Morgan and that loser, this one will be a cakewalk for Link. He'll wipe the floor with that punk Greaves."

"You're not even giving Greaves the slightest benefit of the doubt here, and they haven't even begun playing their cards yet!" Jessica huffed. "At least wait until they've started before you pass judgment, huh?"

Drake shrugged. "Whatever."

----------

**VICTOR: 8000; CALEB: 8000**

"We're in a haunted house, and all things ghoulish and ghastly happen to be my specialty, so…I'll go first!" Victor declared, drawing his first five cards.

"Fine by me," Caleb answered as he drew his own five cards.

Victor then drew his sixth card. "If the haunted house didn't scare you, then _this _will, without a doubt!" he announced. "I activate the Magic card, Call of the Mummy! If I don't have any monsters on my side of the field, then once per turn I can Special Summon one Zombie-type monster from my hand. And the one I'll Special Summon with this effect is…the Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower (ATK 400, DEF 1500), in Defense Mode!"

Instantly, from the floor just below their position, Victor's massive tower of bones sprouted, with creepy-looking souls flying about. "And that's just the opening play," said Victor. "Now I'll use my Normal Summon and call forth another monster—Zombie Master (ATK 1800, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" And he brought forth his ghoulish puppet master. "And then I'll put two cards facedown, and end my turn for a little while."

But Caleb still didn't look fazed even as he drew his card. "So that's it, then?" he asked. "All right…my turn." He closely scrutinized the cards he was holding in his hand. "I summon Combo Fighter (ATK 1600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then on his side of the field there appeared a red-haired fighter with a green and white bandana, pressure bandages on his hands, and brown pants with green and yellow stripes down the sides. "Next, I'll put four cards facedown, for later. I end my turn."

"Oh? Hiding behind a whole multitude of facedown cards, are we?" Victor queried as he drew another card. "Well, there's no danger in being cautious…for all I know, if I attack, one of those cards will spring out something bad on me. So, I think I'll just end my turn for a little while."

Caleb drew another card. "It wouldn't have mattered one way or the other, whether you chose to attack or to refrain from attacking," he said. "Let me show you just what I mean. I summon Blast Asmodian (ATK 1000, DEF 300) in Attack Mode!" And he called forth a crimson-skinned creature in a green shirt and black pants, armed with numerous grenades.

"Not much of a threat," Victor remarked.

"I'm not finished," said Caleb. "I now activate a Trap card, Shield Spear! Now I select one monster on the field, and it gets its ATK and DEF increased by 400 till the end of this turn…and I choose Combo Fighter to receive the increase!"

Seconds later Combo Fighter found himself holding a spear-mounted shield—but then Caleb added, "Next I activate another Trap card, Chain Detonation! This card's effect will now inflict 500 points of damage to your life points!"

Out of nowhere, chains sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around an astonished Victor—and then exploded! "AAGH!" Victor cried out in pain as smoke from the explosion rose off his body.

"That was Chain Link 2," Caleb said calmly. "I'll add another link to that chain by activating my facedown Magic card, Chain Strike! This card will inflict damage to your life points equal to 400 times the Chain Link number that this card currently is—and since it's now Chain Link 3, that means you'll get 1200 points of damage!"

"Say WHAT?" Victor exclaimed—but hardly were the words out of his mouth when suddenly even more chains appeared out of nowhere and exploded all around him, and he howled from the heat and the pain of the explosion.

"And there'll be one more card to add to that chain, to be Chain Link 4—my final facedown card, the Trap card known as Accumulated Fortune," Caleb went on. "It could only be activated as Chain Link 4 or higher, but once I've activated it, I get to draw two cards. And now…time for this chain to resolve itself…"

"Ungh…what?" Victor glared at him.

"Oh, right—I really should explain, shouldn't I?" said Caleb. "My deck strategy focuses on the principle of chaining the effects of Magic and Trap cards together. So, for instance, if a player activates a Magic or Trap card, other such cards can be activated immediately after that first card—that's the beginning of a chain. The more cards that are activated during that same sequence, the longer the chain gets. Quick-play Magic cards and Trap cards are the only kinds of cards that can be used within the midst of a chain…and then, once the end of the chain has been reached, the card effects are resolved in reverse order…which means, for instance, that if five cards are activated one after another, the effects of the fifth card that was activated are resolved first; then the effects of the fourth card; and so on until we come back to resolving the effects of the very first card that was played to begin with. So…I activated a card chain that consisted of four cards. So let's resolve them one by one, eh?"

He held up his Accumulated Fortune trap card. "As I said a while ago when I activated this card, I could only activate it if it was Chain Link 4 or higher…and since it was Chain Link 4, I get to draw two cards." And this he did, adding them to his hand so he now held three. Then he held up his Chain Strike magic card. "This card could only be activated as Chain Link 2 or higher, and as I said, its effect would inflict damage to you equal to 400 times the Chain Link number that it was…and since it was Chain Link 3, you'll receive 1200 points of damage." And indeed, Victor's life points suddenly dropped to 6800.

**VICTOR: 6800; CALEB: 8000**

"Then we come to the card that was Chain Link 2—my Trap card, Chain Detonation," Caleb went on. "As I told you, its effect inflicts 500 points of damage to you…" And then Victor's life points dropped a little more.

**VICTOR: 6300; CALEB: 8000**

"Also," Caleb added, "if Chain Detonation was activated as Chain Link 2 or 3—in this case, it was Chain Link 2—then I must add this card back to the deck and shuffle it." And he slipped the Chain Detonation card into his deck and shuffled accordingly.

"Finally, there's the card that I activated to start this chain in the first place, the card that was Chain Link 1—Shield Spear," and Caleb indicated his Trap card that was still on the field. "Upon activating it, I equipped my Combo Fighter with it—but only now, with the card's effect fully resolving and the chain coming to an end, will he actually get the card's benefit." And as the Shield Spear card disappeared from the field, the weapon itself glowed brightly in Combo Fighter's hands as his ATK rose to 2000 and his DEF rose to 1200.

"Well, whoopee to you," Victor said sarcastically.

"But it's not over yet," said Caleb. "Because now I can use Blast Asmodian's effect: if any Magic or Trap cards were chained, he inflicts 500 points of damage on your life points!" And in that instant, Blast Asmodian pulled one of his grenades and flung it at Victor—and the grenade exploded with a thunderous BOOM, knocking Victor off his feet.

**VICTOR: 5800; CALEB: 8000**

"Gyaa!" Victor cried out, tumbling head over heels from the force of the grenade's explosion.

"And Combo Fighter's effect activates, as well," Caleb informed him. "If a chain of two or more links occurred during my Main Phase 1, then he can attack twice during the Battle Phase this turn—and that's what I'll have him do now! Combo Fighter, get rid of his Zombie Master now!" Then Combo Fighter lunged forward and skewered Zombie Master with a wild barrage of thrusts from the Shield Spear, moments later leaving the puppet master as nothing but a thoroughly thrashed corpse.

**VICTOR: 5600; CALEB: 8000**

"Now, Combo Master, bring down his Bone Tower!" Caleb commanded, and Combo Master leaped skyward, the Shield Spear upraised—and he slashed downwards, cutting the Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower cleanly in two. "And now, Blast Asmodian, it's your turn! Attack directly!" Caleb shouted again—and Blast Asmodian complied, flinging another grenade at Victor. The bomb exploded, once again knocking Victor off his feet.

**VICTOR: 4600; CALEB: 8000**

"Next, I'll set these three cards facedown, and hand over to you," and Caleb set the last three cards in his hand onto the field—and the Shield Spear weapon vanished instantly from Combo Fighter's hands as well. "Although I'll say this—for an eliminator, you're doing quite a poor job."

"Oh, shut up!" Victor snapped, even while he drew his card to give him a total of three in hand. "I'll activate Call of the Mummy's effect and Special Summon another Zombie-type monster to my side of the field—Vampire's Curse (ATK 2000, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!"

Out of the ground, a sinister mist suddenly appeared…then from that mist there arose a sealed coffin…then the coffin opened, and out stepped a pale-skinned, fanged, blue-haired monster with large bat's wings and clad in sterling-blue armor. As the vampire appeared, it hissed at Caleb, revealing a mouthful of pointed fangs. "But if you think he's bad now, wait until I power him up!" Victor said smugly. "I equip him with the Magic card, Violet Crystal, so his ATK and DEF will increase by 300 points!"

"Thanks for starting this new chain!" Caleb said suddenly. "Now I activate my Trap card, Chain Healing, which will increase my life points by 500!" And then a huge blue chain appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around him.

"Another chain…!" Victor groaned.

"But the chain's not done yet!" Caleb continued. "I now activate my facedown Quick-play Magic card, Mystical Wind Typhoon, which will now destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field—and I elect to destroy the very Violet Crystal you were planning to equip to your Vampire's Curse!"

"Damn it…!" Victor swore.

"And next up, my last facedown card—another Chain Strike magic card!" Caleb went on—and to Victor's consternation, more chains wrapped around his body. "Now," Caleb continued, "it's time to resolve this chain…unless you want to activate one of those facedown cards of yours or something?"

"No," Victor muttered through clenched teeth.

"All right, then—we'll resolve the chain now," said Caleb. "First, resolving the Chain Strike card…it's currently Chain Link 4, so 400 times 4…yeah, you're going to get 1600 points of damage right about…now!" And then the chains binding Victor exploded into flames.

**VICTOR: 3000; CALEB: 8000**

"Then there's my Mystical Wind Typhoon, which could only be activated as Chain Link 3 or higher—and it was Chain Link 3 this time," Caleb went on—and just then a mighty wind burst forth from the card, obliterating the Violet Crystal card. "Oh, and let's not forget the Chain Healing trap that I activated, which was Chain Link 2…" And then the chains around Caleb evaporated as his life points rose.

**VICTOR: 3000; CALEB: 8500**

"…and since that card was Chain Link 2, I must add it back to the deck and shuffle it," Caleb added, and he did so.

"And now to resolve Chain Link 1—but oops, I already destroyed your Violet Crystal card, didn't I? So the only thing to resolve is that your Dracula-wannabe has just missed out on his chance to get a power bonus," Caleb added. "Oh, but there IS one effect to take care of—Blast Asmodian's!" And right on cue, the red-skinned fiend flung another grenade at Victor; the bomb exploded and knocked him back.

**VICTOR: 2500; CALEB: 8500**

"Okay, that's it—I've had it now!" Victor blasted at Caleb. "Vampire's Curse, go ahead and feast on that damn Blast Asmodian!" And in response, the angry vampire flew forward at incredible seed and sank its fangs into Blast Asmodian's neck, draining his blood till his body was nothing but an empty shell.

**VICTOR: 2500; CALEB: 7500**

"Hmm…all right, so you were able to destroy one of my monsters _and_ did damage to my life points. Are you happy now?" Caleb asked carelessly.

"As if!" Victor shot back. "I'm not going to be even remotely satisfied until I've beaten you flat into the ground! And speaking of which…show me your Graveyard info!"

"Show you my Graveyard? Why should I?" Caleb wondered, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Because I have a right to know what's in there," Victor said stoutly.

"I beg to differ, but whatever…" Caleb pushed a button on his Duel-Disk, and a moment later his Graveyard information popped up. "Accumulated Fortune, Chain Strike, Shield Spear, Mystical Wind Typhoon, another Chain Strike, Blast Asmodian…are you looking for something specific?"

Victor grinned. "Just the number of cards in your Graveyard—and I count six. And that will become very important very soon…as you'll soon see for yourself…" And he chuckled. "You're underestimating me…but before I'm done with you, you'll be wishing you hadn't!"

"Convince me." Caleb shook his head. "Otherwise, all you're doing is talking tough."

"Okay, then, fine. I end my turn…for now." Victor grinned as he said this, and there was a twinkle in his eye…

----------

_**Neomage:**_ I think I'll take this opportunity to insert a friendly reminder to send in deep questions on this story and its prequels to _**sageneomage at gmail dot com,**_ and to name the tropes you see in action in all three of those stories. (hides behind a rock) Please?

REVIEW SOON, EVERYONE!


	45. Violence, Departure, Fame, Providence

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(in a Transylvanian accent) **I am not the owner of this delightful franchise known as Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 45 – Violence, Departure, Fame, Providence**

KAIBA LAND

**VICTOR: 2500; CALEB: 7500**

On TV screens worldwide, the stats of the duel between Caleb and Victor were shown: Caleb was in the lead with 7500 life points, while Victor now had only 2500. On the field Caleb still had his Combo Fighter in Attack Mode; Victor, on the other hand, had Vampire's Curse in Attack Mode, plus his Call of the Mummy magic card was still active and he also had two other cards facedown. Victor was still holding on to one card in his hand; Caleb's hand was empty, but now it was his turn to draw.

And draw Caleb did. "Hmph…I sacrifice my Combo Fighter to summon a new monster—Iris, the Earth Mother (ATK 2400, DEF 1200)!" he announced—and suddenly Combo Fighter was completely covered by a sprouting flower. The flower then opened up, revealing a golden-haired woman in a purple robe with green plant-like tendrils sprouting from her neck-line. "She's the queen of all nature—and you will show respect before royalty!"

"The only thing I do to flowers is to piss on them," Victor grunted.

"Then consider this the flowers' revenge!" Caleb answered. "Iris, destroy his Dracula-wannabe with your Sprouting Blades Attack!"

Iris waved her hands toward the sky—then numerous blades of grass sprouted from below Vampire's Curse's feet, skewering it into pieces. "And thus, the field is clear of impurities," Caleb smirked.

**VICTOR: 2100; CALEB: 7500**

"You'd like to think you've gotten rid of my vampire, wouldn't you?" Victor growled. "Well, guess what—I'm activating the effect of Vampire's Curse now! If he was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of a battle, I can pay 500 life points—then he'll be Special Summoned during the next turn's Standby Phase!"

**VICTOR: 1600; CALEB: 7500**

"Keep bringing him back as much as you want—I'll keep destroying him," Caleb said scornfully. "Anyway, I end my turn."

Victor then drew his next card—and immediately the vampire's coffin burst out of the ground again, and out came Vampire's Curse once more—and the zombie looked extremely furious now. "You were talking about chaining before?" said Victor. "Well, then, here's the start of one now—because now I'm activating my Trap card, Grave Lure! Now you have to turn the top card on your deck face-up, then shuffle your deck, and then when you draw the face-up card it gets sent to the Graveyard!"

"Hmm, not too much of an issue for me," Caleb shrugged, flipping the top card of his deck face-up. As he did so and then shuffled his deck, he noted that the card in question was his Lightning Punisher (ATK 2600, DEF 1600).

"Oh, but there's one more thing I should bring to your attention," Victor spoke up. "About my Vampire's Curse…once he's been Special Summoned through his own effect, his ATK gets an increase—by 500 points! Which means now he's more powerful than your Earth Mother over there!"

"What?" Caleb reared up—but suddenly Vampire's Curse snarled loudly even as its ATK rose to 2500, true to Victor's word.

"And…it's time I taught you to have more manners toward the undead." Victor grinned nastily. "You see, while I was still at Duelist Kingdom Island, getting ready to come here after Drake Phoenix invited me, Felix Sanchez and Chris Gear to take part in this tournament, I made sure to get my hands on some pretty rare cards—cards that work extremely well with my strategy. And here's one in particular that I'm pretty proud to have right now…a Field Magic card known as Zombie World!"

Suddenly, all around the two players and throughout the entire area of the haunted house where they currently were, many dead-looking trees and skeletons lay all over, and on the floor just below them there now ran a river of a crimson, foul-smelling substance. "Ugh…what _is_ this? Explain yourself!" Caleb demanded, nearly gagging from the stench of the river and corpses.

"Why, certainly," said Victor, who seemed to be suffering no ill-effects from the surroundings. "Zombie World affects not only the field, but also our Graveyards…because all monsters that are on the field and in the Graveyard are classed as Zombie-type monsters…and also, neither of us can Tribute Summon any monsters unless they are Zombie-types. For a guy like me, who uses Zombies exclusively, that's no problem…but I wonder if the same could be said about you?"

"Grr…" Caleb growled softly.

"Now—time to bring out another monster, a new one that I got to go specifically with this newly-improved deck of mine!" Victor continued. "I summon Malevolent Mech – Goku En (ATK 2400, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!"

From the rubble of skeletal corpses that made up Zombie World, there arose a frightening spectacle: a dark, misty beast with bluish-gray smoke coming from its body joints. "Now, just to clarify, this monster of mine is a Level 6 monster, so normally I wouldn't be able to summon it without a tribute," Victor explained. "However, its effect allows me to Normal Summon it without a tribute. Of course, if I do so, then at the end of this turn it'll be sent to the Graveyard—assuming, of course, that it's the only Zombie-type monster on the field. But of course, thanks to Zombie World, it isn't! Because now there are two other Zombie-types along with the Malevolent Mech…Vampire's Curse, which was already a Zombie to begin with, and your very own Earth Mother—say, you haven't even looked at her yet, have you now?"

"Huh?" Caleb looked—and paled. Where previously, Iris the Earth Mother had been a wonderful beauty…now she was nothing more than a wilted flower, her flesh rotting! "Ack! No! My beautiful monster!" he screamed.

"Pfft." Victor shook his head. "And here I was actually starting to think you really could back up your claim of being a top-notch duelist, but what do I see in front of me instead? Nothing but a sniveling little bitch. Vampire's Curse, drain his Earth Mother dry!" And Vampire's Curse flew forward in an instant, sinking its teeth into Iris's neck and draining all her blood away.

**VICTOR: 1600; CALEB: 7400**

"And now that the way's clear, you're next! Goku En, attack directly with Zombie Brimstone!" Victor shouted. And the Malevolent Mech blasted a ball of compressed ash from its mouth, hitting Caleb square in the chest and knocking him backwards.

**VICTOR: 1600; CALEB: 5000**

"See? You may've gotten to me at first, but I wasn't made an eliminator in this tournament for nothing!" Victor declared. "Now I think I'll call it a turn."

_Damn it…_ Caleb growled low in his throat as he drew his next card, replenishing his hand. _This isn't happening…! I can't lose here…I can't lose now…not when I've got such a clear opportunity to get my revenge on that bastard, Malachi Jordan…!_

----------

DUEL MONSTERS INTERCONTINENTALS, ENGLAND, FOUR YEARS EARLIER

_"Argh…" Caleb snarled as he glared across the platform at his opponent._

_ On the other side of the stage, Malachi Jordan was coolly shutting off his Duel-Disk. "And to think, YOU were the Intercontinental tournament champion," he grumbled. "Geez, what a weakling you are. You don't even qualify to be called 'weak,' the way you're so pathetic."_

_ Behind Malachi, his trio of supporters was jeering Caleb. "Oy, mate, go back home! You don't deserve to challenge our boss!" one of them sneered._

_ Caleb gritted his teeth till it seemed that they might break from the pressure. "Just wait, Jordan," he hissed. "I don't care how long it'll take me…I don't care what I'll have to do…but someday, SOMEDAY, I'll make you pay for disgracing me!"_

_ "Pfft. Tell it to someone who actually cares," Malachi said shortly, turning his back on Caleb and walking off…even as in the surrounding stadium, the booing began while disgruntled fans threw all manner of items down at Caleb…_

_----------_

KAIBA LAND, THE PRESENT DAY

Caleb closed his eyes. _All right, Link, calm down, think straight…you do still have more life points than this guy does, so you're still in the game…and it IS your turn now…_ He then looked at the card he'd just drawn."I'll set one card facedown…and that's all for now."

"That's all? Well, that's disappointing…disappointing that you're still choosing to fight instead of just accepting your inevitable defeat," Victor sighed as he drew his card. "Anyway…I just took a good look at your life points, and I can see that even if I attack you with both of my monsters now, you'll at least have a couple of points left—which is why, before anything else, I'll activate this card of mine: my Trap card, Cemetery Bomb!"

"Cemetery Bomb…?" Caleb cocked an eyebrow.

"Remember when I was asking you to show me the cards that were in your Graveyard?" Victor reminded him. "Well, I counted six then—now add your Combo Fighter and Iris the Earth Mother monster cards, for a grand total of eight…and that's where my Cemetery Bomb's effect comes into play! For you see, pal, it inflicts 100 points of damage to my opponent…100 points for every card in your Graveyard!"

"That means—800 points of damage!" Caleb exclaimed—and then a huge explosion consumed him and he howled out in pain.

**VICTOR: 1600; CALEB: 4200**

"Which makes you weak enough for my two zombies to take care of!" Victor finished. "And I know that facedown card of yours is a bluff, so you can't fool me with that! Now…Malevolent Mech – Goku En, attack him directly!" And Goku En complied, firing another blast of brimstone that knocked Caleb down.

**VICTOR: 1600; CALEB: 1800**

"And now—it's the end of the line for you!" Victor shouted triumphantly. "Vampire's Curse, attack directly and end this!"

Spreading its wings to a frightful span and hissing while showing off its fangs, Vampire's Curse flew forward at Caleb—who suddenly shouted, "And I counter that with my Trap card, Defense Draw!"—seconds before the vampire grabbed him and sank its fangs into his neck.

"Heh…poor guy…" Then Victor noticed something odd. "Hey, wait a second—why aren't your life points dropping? That was a direct hit, I know that!"

Vampire's Curse, seemingly just as puzzled, released Caleb and flew backwards…and Caleb, meanwhile, was rubbing his neck where the vampire had bitten him. "No marks…that was quite a close call," he sighed.

"What's up with this? Tell me now!" Victor yelled.

"In case you hadn't realized, I activated my Trap card—Defense Draw," said Caleb, adjusting his sunglasses with one finger. "It could only be activated during your turn, during damage calculation when one of your monsters attacked. At that point, the battle damage I would've received from that battle was reduced to zero…and also, I get to draw one card," and this he did.

"Hmph. So you managed to get lucky for one more turn," said Victor. "Savor it—next turn, you're going down. Now I'll hand over to you."

Nodding, Caleb drew his next card—but then he noticed what it was he was drawing. "Hmph…the card you made me put face-up thanks to your Grave Lure trap card…" And he held it up for Victor to see. "It goes to the Graveyard now, yes?"

"Indeed it does," agreed Victor. "So, off it goes!"

Caleb nodded again, shuttling the card into the Graveyard. Then he held up the card he'd drawn only moments earlier. "Well, sorry if this isn't what you were expecting—but now I'm going to activate this Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive the very monster you had me discard just now…my Lightning Punisher, in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly a flash of lightning blasted onto Caleb's side of the field…and then there stood a man with spiky white hair, clad in a stylish black and white outfit. However, because of the effect of Zombie World, his flesh looked as though it was rotting off. "Grr…I really, REALLY hate what your Zombie World card's doing to my monsters," Caleb growled. "But I'll soon rectify that…by putting you and your corpses out of my misery."

Victor took in the situation at a glance. "This is bad—his monster's strong enough to fend off both of mine…!"

"Lightning Punisher, destroy his Malevolent Mech! Attack with Thunderbolt Crasher!" Caleb cried. In response, sparks of lightning swept out of the Lightning Punisher's hair, down his arms, and into hi hands; cupping both hands together, he pushed them forward in a motion that sent ball lightning flying toward Goku En, incinerating it on the spot.

**VICTOR: 1400; CALEB: 1800**

"Damn it…!" Victor cringed at this display of energy.

Again Caleb adjusted his sunglasses with one hand. "I haven't come to this tournament to lose to a punk like you," he said stonily. "Too bad I can't attack again this turn…so do what you need to do. I'll take my time and destroy you, little by little."

Growling softly, Victor drew another card—then suddenly he grinned widely when he saw what it was. "Okay…time to send your Lightning Punisher on a one-way trip to hell!" he shouted. "And I'll do just that with this Magic card…Swords of Concealing Light!"

Instantly, three ebony energy swords shot down from the ceiling above their heads, landing all over Caleb's side of the field. To Caleb's dismay, Lightning Punisher's card was swiftly turned over facedown in Defense Mode! "Swords of Concealing Light turns all monsters that you control into facedown Defense Mode," said Victor, "and they stay that way during your next two turns. Plus, unless it's through a card effect, your monsters can't change their battle positions as long as this card's on the field. And, since your Lightning Punisher's been shifted into facedown Defense Mode, and his DEF is 1600…that makes him easy pickings for Vampire's Curse to deal with!"

In an eye-blink, Vampire's Curse flew forward, slicing at the facedown Lightning Punisher with its claws; forcibly flipped face-up again, Lightning Punisher could do nothing as he was slashed into pieces with one stroke. "So much for your threat to destroy me, huh?" Victor mocked Caleb. "Next turn, you're going down!"

"Say that to me _after _you've won," Caleb retorted as he drew his next card. "Oh…wait…on second thought, don't bother. Because you won't get a next turn, now that I've drawn this card."

"What're you babbling about?" Victor asked angrily.

Then Caleb held up the card he'd just drawn. "See this card? It's a card I took from one of my past opponents, when I whipped his whiny ass," he explained. "It's a Magic card called Spell Shattering Arrow. It allows me to destroy all face-up Magic cards that you control…and for each one destroyed, you'll get 500 points of damage."

"500 points…" Suddenly realization hit Victor. "Wait—but—I've got three Magic cards on the field now, and…only 1400 life points…!"

"And you'll get 1500 points of damage—taking you and your damn vampire out of this game for good!" answered Caleb. "Now—perish!" And as he activated the card, a large shining arrow appeared on the field, glowing so brightly that Vampire's Curse had to shield itself with one of its wings. The arrow then fired at Victor's Magic/Trap zone, and when it landed it hit with such force that it exploded in a large sphere of light, consuming the Zombie World, Call of the Mummy and Swords of Concealing Light cards—and Victor screamed out loud as he was forcibly flung backwards.

**VICTOR: 0; CALEB: 1800**

Smirking as the holographic images gradually disappeared from the field, Caleb looked down at his life point counter—only now, instead of life points, his tournament points were shown, increasing from the initial 1000 to 2000. "Nice…" He then looked up toward Victor, who was lying on his back and groaning. "All right, zombie-loving freak, time for you to surrender one of your cards to me."

"Wh-what? Like hell!" Victor snarled, sitting up—but the next thing he knew, he got a solid kick to his face that sent him sprawling back to the ground.

"And I say, you WILL." Caleb reached down and grabbed Victor's Duel-Disk.

"Hey! No! Let go, you son-of-a-bitch!" Victor snapped, struggling against Caleb.

Eyes narrowing, Caleb pulled back and sent a fist to Victor's face. Flinching as the punch got him square in the eye, Victor fell back with a pained grunt—then suddenly he felt numerous solid kicks in his head, ribs, and stomach. He held up his arms in an attempt to fend off the blows, but several still got through nonetheless. "If I tell you to give me one of your cards," Caleb grunted with the effort of his kicking, "you'll give me one of your cards—no questions asked! Now—stop fighting and fork over your rarest card!"

At length Victor's arms fell limply to the floor. Caleb was at his side in an instant, stripping the Duel-Disk from his arm and pulling the deck out of its slot. "Now, let's see if you've got any cards here that are worth anything," Caleb muttered, shifting through the deck. "Hmm…no…no…no…looks interesting, but no…hmm, maybe…"

Then suddenly he stopped. "What's _this,_ now?" He pulled out one particular card and examined it. "Hmm…not bad, not bad…this could actually be of use to me…too bad it's in a loser deck like yours, but that'll soon change…now, let's find the cards you've got that go with this beauty…" And he went through Victor's deck again.

His bruised eye tightly shut as he flinched from pain, Victor glared at Caleb out of his other eye. "Bastard…" Then the pain of his injuries hit him again, and all went black.

----------

"Hmm." Drake smirked as he watched Caleb's actions on the TV. "That's right, Caleb…show that Zodiac trash that you're the strongest."

Jessica looked at him incredulously. "Drake, what're you saying?" she exclaimed. "What Caleb's just done was uncalled for! He had no right!"

"No right?" Drake cocked an eyebrow. "The tournament rules don't say that you can't take your opponent's rare cards if you defeat them. So, as ante-dueling isn't mentioned in our rules, it's safe to assume it's allowed. In other words, Caleb didn't do anything wrong."

"Ooohh!" Jessica shrieked in disgust, even as she jumped up and stormed out of the room.

"Bye-bye, sis," Drake waved mockingly after her.

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, 10:45 a.m.

"Whoa…" Miki blinked as she watched Caleb's violent seizure of Victor's cards on TV. "That was…un-cool…"

"How can Drake Phoenix condone that kind of behavior in a Duel Monsters tournament? They ought to kick that boy out of the game, right now!" Mrs. Taylor sputtered. "And to think they call him a pro-league duelist…he's a disgrace!"

"Don't worry, sis, he's bound to get his due eventually," Mr. Wheeler assured her, even while he bit into a bologna sandwich.

"How can you eat so casually while watching such behavior like that?" Mrs. Taylor turned on him. "It sickens me that anybody can behave that way in a Duel Monsters game!"

"They do, though," Mr. Taylor said matter-of-factly. "Don't forget, Malachi Jordan used to be exactly the same way, back when he was the Intercontinental champion."

Jenna sighed, propping her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands. "All right, I'm getting a little worried…aren't they going to show Yugo or Seta dueling any time soon, or even Janus?" she asked.

"Patience, Jenna, patience," Mrs. Wheeler answered. "Remember, they've got quite a few other participants in this tournament besides those three. They'll soon get around to them, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, well…I guess we'll just have to wait for their duels to start, for sure," and Jenna sighed again.

----------

KAIBA LAND, 10:50 a.m.

Malachi continued walking along, hands in his pockets, determination on his face. He kept looking studiously forward, never paying any mind to the patrons' whispers that followed in his wake. _Come on…where are the duelists…?_

At length he came within sight of a merry-go-round, on which several children were riding while squealing delightedly—and he stopped. "Eh?"

Sitting near the merry-go-round, seemingly lost in thought, was David. Cocking an eyebrow, Malachi walked up to him. "Oy, David, what're you doing here, sitting around like this?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be looking for duels? Or maybe you've dueled already?"

"Hmm?" David glanced up—and immediately his look became even more serious. "Oh…boss…"

"So…out with it. Why are you here instead of looking for duels?" Malachi pursued.

Slowly, David stood up…and turned his back to Malachi. "I was in a duel earlier. One of the pro-leaguers…Buck Morgan. We faced off, but…he was just too strong."

Malachi's eyes narrowed. "So you lost. And now you're out of the tournament." He hissed with distaste. "And after all the time we spent training together. Geez, David…"

"Listen, boss—no…Malachi…" David sighed a heavy sigh. "Before you say anything else…just let me say this. Before you came up just now…I was thinking about a lot of things. And…I realized something. If I'm _ever_ going to get stronger as a duelist…then I can't keep holding you and the others back while I'm trying to improve myself."

Malachi's eyes narrowed a little more on hearing this. "Holding us back…"

"That's what I've been doing all this time, haven't I?" David continued. "You're always looking to refine your skill…Miriam's always getting better every day…and even Luke's gotten a whole bunch of cards that have helped him strengthen his deck…but what about me? Sure, I get a couple new cards every now and again—but as long as I keep being the mediocre duelist I am, I'll always be holding you guys back. I could toughen my deck a hundred times, but…if I can't keep up with the pros out there, then I won't be able to stand tall with other duelists anywhere. And if I can't improve…if I can't win more duels than I've lost…you'll have to cut me off at some point so you can continue bettering yourselves without having to waste any of your energy on me."

Malachi looked long and hard at him. "So…what're you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do, now…" David reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck—and dropped the cards on the ground. "If I'm ever going to get better, I have to do it in my own way…by myself. Sorry, Malachi…sorry for being our group's weak link all this time. But this I promise you…next time you guys see me, I won't be standing behind you, looking at your backs all the time. I'll be able to stand right by your side, on par with all of you."

Malachi's look didn't change. "Where will you go, then? It's not like you've got anyone else you can stay with, remember?"

"I know." David nodded. "After all, Luke and I…our mom and dad were…among those who died that night…"

Malachi closed his eyes as the memory rushed into his brain.

"Where am I going to go? Well…somewhere." David shrugged. "Just don't come looking for me, is all I'm asking. When I think I'm ready to come back, I'll let you know. And that time…I'll definitely be stronger. Count on it."

All this time David had kept his back to Malachi, not once turning around. Now, quietly, he started to walk away. Malachi stood there, watching him go, not saying anything…and then, sighing and shrugging, he bent down and began to pick up David's fallen cards.

----------

Yugo stood outside a large restaurant, with a sign depicting a lion above the door. On the sign, in big red and white letters, it said: _Lion Burgers._ "Hmm…well, I just hope their burgers aren't made out of real lions…" he chuckled as he walked up to the door and pushed it open.

Inside, there was a bustle of activity. Numerous patrons, visitors to Kaiba Land, were eating and chatting away, while waiters and waitresses—some of them dressed up in elaborate lion costumes—took their orders or placed sizzling hot burgers and fries on their tables. Now, at present, a little girl looked up and exclaimed, "Look, Mommy! It's the World Champ!"

That caught some people's attention. "The World Champ? Where?" excited voices asked as, one after another, patrons stood up or swiveled around in their seats to look for the celebrity. And very soon, all eyes were on Yugo, even as he sweat-dropped a little.

"Um…hi?" Yugo grinned a little out of embarrassment, waving his hand to the patrons.

He wasn't prepared for what happened next: several of the diners, forgetting their meals, jumped up and ran toward him. "Yugo Muto! Please, let me have your autograph!" some shouted.

"Take a picture with me, please?" others clamored.

"Come eat with me and my buds, man!"

"Can we have your phone number, please? Pretty please?"

"Show us your super-cool monsters, man!"

One of the lion-costumed attendants pushed through the crowd and took hold of Yugo's wrist. "Mr. Muto, please come with me," he said in a firm voice as he pulled Yugo along. "We've got a VIP booth upstairs just for you duelists."

"Oh, thanks a million!" Yugo nodded, looking around worriedly at the pressing crowd.

"Think nothing of it—this is what we're paid to do," the attendant answered. "It wouldn't do for one of this tournament's specially-invited guests to be overrun by the fans. It would be bad for business."

"I guess so," Yugo admitted.

As other lion-costumed employees came forward to block the protesting fans from access to Yugo, his liberator guided him up a nearby flight of stairs to a room with several smaller seats and tables than were in the main dining area. It had two different views—a side window showing the activity on the outdoors, and another window overlooking the dining area where, even now, some of the more obnoxious fans were on the verge of angry quarreling with the employees. "Gosh—is this how music stars feel at concerts?" Yugo wondered aloud.

"Oh, you get used to it after a time—I had to," a voice spoke up.

"Eh?" Yugo glanced around the room. "Who's there?"

"Oh, pardon me—of course you couldn't see me." Then, over in a far corner, the speaker stood up…and it was revealed to be Gaston Altair. _"Bonjour, Monsieur _Yugo," he said pleasantly.

"Huh? Gaston? You were here?" Yugo asked, surprise all over his face.

"Mr. Altair arrived here about twenty minutes ago," the attendant told him. "But then we had to escort him through the crowd and up here—away from the fans."

"Fame carries a price with it, _Monsieur _Yugo…loss of anonymity," Gaston added. "Surely you didn't remain just a simple young man in your hometown after becoming the Duel Monsters World Champion, eh?"

"Well, Mr. Muto, please have a seat," the attendant instructed Yugo. "We've got menus lined up on the walls—please feel free to order whatever you want. Here at Lion Burgers, we aim to please."

Now Yugo grinned. "And I'll take you up on that!" he answered, and eagerly scanned the menu on the nearest wall. "Hmm…all right, let me have two cheeseburgers, large cheese-fries—extra salt—and a grape soda."

"Certainly," the attendant nodded. "Oh, and Mr. Altair, your order will be ready in another couple of minutes." And then he turned and left the room.

"Come, let's sit together," Gaston invited Yugo.

"Thanks." Yugo crossed over to Gaston's table and sat opposite him. "So, yeah…I'm surprised. This place seems to have a pretty normal menu."

Gaston cocked an eyebrow. "Let me guess—the name of this restaurant had you thinking something about hamburgers made of lion's meat, yes?"

"Uh…yeah." Yugo laughed. "What did you order, by the way?"

"Actually, it was a tedious process for me to choose something," Gaston admitted. "The Americans have such a wide variety of food choices, after all, and some of their dishes are new for me. Still, I told them I'd try their beef ribs and cream potato salad with cheese sauce…and that, my friend, was five minutes ago."

"Okay—that sounds tasty," Yugo grinned. Then he sighed a little. "So…about what you were saying just now, about anonymity…"

"Indeed," said Gaston. "Being the World Champion must not have made your life any easier than it was before, has it? To have fans chanting your name, courting your favor everywhere you go…and especially since you live in Domino City, and are the child of a famous former champion…"

Yugo shrugged. "Truth to tell, Gaston…there used to be a time when being the son of Yugi Muto bothered me plenty. I wanted my own identity…and I was able to carve it out in my own way. Sure, I may have taken the same deck as Dad, but I've made my own legacy now."

"But that still doesn't allay the crowds, does it now?" Gaston inquired.

"Actually, this whole fame thing—it doesn't bother me much, because I don't make a big fuss out of it," said Yugo. "A lot of celebs detach themselves from common folks—you know, make themselves seem like gods. Me, though…I'm no god. There's only one as far as I'm concerned," and he pointed skyward with meaning.

"Ah." Gaston nodded knowingly. "So you make yourself readily available to your fans?"

"I sure do," said Yugo. "Not like I have much other choice anyway—my schoolmates, who I have to interact with on a daily basis anyway, are fans of the game, and some of them even challenge me and my friends to duels every so often. Of course, my friends and I oblige them, and we don't act like we're better than those who challenge us if we defeat them."

"Heh. I dare say, I wish I could be as easy-going about dealing with fame as you are, _mon ami,"_ Gaston remarked. "Ever since I became the national champion of my home country, I have scarcely had a moment's peace. The splendor has lessened somewhat with the years, but there are still the crowds of adoring fans who want to have my autograph, or take a picture with me, or sleep with me…"

"Sleep with you?" Yugo cocked a quizzical eyebrow.

"Didn't you know? Many a _femme_ would love to brag to her friends about how she got in bed with a famous celebrity, and the more famous he is the better." Gaston chuckled. "Of course, I've never obliged _those_ requests—I have more pride in myself and more respect for women than that."

"Your folks must've brought you up really well," Yugo observed.

_"Oui, _that they did," Gaston nodded. "Mama instilled a strong sense of duty to women in me when I was a little boy, and Papa—may he rest peacefully—he was a wonderful role model."

"Mmm-hmm." Yugo nodded appreciably.

"But enough about all that now," said Gaston. "How has this tournament been to you, eh? Have you advanced very far yet?"

"Er—not really," Yugo admitted. "In fact, I haven't even had one duel yet."

"No? Well, what a coincidence—neither have I!" Gaston confessed. "Perhaps the other competitors hide when they see me coming, so as not to risk losing their tournament points…but if I don't accumulate some soon, I will be left far behind before the contest's duration is up!"

"Well, Gaston, I know quite a couple of guys in this tournament who'd never back down from any duel, no matter how tough the opponent might be," Yugo said knowingly. Then he smirked a little. "And I wouldn't back down from _anybody,_ either. Would you?"

"But of course not. The very idea is absurd." Gaston looked Yugo dead in the eye. _"Monsieur _Yugo, might I be correct in assuming that you challenge _moi?"_

"You assume correctly, _monsieur,"_ Yugo answered, returning the look. "I'm just dying to see what it is that makes the French Duel Monsters champion such a huge household name in his native land."

"As I am curious to find out whether your claim to the title of World Champion is with merit," Gaston returned.

Then—a loud rumbling noise sounded in their ears. Immediately both of them blushed and held their hands around their stomachs. "Of course, first we've gotta eat," Yugo added, sweat-dropping.

_"Oui,"_ Gaston agreed, also sweat-dropping. "Without food, we will have no energy. And without energy, we will have no willpower to even hold a measly card in our hands."

Just then the door to the VIP room opened, and in came another lion-costumed employee, this one a female with a large tray in her hands. "Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen; here are your orders," and she placed their respective orders in front of them.

_"Merci, mon cherie,"_ Gaston said politely, and took up his fork. "Well—_bon appétit!"_

"Yeah, yeah!" Yugo was already digging into one of his burgers.

----------

Outside the _Lion Burgers _restaurant, Usagi Saiou looked up at the VIP window where, inside, she knew who was doing what. "Yugo Muto," she whispered. "Well, no matter—Gaston is there and has already laid claim to his opponent. But once the two of them clash, who will win? That will be left up to fate. For now, though…I must go to fulfill the first part of my own destiny in this tournament."

She continued on past the restaurant and down the pathway, until she came upon the entrance to a rollercoaster ride. The rollercoaster was somewhat unique—the cars were each shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon's head, with the guard restraints resembling fangs, and there were small wings on the sides of the cars. "Yes…my first opponent is in here," she said softly.

With determination in her step, she walked up to the ride's entrance, where a huge suited guard stood at attention. "Ah, Ms. Saiou," he said in acknowledgement, looking down at her. "I take it you are having a momentary break from dueling?"

"Not at all," Usagi answered. "My first opponent in this tournament is waiting for me inside. I have foreseen it."

"Your opponent? Inside here?" The suit frowned. "You must be mistaken, ma'am. I've been standing guard here all morning, and I haven't seen any duelists besides you come inside here. The only other people who've come are the regular patrons who want to ride the rollercoaster, and there've been plenty of them."

But Usagi shook her head. "This duelist is not one of the tournament's regular roster members," she said. "This is one of the tournament's eliminator duelists, whose identities, as you know, were not revealed in Drake Phoenix's announcement. It would thus be easy for this one to slip in unnoticed with the rest of the regular crowd—something you would not think to look for if you were looking for a duelist."

Now the suit looked a little embarrassed. "Um…well…er…"

Usagi casually stepped past him and walked a little ways inside—then looked toward the top of the rollercoaster tracks, just above her head. "How long did it take you to climb up there, Vasha Morrison?"

And true enough…standing up there was Vasha Morrison herself, looking down at Usagi with a semi-innocent smile. Now she began to make her way down the tracks, moving carefully but rapidly, till she was low enough to the ground to jump down. "Well," she said once she'd straightened herself up again, "I just though I'd take a bird's eye view from up there for a second—see if I could find any duelists to challenge. It's been boring hiding myself, even in the role of an eliminator—I want to duel somebody now!"

"And so you shall," said Usagi. Then she turned to the suit still at the ride's entrance. "If you will, sir, please prevent any patrons from going onto the rollercoaster right now. If Ms. Morrison here wants a thrill…then I will give her one. Let us ride the rollercoaster alone for a moment, please."

"Uh—right." The suit then turned to patrons who'd just walked up. "Sorry, folks, but the rollercoaster's temporarily closed. Two of the tournament's participants will be using it in their duel at this time."

That got the patrons' attention. "Whoa! A duel on a rollercoaster? This we gotta see!"

"Hmm. That's an original one, I think." Vasha chuckled. "So, high speed and sharp twists while dueling—to test one's physical stamina and endurance, huh? I like it."

"We'll see about that," said Usagi. "Now, shall we?"

The two girls promptly hurried to the rollercoaster and climbed on, Usagi near the front and Vasha closer to the back, with three cars separating them—then, the cars began to move, even as the restraints automatically slid down into place, securing them where they sat. "All right, then! You may be a pro duelist, but right now I'm one of the eliminators!" Vasha announced as she put her Duel-Disk on and slotted her deck into its place. "And I don't care if you have ESP or not—I'm predicting that you're going to crash and burn before this rollercoaster ride's over!"

"Hmm…we'll see, won't we?" Usagi replied, not bothering to turn her head to look back at Vasha, even as she calmly readied her dueling accessories, and as the rollercoaster began to pick up speed…

----------

_**neomage:**_ Hmm…dueling on a rollercoaster…that often happens to have loop-de-loops and stomach-churning twists and turns and dizzying heights and… (looks sick)

Anyway, review soon, please! Oh, and yeah, I hate rollercoasters.


	46. Rollercoaster Fortunetelling

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: WHOOOOOAAA! STOP, ROLLERCOASTER, STOOOOOOPPP! Ungh…Whew. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.)

**CHAPTER 46 – Rollercoaster Fortunetelling**

KAIBA LAND, 11:00 a.m.

**USAGI: 8000; VASHA: 8000**

On all available screens nearby and worldwide, the dueling information about the two girls was shown. First, Usagi's info: _**Usagi Saiou. Age: 22. Nationality: Japanese-Romanian. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 3 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Arcana Force monsters.**_

Then there was Vasha's information. _**Vasha Morrison, appointed Eliminator. Age: 16. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Has studied at Duel Academy for the past five years; currently in her first year in the Obelisk Blue dorm. Deck strategy: Mask theme.**_

And on the rollercoaster itself… "You sure you don't want to shift yourself a little?" Vasha called to Usagi even as the two drew their opening hands. "If you've got your back turned to me, you won't be able to see what I'm playing—never mind that we're on a rollercoaster!"

"Thank you, but I'll be fine," Usagi replied. "You forget who you're talking to—a woman who can predict anything, past, present or future. For the sake of fairness to you, though, I'll only use my powers to predict the past, so that I will remember what you have played."

"Okay, so…no foretelling of the future, then?" said Vasha.

"Not as far as the duel itself is concerned, no," Usagi assured her.

"All right, then—let's go! And I call first turn!" Vasha shouted above the whipping breeze that whistled past her ears as the rollercoaster's speed picked up. Then she drew a sixth card to start. "Now, then—I summon Melchid the Four-Face Beast (ATK 1500, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" And she brought forth a large levitating creature with four masks on all its sides—two green masks, one with a grin and the other with a surprised expression, and two red masks, one with an angry look and the other with a sad expression. "Then I'll toss a card facedown, and that's all for now!"

Usagi drew a card to add to her opening hand—but on her face was a deadpan expression, though Vasha couldn't see it due to her sitting position in the rollercoaster car. "Vasha Morrison…shall I tell your fortune with my cards?" she asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Vasha demanded.

"I told you that I would not use my powers of prediction to affect the duel itself in any way…however, I can do something else," Usagi replied. "Every card I play from here on out will reveal something about you. My cards will reveal your past…the blackest secrets of your life…and they will also tell your future—what the circle of life holds in store for you."

"If this is a plan to psych me out, forget about it! You won't be able to distract me!" yelled Vasha.

"Then let us see what the cards will say," returned Usagi. "Now, to begin…I summon, in Attack Mode, Arcana Force VI – The Lovers (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)!" Then on her side there came a bizarre creature with gigantic hands, big red eyes, and numerous pink orbs all over its body. "And when this monster is summoned, I toss a coin," Usagi continued. "If the result is heads, then The Lovers can be treated as two tributes for the Tribute Summoning of an Arcana Force monster. But if the result is tails, then I cannot Tribute Summon any Arcana Force monsters."

A coin appeared on Usagi's side at that moment, and it was flipped. It flipped around and around for a moment, before landing on the rollercoaster car most directly in between the two duelists…and when its face was revealed, it was shown to be tails. "Tough break, there," Vasha chuckled.

Usagi's eyes narrowed. "Just like with you," she responded.

"What?" Vasha lifted her eyebrows slightly.

"It is as I said before—every card I play will tell something about you, whether it's about your past or your future," Usagi reminded her. "And in this case, Arcana Force VI – The Lovers' effect and the way it was resolved has revealed something about your past to me. Just as I had bad luck with my monster's effect, so you also had bad fortune—or what others would consider bad fortune—in your childhood." Her eyes narrowed some more as she continued to speak. "Your parents divorced when you were very young. You were the subject of a bitter two-year-long custody battle, but eventually your mother claimed full parental rights over you. Meanwhile, your father went on to remarry, had two children with his new wife, and lived happily…but as you grew up with your mother, it was continuous warfare between the two of you, for she always saw her ex-husband in you and resented you for it."

Vasha scowled. "So I didn't have the best childhood. So what? This is a duel, not a counseling session!"

"Ah, but as I said at the outset, it is both a duel and fortunetelling—my cards are merely the medium by which I tell your fortune," Usagi said coolly. "Now, continuing…" She picked another card from her hand. "I activate a Magic card, Cup of Ace! This card's effect will let me toss a coin, and if the result is heads, I draw two cards. If it is tails, then _you_ draw two cards instead."

In between their respective cars, a shining golden cup materialized on the field, and so did another coin that was immediately flipped. It spun in the air for a while…then landed…and the result was—tails. "Hmph—this just isn't your day today, is it?" Vasha asked scornfully, while from the golden cup there emerged two cards that flew into her hand, giving her a current total of six.

But Usagi shook her head. "When you were nine years old, your mother unexpectedly came into good fortune—she'd met a man who had money, and lots of it. However, the man didn't want to raise any children from previous relationships, and your mother was already looking for an excuse to get rid of you anyway, so…"

"…" Vasha momentarily cast her eyes downward.

"…so one day, she took you down to the beach, then went off while saying she was going to make a phone call at some nearby pay-phones…" Usagi's expression didn't change. "And she never returned…"

Then fire burned in Vasha's eyes as she glared at the back of Usagi's head. "What's the point of bringing up all this ancient history?"

"That, I will reveal to you in due time," said Usagi. "For the time being, though, I will set one card facedown, and hand over to you."

Frowning deeply, Vasha drew her next card so that now she held seven in hand. _Her monster was stronger than Melchid the Four-Face Beast…so why didn't she attack it?_ She cast a glance at her facedown card. _Could it be that she was afraid of my facedown card…or perhaps she'd already predicted what it was? No—she said she wouldn't use her fortunetelling powers to influence the duel, so my only guess is that she's simply playing it safe. Well…considering her level of power, I'd better take her down hard and fast while I have a chance—and fortunately for me, these cards that I've got should do the trick!_

"All right—now I summon Grand Tiki Elder (ATK 1500, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Vasha said aloud, and in a moment her mask-wielding creature appeared on the field beside Melchid. "And I'm going to keep pressing this advantage that I've got now…"

"Oh, will you really?" Usagi inquired.

"That's right!" said Vasha. "I'm holding in my hand a new monster that I got, courtesy of Drake Phoenix…a monster that can only be Special Summoned by tributing two monsters on my side of the field, including either Melchid the Four-Face Beast or Grand Tiki Elder…and since I have both of them here on the field now, I'll offer them both as tributes to call forth my deck's newest and strongest monster—Masked Beast Des Gardius (ATK 3300, DEF 2500)!"

Both of Vasha's masked monsters vanished from the field—and then, in their place there arose a large horned monstrosity, with big sharp claws. On its face it wore a big blue mask, and on either side of its chest were two smaller blue masks. "Now, say bye-bye to your monster!" Vasha cried. "Des Gardius, attack!"

Des Gardius leaped forward, cleaving The Lovers in two with its claws and reducing Usagi's life points to 6300.

**USAGI: 6300; VASHA: 8000**

Seeing this from the ground, the spectators were awestruck. "That's so cool!" one exclaimed.

"What's the fortuneteller going to do now?" another asked.

"Now I'll toss another card facedown, and call it a turn," said Vasha. "So? Did you predict that I'd be whipping your butt like this on this rollercoaster before you got up this morning?"

Without responding, Usagi drew her next card. "The next card I play will reveal a bit more of your past," she announced. "And now I activate—the Field Magic card, Light Barrier!"

Suddenly, all around the entire length of the rollercoaster, there appeared a shimmering field of light! "Hey! What the hell is this, now?" Vasha cried in astonishment.

"Light Barrier carries a powerful and very beneficial effect with it—beneficial to me, at least," said Usagi. "All of my Arcana Force monsters carry effects that require coin tosses to be activated—but Light Barrier allows me, when I summon any Arcana Force monster, to select which effect that monster will gain without having to toss any coins for it. Also, as long as Light Barrier is on the field, if an Arcana Force monster destroys a monster in battle, then I will gain life points equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK."

"Grr…that's not cool…" Vasha growled.

"And as for you…Light Barrier represents another part of your life," Usagi continued. "After you were abandoned by your mother, you were taken in by a local orphanage. You were a bright and intelligent girl even at that age, so many families sought to adopt you. And you had the choice of which family you wanted to go with."

Vasha frowned a little at that memory. "…"

"Eventually, you chose to go with one woman, a woman whose influence would help to shape the person you would become," Usagi continued. "Represented by this card…Arcana Force III – The Empress (ATK 1300, DEF 1300)!" And then she called forth a mystic-looking creature with a blue and white appearance, and wisps of silk hanging from its shoulders.

Vasha recoiled a little at the sight of the new arrival. "Ew! Gross! This one's simply hideous!"

"Representing the soul of the woman you elected to stay with," said Usagi. "The Empress's effect states that when she is summoned, I toss a coin, and if the result is heads, then every time you Normal Summon or Set a monster, I can Special Summon one Arcana Force monster from my hand; however, if the result is tails, then every time you Normal Summon or Set, I must discard one card from my hand to the Graveyard. However, since Light Barrier is active, I don't have to toss a coin, and can simply pick which effect I want my Empress to have…and I'll have her gain the first effect!"

Vasha scowled once again.

"Just as The Empress's effect now lets me gain at your expense, so your adopted mother treated you poorly," Usagi went on calmly. "She never wanted a daughter…she wanted a servant that she didn't have to pay. She kept from you all the good things that she could afford to buy for her own children—and she was a very well-off woman—simply because you were not her natural child. In accordance with the law, she made sure you were schooled, clothed, fed, and treated humanely as far as the letter of the written law was concerned—but she violated the law of the heart, the law of human principle, in her treatment of you."

Vasha wasn't amused. "I put all that behind me ages ago. It's ancient history."

"Yet history is what shapes us, what molds our character," Usagi pointed out. "Now—I will activate my facedown Trap card, Tour of Doom!"

All at once a Grim Reaper-like figure in a gold robe with a silver cape and armed with a sinister-looking scythe appeared on the field. "Here's how my trap works," said Usagi. "During each of your Standby Phases, I toss a coin. If the result is heads, you are forbidden to Normal Summon or Flip Summon till the end of that turn. If the result is tails, then during my next turn I cannot Normal Summon or Flip Summon."

"And let me guess—this card you've just activated tells some sad section of the story of my life, too, right?" Vasha asked sarcastically.

"It does," said Usagi. "Being treated with contempt by your adopted family, treated as if you were nothing more than a ready convenience for their every whim and fancy, you were faced with a choice. You could grin and bear it, working to get yourself out of the slump you'd unwittingly placed yourself in when you chose their family as your own…or, you could be resentful, holding a grudge against life for having dealt you such an unfair hand when you were yet too young to understand the rules of the game, so to speak. So…what _did_ you choose?"

"You're the fortune-teller—you tell me," Vasha said stoutly.

"Hmm. That answers my question perfectly." Usagi nodded.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Vasha asked, fuming.

"It has everything to do with what I've been doing up to now," Usagi answered. "But as I said, at the close of this duel I will explain all to you. For now, I will end my turn…so do as you will."

Barely noticing that now the rollercoaster was doing a loop-de-loop and that they were, for all intents and purposes, upside down on the track, Vasha drew her next card. "You might be able to read the past and the future, lady, but you don't know anything about me!" she snapped.

"Think what you like," said Usagi. "Oh, and since this is your Standby Phase now, my Tour of Doom trap card's effect activates…coin toss, go!"

Tour of Doom's Grim Reaper readied its scythe even as the coin was flipped…and then the coin landed…and it was heads! "So now, for the duration of this turn, you can neither Normal Summon nor Flip Summon," Usagi announced—and just then the Reaper slashed downward at the cars. Vasha flinched and braced herself for the painful attack she was sure was coming…but when moments passed and she didn't feel herself being cut in two, she opened her eyes and beheld that all the scythe-swing had done was to create a cloudy mist that somewhat blurred her side of the field.

"Hmph." Vasha scowled. "Anyways, now, on to business…I activate the Ritual Magic card, Curse of the Masked Beast! By offering from my hand or my side of the field monsters whose total Level stars equal 8 or more, I'll be able to summon my deck's second-best monster! And I'll offer just one monster from my hand for the ritual…"

As she discarded a card from her hand for the effect of Curse of the Masked Beast, a shadowy image of a squat, fat black bird with two golden masks on its face appeared momentarily. "Ritual Raven (ATK 300, DEF 300)…and his effect states that when I'm Ritual Summoning a Dark Ritual monster, he can be used for the entire tribute despite the fact that he's naturally a Level 1 monster. But enough about that—now please welcome the Masked Beast (ATK 3200, DEF 1800)!"

Mere seconds later, the Masked Beast appeared next to Masked Beast Des Gardius, and snarled mere inches away from the back of Usagi's head before going back over to where Vasha was. But Usagi seemed unmoved. "An attempt at intimidation, I take it?" she queried.

"Take it however you like it," Vasha said darkly. "Next, I'll activate a Magic card from my hand, one known as Card Trader! Now, once per turn during my Standby Phase, I can shuffle one card from my hand back into my deck and then draw one card…and now, it's time for me to take you down and out for good! Masked Beast, destroy her Empress!"

The Masked Beast lifted its staff and whacked the Empress off the rollercoaster; the latter monster burst into pixel sparks.

**USAGI: 4400; VASHA: 8000**

"And after this next attack, all it'll take is one more turn and then I can put your prophesying to rest!" Vasha crowed. "Des Gardius, attack directly!"

"Not quite yet, you don't," Usagi shook her head. "Because I'm activating the effect of a card from my hand…Arcana Force XIV – Temperance (ATK 2400, DEF 2400)! By discarding it from my hand, I can reduce the damage I take from a battle to zero!"

Des Gardius rushed forward and slashed hard at the back of Usagi's head, violently jerking her in her seat despite the restraints holding her in place—but her life points remained as they were. "Argh…!" Vasha grunted in frustration. "Fine, then. Here's what I choose right now—to activate my own Trap card, Mask of Restrict!"

The named mask materialized on the field and began to pulsate with energy. "As long as this card remains on the field, neither of us can tribute monsters for any reason!" Vasha told Usagi. "So, I end my turn now."

Usagi calmly drew her next card. "It's my Standby Phase now…and, unfortunately, here is where Light Barrier reveals its weak point," she admitted. "During each of my Standby Phases, I must toss a coin, and if the result is tails, then Light Barrier's wonderful effects are negated until my next Standby Phase. So…coin toss, go!"

Again a coin was tossed…and when it landed, its result was—heads. "Hmph. So you got lucky this time around." Vasha clenched a fist in annoyance.

"Luck? I think not." Usagi shook her head as she held up one of her two cards. "Now…I activate the magic of Dark Hole, to destroy every monster on the field!"

"What?" Vasha reared up in alarm—but all at once, right in the middle of the rollercoaster ride, a mighty black hole opened and sucked in both of her monsters! "No! How could you? Those were my best monsters!"

"Don't sound so shocked—it's the exact same thing you did with your ability to feel," said Usagi. "You chose to hold on to your resentment, and in the process killed your own compassion. Hence, you cling to the outdated view that, as a student of Obelisk Blue, you are superior to your fellow students at Duel Academy. Even though so far you have suffered two major events that strike at that belief of yours, still you cling to it and hold disdain for others. Well…the question becomes…what will be the outcome of that, long-term?"

"And why do you care so much about _me?"_ Vasha demanded.

"Not about you, per se, but I cannot stand by idly and allow an evil disposition to continue unchecked so long as I am able to do something about it," said Usagi. "It is for your own good that I tell you these things."

"Spare me the lectures," Vasha snarled, "and hurry and finish your turn!"

"Very well." Usagi looked at the one remaining card in her hand. "I summon Arcana Force 0 – The Fool (ATK 0, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" And then on her side of the field, there appeared a weird-looking being with tentacle-like hair. "And now, his effect activates…when he is summoned, I flip a coin. If the result is heads, then he will negate the effects of all of my cards that target him, and destroy them…but if the result is tails, he negates the effects of all of your cards that target him, and destroy them."

"And—wait, don't tell me—let me guess—because your Light Barrier's still in play, you don't have to toss a coin; you can just choose the effect. Oh, wow, no way, for real?" Vasha said wryly.

"Be as sarcastic as you want, but heed my warning—sarcasm will be the end of you," said Usagi. "Now, I will apply the second effect to the Fool—and he will now be safe from all of your card effects that target him." And the Fool immediately began to glow with mystic light.

"And what aspect of my past does he represent this time?" Vasha wondered.

"Not your past this time—your present," said Usagi. "Specifically, the behavior that I outlined a moment ago. With your like-minded classmates, you manage a reign of terror over others at your school based on dead principles. And now you claim that your past is past. My girl, your actions are the actions of a fool—you say that what happened to you in your childhood was a long time ago, but it still affects you even today and influences your behavior toward others. Yet instead of facing up to the truth buried within you, you hide your real self—or what could have been your real self—behind a fallacy, a sham…a mask, if you will."

"Are you done now?" asked Vasha. "Because if you don't mind, I'd like to get to the end of this duel sometime today!"

"As you wish. I end my turn," and Usagi sighed and shrugged.

"Finally," Vasha muttered, and she readied herself to draw from her deck. _She may be psychic, but who is SHE to tell me how to act?_ _The only way to survive in this world is to be stronger than anybody else! If you're not strong or smart enough, people will just use you and then abandon you! And I won't allow that to happen to me—not again!_

Her train of thought was broken as she noticed Tour of Doom's Grim Reaper readying his scythe. "It's your Standby Phase again, so Tour of Doom activates," Usagi's voice reached her—and then another coin was flipped…and it landed…and its result was heads.

"Great…I can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon this turn," Vasha grumbled—and the Reaper swung his bladed weapon, creating a mist that fogged up her side of the field.

"Which means that my Fool will be safe for the time being, as will my life points," said Usagi.

"Let's see how long that'll last, huh? Because I can still set monsters facedown!" Vasha reminded her. "And I'll do just that with this one…" She set a monster facedown. "And that's all from me for now."

Usagi drew again. "Now the effect of my Light Barrier activates, so once again I must toss a coin to determine if the benefits it has given me will remain or not," she reminded Vasha…and when she said that, the coin appeared and was flipped. It flew up high…and landed…and its result was heads.

"All right…so Light Barrier's effect stays," Usagi nodded. "Anyway, now it is time for me to bolster my attack force…and I will do that by summoning Arcana Force IV – The Emperor (ATK 1400, DEF 1400)!" Then, on her side there appeared a robotic creature with numerous tentacles and two great iron wings on its back.

"And what's he supposed to do?" asked Vasha.

"Normally, when summoned, the Emperor's effect lets me toss a coin," said Usagi. "If heads, all Arcana Force monsters that I control gain 500 ATK; if tails, all Arcana Force monsters that I control lose 500 ATK. But of course, as Light Barrier is still in effect, I can forego the coin toss and simply pick one of these…and I'll choose the effect that increases the ATK of my Arcana Force monsters." And to prove her claim, the Fool's ATK rose to 500 while the Emperor's rose to 1900.

Vasha's eyes narrowed at this development. _This isn't good…!_

"Now, I will attack!" Usagi announced. "Arcana Force IV – The Emperor, strike at her facedown monster!"

Several of the Emperor's tentacles lifted up—and bright beams of light fired from their tips. But suddenly Vasha shouted, "I activate my Trap card, Mask of Weakness! This will decrease your monster's ATK by 700 points till the end of this turn!"

A big red and blue mask shot out of her card as it was flipped face-up, covering the Emperor's face while lowering its ATK to 1200. In that instant the beams of light it had fired hit Vasha's facedown monster, flipping it face-up and revealing it to be the Masked Sorcerer (ATK 900, DEF 1400), who casually batted the light-beams away with one hand.

**USAGI: 4200; VASHA: 8000**

"You've just attacked my Masked Sorcerer," said Vasha, feeling very pleased with herself. "When he inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I draw one card." And this she did.

"Hmm." Usagi nodded. "I end my turn."

Taking her turn now, Vasha drew again. At once Tour of Doom activated, with its coin being flipped. The coin flew…and then landed…and the result was tails. "Hmm…tails…this means I won't be able to Normal Summon or Flip Summon next turn," Usagi said thoughtfully—and the Grim Reaper flashed its scythe over her side of the field, covering it with mist.

"Sucks to be you right now," Vasha quipped. "Now, I think I'll use the effect of my Card Trader, since it's still my Standby Phase…and I'll put back one card from my hand into the deck, then draw a new card!"

Immediately, from the Card Trader card, there arose a sinister man clad in black with parts of a mask over his face. He held out a hand to Vasha; she put one of her cards into his hand; then he pulled a deck out of his cloak and shuffled the gained card into it. Then, drawing a card from the top of his deck, he handed it to Vasha, and promptly vanished from sight. Meanwhile, Vasha examined the new card she'd gotten—and a devilish smirk crossed her face. "And now, time to lock you down but good!"

"Lock me down?" Usagi queried.

"Watch and see!" Vasha held up one of her cards. "First, I'll shift Masked Sorcerer into Attack Mode…" And the masked monster stood up, wielding his timepiece in hand as he readied to fight. "…and then equip him with the Mask of Brutality! In exchange for his DEF being decreased by 1000, his ATK will now increase by 1000!"

At once Masked Sorcerer's mask was replaced by another, more sinister one as his DEF went down to 400 and his ATK rose to 1900. Then Vasha held up another card. "But I'm not done! Next, I'll activate this Magic card, Mask of Dispel!"

Another mask appeared on the field. "Now, I select one face-up Magic card on the field—and I think I'll choose your annoying Light Barrier card—and as long as this card remains on the field, the controller of that selected card—you—receives 500 damage during each of my Standby Phases!" said Vasha. "Now, I just need to play one more card, and then everything will be set!"

"Oh?" asked Usagi.

Vasha then held up her very last card. "My Magic card, Mask of the Accursed! Any monster that's equipped with this card cannot attack, and during each of my Standby Phases the controller of the equipped monster loses 500 life points! And just so he won't be any trouble later on, I'll equip this to your Emperor!"

The Emperor's face was suddenly covered up by the nail-riddled mask, even while sinister energy surrounded its body. "Now, you're completely trapped!" Vasha crowed triumphantly. "My Mask of Restrict will prevent you from tributing any of your monsters…and my Mask of the Accursed and Mask of Dispel will sap you of life points during each of my Standby Phases! Man, Phoenix did the right thing by letting me be an eliminator in this tournament, after all!" And she let out a loud whoop.

But Usagi simply shook her head again. "You should save congratulating yourself for _after_ you've won," she advised Vasha.

"Oh, be quiet! You've talked long enough by now!" Vasha snapped. "C'mon, Masked Sorcerer, take out her Fool!"

Masked Sorcerer held up his timepiece—and from its center a sinister ticking noise could be heard. The vibrations carried right over to the Fool, who cringed as the attack took its course.

**USAGI: 2800; VASHA: 8000**

But, oddly enough, the Fool remained on the field. "Hey! Why isn't that thing gone?" Vasha demanded.

"Arcana Force 0 – The Fool has a few other effects," Usagi explained. "It cannot be destroyed in battle…and also, it cannot be shifted into Defense Mode except by a card effect."

Vasha was truly surprised to hear that. "Then why didn't you just set it in Defense Mode in the first place?" she wondered.

"And miss out on the chance to have its effect work for me?" Usagi replied.

"Good point." Vasha nodded. "Well, it doesn't matter. Masked Sorcerer's effect activates once again, so I get to draw another card since he did battle damage to you." And she drew her card and replenished her hand. "All right—I end my turn. Go."

Usagi drew and replenished her hand once again, as, well. "Now…once more, I must toss a coin for Light Barrier's effect," she said, and again the coin appeared and was flipped. Again it flew, again it landed—but this time the result was tails. At once, Light Barrier's brilliance seemed to fade a little.

"Ha! That coin toss is tails now, right?" Vasha sneered. "That means that Light Barrier's effects are negated!"

"Until my next Standby Phase," Usagi clarified. "But nonetheless, upon reflection, it would seem that you really do have me in a tight spot. As you said before, you have three cards that are currently active on your side of the field that are a hindrance to me…and if your good fortune keeps up into your next few turns, I will lose."

"Oh, so you did foresee me kicking your clairvoyant ass, after all!" Vasha grinned.

"Hmm…let us see if the cards agree with you." Usagi then looked at the card she'd drawn. "I have in my hand a second Cup of Ace magic card…and as you should remember from when I played the first one, I must toss a coin. And if the result is heads, I draw two cards; if tails, you draw two cards. So…here's the coin toss!"

Once again a coin was tossed—and when it landed, the result was heads. "Hmph. So you get to draw two cards this time around. No big deal," Vasha shrugged. "I've already got this duel in the bag, anyway."

Usagi drew her two cards, replenishing her hand once more. "Let me tell you what this second Cup of Ace symbolizes, Vasha Morrison—it symbolizes your future," she said. "Someone will soon come seeking you out, expecting you to pay back a debt that you have always owed them but always failed to honor."

"What debt? I don't owe anybody anything!" Vasha argued.

Ignoring Vasha's outburst, Usagi held up one of her two cards. "Next, I shall activate the Magic card, Graceful Charity! This will let me draw three cards, but then I must discard two from my hand!"

A green-clothed angel appeared to Usagi at that moment and held out three cards to her; Usagi accepted them, then shuffled her hand together, picked out two of her hand-cards, and shuttled them off to the Graveyard. "That was another prediction of your future," she announced to Vasha. "You will soon be faced with a difficult choice…and the decision you make at that time will greatly impact your life."

"Argh—make the fortunetelling quick, would you?" asked the exasperated Vasha.

"Have no fear—I'll soon be done," Usagi assured her. She then held up another card. "And now…I activate the Magic card, Premature Burial, and pay 800 life points to Special Summon a monster that will surely change your perspective on this duel…Arcana Force XXI – The World (ATK 3100, DEF 3100)!"

**USAGI: 2000; VASHA: 8000**

Then, as Usagi's life points dropped to a flat 2000…a shadow hovered over the rollercoaster, even while at that moment they zoomed past the ground and the astonished spectators once more. Then, ever so slowly, the shadow took on form…the form of a black metallic monster with pincer-like hands. Affected in that moment by Arcana Force – The Emperor's effect, its ATK rose to an extremely high 3600! "Holy…what the hell…what kind of _thing _is this?" Vasha whispered.

"Meet Arcana Force XXI – The World," Usagi told her. "When it's summoned, of course, as with all other Arcana Force monsters, I toss a coin…and if the result is heads, then during my End Phase I can send two monsters that I control to the Graveyard to make you skip your next turn. However, if the result is tails, then during each of your Draw Phases, the World's effect will allow you to add the card that is at the top of your Graveyard to your hand. And…since Light Barrier's effect is currently negated, I must toss the coin."

Yet another coin appeared on the field and was tossed…and landed after being airborne for a moment…and the result was…tails. "Tails…that means this thing's second effect will apply," and Vasha sighed a little.

"But take heed—this is another prediction for your future," Usagi said in a warning tone. "You claim that your past is in the past…but in the very near future, a figure from your past will appear to create turmoil in your life. This figure will have enough power to frighten you…but a way of escape will emerge before you. It will be up to you to recognize this way of escape, however, for if you don't, you will be swallowed up by darkness."

"Well…that's all jolly well and good for you to say that, I guess…but right now I've got more pressing concerns…" Vasha looked up at the World.

"I should say, I agree with you." Usagi nodded. "The World—take down the Masked Sorcerer! Arcana Crusher!"

The World reached forward with one of its pincer-like hands, caught Masked Sorcerer in a tight grip, and squeezed him to death; Vasha flinched as she watched this display, even while her previously untouched life points now went down to 6300. "Damn…"

**USAGI: 2000; VASHA: 6300**

"And now, the Fool and the Emperor can attack you directly! Go, my monsters!" Usagi commanded. And one after the other, the two monsters attacked—first the Fool hit her with both fists…

**USAGI: 2000; VASHA: 5800**

…then the Emperor fired beams of light from its tentacles, with the beams crashing all around Vasha.

**USAGI: 2000; VASHA: 3900**

"And now, I end my turn," said Usagi. "But do you still believe you can beat me now?"

Scowling, Vasha drew again—and the World began to glow, bright silver light coursing from its body. "That's right…thanks to your monster, the World, I can add the card that's on the top of my Graveyard to my hand," Vasha recalled. "Hmm…okay…" And she added her Mask of Brutality back to her hand, so now she held a total of three cards. "And if memory serves me right, that's not all that's supposed to happen…"

Instantly the Mask of Dispel and Mask of the Accursed, both still active, suddenly began to glow brightly—and Usagi flinched as she lost 500 life points for each, bringing her total down to 1000.

**USAGI: 1000; VASHA: 3900**

But even as that happened, suddenly the Tour of Doom card's Grim Reaper raised its scythe once more. "Ah, yes, Tour of Doom…heads, you can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon this turn…tails, I can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon next turn…what will it be?" asked Usagi. "Go, coin toss!"

Once again the coin was tossed…and when it landed, its result was—heads. "Nuts…!" Vasha groaned.

"So, what will you elect to do?" asked Usagi. "Think carefully about the choices before you…"

Her mouth set in a grim line, Vasha examined the cards in her hand. Then she looked at the three Arcana Force monsters facing her—the Fool, the Emperor, and the World—and grimaced. "This is bad…"

Usagi closed her eyes momentarily. "The choice is yours."

Again Vasha looked at her cards. Then, again, she looked at the three monsters watching her expectantly…and then she sighed. "Nuts to this. I quit." And she placed her hand over her deck.

**USAGI vs. VASHA: Usagi wins by surrender**

In that moment, all the card images, as well as the three Arcana Force monsters, vanished from the field…and now the rollercoaster began to slow down. It slowed down further…further…further…and now it came to a stop right back at the starting point, where the spectators were now cheering. "Whew…" Usagi waited until the restraints were lifted, and then she stood up. "Now THAT was the most exhilarating rollercoaster ride I've ever experienced! Wouldn't you say?"

"Speak for yourself—you're not the loser here," Vasha grumbled as she climbed out of her rollercoaster car, and she pointed out Usagi's Duel-Disk—it now sported 2000 tournament points.

Usagi fixed a gaze upon her. "I dare say, we both won something today," she remarked. "I won a duel, but you won valuable insight regarding your personality and your future. And why did I bother to regale you with fortunetelling?"

"That's what I'd like to know myself," said Vasha.

The accolades of the spectators seemed to fade out of both girls' hearing as Vasha waited for Usagi to answer. Then Usagi did speak. "I just felt like telling your fortune. That's all."

"Huh?" Vasha was stunned. "You _felt _like it?"

But Usagi would say no more, and instead turned and walked off, away from Vasha and the cheering fans. _One of these days, Vasha Morrison…I guarantee, you will thank me for this day…I guarantee it…_

----------

Back at the Lion Burgers restaurant…

"Whew!" Yugo patted his stomach contentedly. "Now THESE burgers are the best I've had outside of Domino City!"

"Is that so, _Monsieur _Yugo?" Gaston smiled as he finished the last of his cream potato salad.

"Yep!" Yugo nodded. "We've got a local restaurant there called Burger World. Their burgers are so good, you keep asking for more!"

"Perhaps I should take a trip to Domino City sometime, to try your cuisine," Gaston remarked. "But for the present…I can sample a taste of dueling skill borne of that city."

"All right!" Yugo jumped up. "Let's go, then!"

"Very well; shall we head downstairs, since we've both finished eating now?" asked Gaston. "I'd like to, how do you say, work off the calories. Plus, we have our adoring fans downstairs to think about, no?"

"I just hope they don't mob us…" Yugo sweat-dropped.

The two headed for the door, then went back downstairs to the main dining area. "Hey, look! Yugo's back!" a diner shouted out.

"Yeah, he's back down here!" another diner responded. "And look—Gaston Altair's with him!"

Shouts and cheers broke out throughout the entire restaurant. "Heh…it seems they were just waiting for us to come down," Gaston remarked, chuckling.

"Hey! Are you guys going to duel?" another diner shouted to them.

"Yeah, they SHOULD duel!" several yelled.

"Duel! Duel! Duel!" some in a far corner began to chant. That chant caught on swiftly, though, and soon every patron was chanting. "Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel!"

Yugo and Gaston looked at each other and nodded. Then Yugo turned to the diners and announced, "All right, folks! Those of you who're itching for action, step outside!"

Instantly there was a mad rush as diners—some grabbing their meals in the process—headed for the doors. "No need to keep them waiting," said Gaston, taking out his Duel-Disk and putting it on his arm. "Let the entertainment begin, _Monsieur _Yugo!"

_"Oui!" _Yugo grinned, strapping on his own Duel-Disk. And with that, the two duelists walked toward the restaurant entrance, with the patrons cheering them from outside…

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Light and darkness clash! That's up in the next chapter! Review soon, please!


	47. Light vs Dark

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: _Oui, oui, oui!_ Famous duelists, coming up! And no, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or the French language.)

**CHAPTER 47 – Light vs. Dark**

DOMINO CITY, AT YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE, 11:30 a.m.

"Hey, hey, hey! Check it out—Yugo's finally going to duel!" Kyo grinned as he indicated the TV, where Yugo's dueling information was spread out: _**Yugo Muto. Age: 14. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Winner of the Kaibacorp Challenge Cup and this year's British Intercontinental Championship, and winner of the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship. Deck strategy: Dark Magician.**_

"Téa, Mrs. Muto, come on out here now! Yugo's about to duel!" Mr. Bakura called to the kitchen.

Mrs. Bakura and Grandma Muto hurried out in that instant, both bearing trays of sandwiches. "Finally! My grandson gets a chance to shine in the tournament!" Grandma beamed brightly.

"Who's his opponent?" Mrs. Bakura asked as she sat between her husband and son.

"Gaston Altair, the national champion of France," Mr. Muto replied. "He's supposed to be pretty strong as a duelist, and he has a powerful fan-base too." And as if to prove it, Gaston's information came on the screen at that moment. _**Gaston Altair. Age: 20. Nationality: France. Professional dueling experience: Won the French National Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2014; consistently in the Top 5 ranking of all collective pro-league circuit tournaments from 2015 onwards. Deck strategy: Lightsworn monsters.**_

"Now, let's see how this turns out!" Kyo smirked. "C'mon, Yugo! Do your best!"

----------

KAIBA LAND

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake smirked a little as he observed the action on the TV screen: Yugo and Gaston were emerging outside of the restaurant where they'd been inside only moments ago, and the fans were cheering them both on even as they stood apart from each other and strapped their Duel-Disks on. "Well, now," Drake said aloud. "Just moments ago, Usagi made a total and utter fool out of her opponent—and made it look good, too, dueling on the rollercoaster like she did. And now…how fitting that the World Champion should be the first out of the three 'special guests' I invited, to duel against one of my House of Cards…" His smirk turned into a sadistic sneer. "And to think, that that particular House of Cards member should be Gaston Altair, the French national champion…how will your luck hold against his strategy, Yugo Muto? Will you crash and burn, as you rightly deserve to do, or…?"

----------

Amidst the cheering of the spectators, Gaston smiled while he slotted his deck into his Duel-Disk. "Come, _Monsieur _Yugo! Let me show you just why I am the champion of France!" he shouted.

"Show me, then!" Yugo answered. "Let's go, Gaston! It's time to duel!"

**YUGO: 8000; GASTON: 8000**

The two drew their first five cards. "Now, since you are the World Champion, why not go first?" Gaston offered.

"I'll take you up on that offer, then!" Yugo nodded, and with that he drew his sixth card to start. "Now, first I'll summon my ever-trusty Dark Blade (ATK 1800, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly there came onto the field a knight in black armor with spiked shoulder plates and a spiked helmet, and a dark red cape to go with the outfit. In each hand he held a mighty sword. "Oh? Starting with one of your most well-known monsters right off the bat? Just what I would expect from you!" Gaston nodded.

"But how will you answer his challenge?" asked Yugo. "If you think you can, then go right ahead!" As if in agreement, Dark Blade held up his swords and pointed them menacingly at Gaston.

"I have the perfect answer for your Dark Blade, all right—and it's right here!" Whereupon Gaston took his turn and drew. "Now! Come forth to the battlefield, my trusty warrior—Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (ATK 1800, DEF 1200)!"

A flash of light erupted on Gaston's side of the field at that moment—then there stepped from that light a white-haired warrior clad in white armor with a matching cape. In his right hand he held a shining broadsword; in his left, an intricately designed shield. "So, what do you think, _Monsieur _Yugo?" asked Gaston. "My warrior of light, versus your warrior of darkness…which will win?"

Jain tightened his grip on his sword while glaring at Dark Blade; the latter monster, in turn, readied his twin swords. But Yugo frowned. "Their ATK strengths are equal…it's a stalemate."

"Is it?" Gaston returned. "Then allow me to prove you wrong! You see, Jain has an effect that gives him an edge in this fight—if he attacks an enemy monster, his ATK is increased by 300 during the Damage Step! So, go to battle, my Lightsworn Paladin!" And, shouting a battle cry, Jain rushed forward—and suddenly his ATK shot up to 2100! Then one second later, he cleanly sliced Dark Blade in two; the other monster disintegrated into pixel dust.

**YUGO: 7700; GASTON: 8000**

"The opening round thus concludes—with a victory for me!" Gaston chuckled, as Jain returned to his side of the field. "Now, I will set two cards facedown, and that will end my turn."

All at once, out of nowhere, Jain's body began to shine brightly! "Ah! What the heck?" Yugo exclaimed, putting a hand over his eyes to dampen the light's effect.

"Hmph…a side effect of my monster," Gaston sighed. "During each of my End Phases, Jain's effect forces me to send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard." So saying, he pulled the top two cards off his deck—but as he shuttled them into the Graveyard slot, all at once his Graveyard began to shine brightly with light. "Hmm? Well, now…"

"What now?" Yugo wondered.

"It would seem that Jain's effect of making me discard my deck's top two cards has triggered the effect of one of them," Gaston replied. "This particular card, when sent from my deck to my Graveyard, will immediately be Special Summoned. So…come to the battlefield—Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (ATK 2100, DEF 300)!"

Mere moments later, another pillar of light shone on the field, next to the Lightsworn Paladin…then from it there emerged a white-furred wolf-man wearing gigantic iron gauntlets with claws on them, and wielding a gold-staffed axe. "And now, my turn is finally complete," and Gaston bowed a little. "So, _Monsieur _Yugo…won't you take your turn?"

Yugo looked long and hard at the two Lightsworn monsters on Gaston's side…then slowly a grin appeared on his face. "Now THIS is what I like—a difficult duel! All right—time to get into it!" Burning with energy, he drew his card. "Now, say hello to a new monster I got recently! By discarding one card from my hand, I can Special Summon him from my hand to the field…The Tricky (ATK 2000, DEF 1200) in Defense Mode!"

There appeared at that moment a mysterious figure dressed in a yellow and black jester's outfit, with red question marks adorning his mask and chest, and a blue cape; he was currently kneeling in a defensive stance. "But I'm not done!" Yugo continued. "Next, I'll activate a Magic card—Tricky Spell 4! By sending the Tricky to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon one Tricky Token for each monster you control. Those Tokens are then treated as Level 5, Wind attribute, Spellcaster-type monsters with 2000 ATK and 1200 DEF, and they're summoned in Defense Mode. Also, they can't declare an attack."

"One for each monster I control? Then, since I control two monsters currently, you get two Tricky Tokens," Gaston commented—and just at that moment the Tricky vanished from the field, and two copies of him, also in a defensive stance, appeared to take his place.

"And now, the _coup de gras,"_ and Yugo chuckled at that. "These two Tricky Tokens may be incapable of attacking, but they can still be used as tributes! And I'll tribute both of them to summon one of my strongest monsters…Buster Blader (ATK 2600, DEF 2300) in Attack Mode!"

The two Tricky Tokens vanished—and in their place stood a heavily-armored warrior with a monstrous broadsword in hand. "And now I've got a monster that's tougher than either of your Lightsworns!" Yugo said triumphantly. "Now, Buster Blader, go make a rug-skin out of the Wulf, Lightsworn Beast!"

Buster Blader lifted his sword and charged forward—but suddenly Gaston shouted, "And I activate my Trap card, Lightsworn Barrier! As long as this card remains on the field, if one of my Lightsworn monsters is selected as an attack target, I can send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard to negate that attack!"

In a moment a large light barrier sprouted in front of Jain, even as Gaston discarded his deck's top two cards to the Graveyard—and the result was that Buster Blader's sword got forcibly halted inches away from Jain's head. "Damn…" Yugo growled softly. "All right. I end my turn."

Again Gaston drew from his deck. "It is time to, as you say, turn up the game a notch," he announced. "For now I activate my Trap card, Light Spiral!"

Just then, behind Gaston, a corkscrewing pillar of light burst out of the ground and went skyward! "Wondering what this is, yes?" asked Gaston. "Let me tell you. As long as this card is on the field, each time cards are sent from the top of my deck to the Graveyard by the effect of a Lightsworn monster, then the top card of _your _deck will be removed from play."

Yugo flinched. "You're kidding!"

"I'm afraid not," said Gaston. "And now, I activate a Field Magic card…Realm of Light!"

Suddenly, their surroundings disappeared, replaced moments later by the grounds of a huge white palace off which the sun reflected brightly. "Ooohhh…!" the spectators looked appreciatively at the beauty of the new environs.

"Allow me to explain how this card works for me," said Gaston. "Each time a card or cards are sent from my deck to the Graveyard, the Realm of Light receives what is known as a Shine Counter. All Lightsworn monsters increase their ATK by 100 points for each Shine Counter that the Realm of Light possesses…and just so you know, if the Realm of Light would be destroyed by a card effect, I can remove two Shine Counters from it instead so as to save it. Now, for a small demonstration of what exactly a Shine Counter is…"

Whereupon he held up one of his three remaining hand-cards. "I activate the Magic card, Solar Recharge! By discarding one Lightsworn monster from my hand, I draw two cards and then send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard—and so I'll send Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid (ATK 1200, DEF 1800) from my hand to activate this card!" And quickly he sent the named card from his hand to the Graveyard, drew two cards from his deck, and then shuttled his deck's top two cards to the Graveyard.

All at once, however, one of the Realm of Light's columns began to shine brightly as a glowing round orb appeared on it. "Ah, that would be the Shine Counter that my Realm of Light has now gotten, since I sent cards from my deck to the Graveyard with my Solar Recharge card just now," Gaston commented—and then Jain's ATK increased slightly to 1900, while Wulf's went up to 2200.

"Mmm-hmm…what else?" Yugo queried.

"What else? Well…" Gaston examined the cards he now held. "I will now summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" And then he called forth a short-haired woman wearing a beautiful sleeveless white top, a knee-length white skirt, a white scarf wrapped around her shoulders, and her hands were glowing with mystical energy. As she settled onto the field, Realm of Light with its single Shine Counter increased her ATK slightly to 1100. "And now, to activate her effect…"

"Oh?" Yugo cocked an eyebrow.

"Indeed," Gaston nodded. "Once per turn, I can discard one card from my hand to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard. And I know there's one in there right now that meets the criteria…"

"Uh, by any chance, would that be that Aurkus monster you discarded a little while ago?" asked Yugo.

"Heh. Good guess, but…the monster I have in mind is a different one that was sent there earlier by my Lightsworn Paladin's effect," Gaston corrected him. "Now, return to the field in Defense Mode…Jenis, Lightsworn Mender (ATK 300, DEF 2100)!"

There then appeared on the field another young woman, this one clad in priestly robes and a white cap, and clutching a short rod. As she emerged in a kneeling stance, Realm of Light increased her ATK to 400. "And now, since there isn't anything else I can do for this turn, I will hand over to you—oops!" Gaston slapped a hand against his forehead. "I forgot—since this is now my End Phase, my Lightsworns' effect will activate!"

Yugo made a face. "So, wait—you're going to discard cards again? And with four Lightsworn monsters on the field now…aren't you afraid of decking yourself out?"

"I feel the need to correct you, _mon ami,"_ Gaston spoke up. "It is true that most of my Lightsworns possess an effect that makes me send cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard, but not all of them do. Case in point…" He indicated Wulf, Lightsworn Beast. "Wulf here has no such effect. Neither does Jenis, who I've just called forth…but watch what she CAN do! Now, Jain and Lumina's effects activate!"

Jain glew brightly at that moment, as did Lumina. "As before, since this is the End Phase, Jain's effect has me send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard," said Gaston, and this he did. "And Lumina will now have me send the top _three_ cards of my deck to the Graveyard," Gaston continued, and this he did as well. At once another Shine Counter appeared on one of the Realm of Light's columns, so now Jain's ATK was at 2000, Wulf had 2300 ATK, Lumina had 1200 ATK, and Jenis had 500 ATK…

…but suddenly, to Yugo's surprise, Jenis began to glow as well. "And now Jenis's effect comes into play," Gaston smirked. "If, during the End Phase of this turn, a card or cards were sent from my deck to the Graveyard as a result of a Lightsworn monster's effect, Jenis inflicts 500 points of damage to my opponent while I gain 500 life points!"

"You're kidding!" Yugo started—but suddenly he felt himself in excruciating pain as mysterious light energy surrounded his body. "Aaaargh…dammit…!" he groaned as his life points dropped and Gaston's rose.

**YUGO: 7200; GASTON: 8500**

"And a little clarification, as much as this particular one irks me," said Gaston. "Even if I sent cards from my deck to the Graveyard through the effects of multiple Lightsworn monsters, Jenis's effect only activates once for the turn. However, to make up for that…now my Light Spiral trap card will remove the top card on your deck from play!"

To Yugo's consternation, his deck's top card suddenly got sucked away into the Light Spiral! "Geez…this bites!" he sighed. "Oh, well…I at least can be glad that Light Spiral of yours won't remove the top card of my deck from play for _every_ Lightsworn monster's effect that made you discard from your deck…"

_"Oui, _it is a disappointment to me, but the card's text does say 'each time a card or cards are sent from my deck to my Graveyard by a Lightsworn monster's effect,'" Gaston quoted. "So the discarding effects of Jain and Lumina activating during this one End Phase, even as separate card effects, activated simultaneously, and so their activating together is counted as one single time. The same with my Realm of Light; even though it was more than one Lightsworn monster's effect that activated, since they activated together it's all counted as happening at one single time, so I have only gotten one more Shine Counter instead of two. A comfort to you, I suppose. But oh, well, in any case, now what will you do, _mon ami?"_

"Hmm…" Yugo examined the field. "I'll just bide my time till I can get through your defenses, that's all. After all, you may have a whole lot more monsters on the field than I do right now, and you may have a way to stop my attacks, but my monster's ATK is still way higher. I can still win this—and I _will,_ too."

"Well, I must admit, I admire your tenacity, _Monsieur _Yugo," said Gaston. "But please remember, I am not a pro-league duelist for nothing. Defeating me will take far more than just an iron resolve."

"Then I'll show you strength that goes beyond an iron resolve!" And with that, Yugo drew his next card, so now he held three. "Well, how about that? I can show you a hands-on demonstration of that kind of strength, after all!"

"Oh?" Gaston cocked an eyebrow.

"That's right." Yugo smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, Gaston…how many cards are in your Graveyard right now?"

A look of puzzlement on his face, Gaston touched a button on his Duel-Disk, and a moment later his Graveyard info came up. _"Un, deux, trois…_there are eleven cards in my Graveyard at present. Why?"

"Well, your Lightsworn Barrier card there…if I attack one of your Lightsworn monsters, you can send two cards from the top of your deck to the Graveyard to negate that attack, right?" Yugo continued.

"Yes…?" Gaston's eyes narrowed with sudden suspicion.

"You're wondering why I've asked you all of that…well, I'll soon show you." Yugo held up one of his cards. "I activate the magic of Monster Reborn! Now I can Special Summon a monster from the Graveyard, and I'm going for the one I discarded when I Special Summoned the Tricky earlier…my ever-trustworthy Dark Magician (ATK 2500, DEF 2100)!"

A pillar of light in the shape of an ankh emerged on Yugo's side of the field at that moment…then from that light there stepped the famous purple-robed magician, with his green staff at the ready even as he glared at Gaston's monsters. "But I'm not through yet," Yugo went on. "Next, I'll equip Dark Magician with a Magic card, Magic Formula, to increase his ATK by 700 points!" And then, mere moments later, the mage found himself holding a leather tome in his left hand while his ATK rose to 3200.

"And now…" Yugo held up the last card left in his hand. "I activate one more Magic card, Diffusion Wave-Motion! By paying 1000 life points, I can select one Level 7 or higher Spellcaster-type monster on my side of the field—and Dark Magician happens to be a Level 7 Spellcaster. During this turn, only that selected monster can attack…but then it'll be able to attack all monsters on your side of the field once each!"

"I see…" Gaston grimaced a little.

**YUGO: 6200; GASTON: 8500**

"Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack…times four!" Yugo cried. In response, Dark Magician raised his staff while the tip of it glowed with black energy—and he fired it off toward Gaston's side of the field. As the energy ball flew forward, it split into four smaller energy balls…and all four collided onto Gaston's side simultaneously with a tremendous explosive crash!

Smoke billowed forth from the point of the explosion. Yugo looked forward…and smirked. "Heh…just as I expected you might do, Gaston."

Little by little, the smoke cleared away…and everyone could see at that point that force-fields were surrounding the four Lightsworn monsters. _"Oui, Monsieur _Yugo," Gaston spoke up. "For every attack you launched on each of my monsters, I've used the effect of my Lightsworn Barrier and sent two cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard to negate the attack. Since there were four attacks that were negated, that means that eight cards have been sent from the top of my deck to the Graveyard. And furthermore, since there were four instances of cards being sent from my deck to the Graveyard just now, my Realm of Light has received four more Shine Counters…thus increasing the ATK of my monsters. Take a look."

And indeed, now there were six columns of the Realm of Light's palace that shone with Shine Counters…and Jain now had 2400 ATK, Wulf had 2700 ATK, Lumina had 1600 ATK, and Jenis had 900 ATK. Yugo nodded as he observed all this. "And yet, for all the strengthening you're giving your monsters, it'll all be for nothing," he chuckled. "Because, as powerful as your Lightsworn strategy is, it's got a flaw: the number of cards in your deck. No matter how many cards you pack into your deck, they're bound to run out eventually with the way you keep sending them from the deck to the Graveyard."

"So…that's your intention, then? To purposely force me to continue sending cards out of my deck until I have none left?" asked Gaston. "Well, with the side-effect that the Lightsworns possess, you could certainly pull it off. But _will_ you be able to do so this day, though?"

"Watch me," said Yugo. "Anyway, now I end my turn."

His eyes narrowing, Gaston drew his next card…and suddenly he began to chuckle. _"Monsieur _Yugo…look me straight in the eye and answer me honestly," he said. "Did you really think me so foolish, that I wouldn't keep the weakness of my own deck strategy in mind or be prepared to find a way to counter it somehow? If that was what you thought, then you were foolish to have me as an opponent from the start. Now, I shall set one card facedown…and now, Jain, Lightsworn Paladin—strike down his Buster Blader!" And, his ATK increasing briefly to 2700 via his effect, Jain dashed up to Buster Blader and sliced off his head with one strike of the sword.

**YUGO: 6100; GASTON: 8500**

"And with that done, I will now end my turn—and as my End Phase begins, Jain and Lumina will activate their effects and send cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard," Gaston went on…and as Jain and Lumina both glowed with bright light, first, Jain's effect made him send the top two cards to the Graveyard; then Lumina's effect caused him to send off the top three cards.

"Now, since cards were sent off from the top of my deck to the Graveyard, the Realm of Light gets one more Shine Counter," Gaston added, and a seventh column on the grounds of the palace lit up—while Jain's now-readjusted ATK rose a little more to 2500, Wulf's went up to 2800, Lumina's to 1700, and Jenis's to 1000. "And before I forget," Gaston continued, "since cards were sent from my deck to the Graveyard by the effect of my Lightsworn monsters, Jenis's effect activates once again!" And as Jenis held up her rod, the tip of it began to glow—and Yugo grimaced as light enveloped his entire being.

**YUGO: 5600; GASTON: 9000**

"And since you sent cards from your deck to the Graveyard thanks to your Lightsworn monsters, your Light Spiral trap card's activating again…and it'll take the top card of my deck and remove it from play," Yugo recalled ruefully—even as at that moment the top card of his deck got sucked into the Light Spiral.

"And with that, my turn truly ends," Gaston concluded. "Now, _Monsieur _Yugo…take your turn, if you will…"

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE

"Hoo boy…it's not looking good for Yugo, is it?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.

"What're you talking about? His Dark Magician is the strongest monster on the field right now!" Mrs. Taylor pointed out.

"It's not always about who's got the strongest monster, Serenity…my years of dueling taught me that much," Mr. Wheeler said gravely. "It's all about who's got the better tactics—and right now, as much as I hate to admit it, the evidence of just which of these guys is in a better position is right here on the TV."

"C'mon, Dad, you're being such a pessimist," Jenna complained. "Yugo'll pull through somehow, I know he will!"

"That's right!" Miki agreed. "He didn't become the World Champion through sheer luck, you know!"

"Well, let's watch and see what happens," Mr. Taylor suggested.

----------

KAIBA LAND, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Yugo now took his turn and drew his card, replenishing his hand—and just at that moment Gaston spoke up. _"Monsieur _Yugo," he said, "how good is your math?"

"Pardon?" Yugo looked up. "My math? What's that got to do with anything?"

"You will soon see as I explain to you," said Gaston. "Just for the record, my deck always has the minimum amount in it—forty cards. The total count of cards in my Graveyard at this moment is twenty-four…I have one card in my hand…and I have a total of eight cards on the field at current. That means, then, that I have seven cards left in my deck. And pardon the intrusion, but how many cards have you got in _your_ Graveyard right now?"

"Uh…" Yugo frowned. "If I recall right…there's probably about six cards or so in there…" He touched a button on his Duel-Disk, and his Graveyard information came up. "Uh-huh, six cards in there."

"And two of your deck's cards so far have been removed from play thanks to my Light Spiral trap card," said Gaston. "And from what I can see, you now have one card in your hand and two cards on the field in total. And how many cards do you usually put in your deck?"

"Hmm…well, for today, I put forty cards in my deck—although usually the number varies depending on the strategy I want to work with," Yugo admitted. "Where's this going, though?"

"I'll soon tell you." Gaston nodded meaningfully. "So, forty cards…minus the one in your hand and the two on your side of the field…the two that have been removed from play…and the six resting in your Graveyard right now…that means you have about twenty-nine cards remaining in your deck, correct?"

"I guess so…but what are you driving at? I still don't see your point," Yugo said impatiently.

"Then go ahead and do what you will. Soon I will reveal everything." Gaston smirked.

"You'll be sorry you said that!" said Yugo. "Because now I'm going to summon a monster, in Attack Mode…my Time Wizard (ATK 500, DEF 400)!"

Suddenly, there appeared on Yugo's side of the field a little clock-faced mage, clad in a blue cape and wielding a staff in one hand. "He may seem tiny, but here's how his effect works," said Yugo. "I can toss a coin and call heads or tails…if I call it right, all of your monsters will be destroyed. But if I call it wrong, then all of MY monsters will be destroyed, plus I'll suffer damage equal to half their total ATK."

"So…now it's a fifty-fifty game of chance," said Gaston. "And if you fail, not only will you lose both of your monsters and some of your life points this turn, but on my next turn I will be free to wipe you out with my monsters. So…for your coin toss, decide well, _Monsieur _Yugo."

"Then get ready—because I'm deciding now!" Yugo declared. "Coin toss, go! And I choose…heads!"

A holographic coin appeared and was quickly flipped. It spun in the air several times as it ascended…then it began to descend. It fell to the ground…and hit…and rolled around a few times…then came to a stop. And the result was—heads!

"Got it!" Yugo cheered. "Now…go, Time wizard! Use your powers, now!"

_"Time Magic!" _the little mage's voice echoed across the field as it waved its staff. Then—out of nowhere, the entire field appeared distorted. Before their eyes, everyone could see eons passing in seconds…while little by little the four Lightsworns became older and older with every passing second. At length all four of them crumbled into dust…and only then did reality shift back to normal.

"My Lightsworns…" Gaston's face darkened as he watched the remains of his monsters vanish from the field.

Then, just at that moment, Dark Magician began to glow with colorful energy. "Hang on, Gaston—there's a little more," Yugo continued. "Since I succeeded with Time Wizard's effect while I had Dark Magician on the field, I can now send Dark Magician to the Graveyard to Special Summon a stronger version of him from my deck..."

Mere seconds later, the energy surrounding Dark Magician exploded outward—and his form radically changed. Now his robes were more plentiful…and he was an old man! "Meet the Dark Sage (ATK 2800, DEF 3200)," Yugo announced, "and since he's been Special Summoned successfully, his effect activates! Now, I can pick one Magic card from my deck and add it to my hand, after which I shuffle my deck—and the one I pick is my ever-trusty Pot of Greed!"

Dark Sage held up his staff, which suddenly glowed at its tip with colorful energy…and as Yugo's deck seemed to shine in its slot, he pulled it out, took out the named card, shuffled the deck, and then replaced it in its slot—and inexplicably, his life points rose to 6600.

**YUGO: 6600; GASTON: 9000**

"Oh, almost forgot—Dark Magician was equipped with Magic Formula, wasn't he?" Yugo seemed a little sheepish. "When Magic Formula is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I increase my life points by 1000 points."

"So now you have eight cards in your Graveyard, and twenty-eight cards left in your deck," Gaston spoke up suddenly. "Very well. Now it can begin."

"Eh? Wait, you're back with the whole math thing again?" Yugo asked, just a tad annoyed.

"Oh, if you only realized what I have in store for you now, _Monsieur _Yugo!" Gaston pointed to his facedown card. "Now, I activate my Trap card…Exchange of the Spirit!"

Gaston's facedown card finally flipped face-up—and suddenly his life points dropped to 8000. But on Yugo's face was a look of sheer confusion. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa—say what?"

**YUGO: 6600; GASTON: 8000**

"Ah, so you do not know of this card, Exchange of the Spirit?" Gaston asked, an amused look on his face. "Very well, I will tell you what it does. First, to activate its effect, I pay 1000 of my own life points—which I just did, as you will have observed. Plus, I could only activate it once I had at least fifteen cards in my Graveyard—and, as you know, I had far more than that in there. Then…" He grinned. "Once those requirements have been met—each of us must exchange the cards in our decks with those in our Graveyards!"

"Huh?" Bewilderment and horror combined as one on Yugo's face at that moment. "But—then that means—"

"Ah, now you catch on," said Gaston. "The twenty-eight cards that now remain in your deck will all be placed in your Graveyard…while the eight cards that are currently in your Graveyard will now be shuffled and placed into your deck slot! Of course, those same stipulations apply to me, but unlike you, I'll have many more cards in my deck and only a few in my Graveyard when all is said and done! Now…exchange those cards, _Monsieur _Yugo!"

His face set in a bitter grimace, Yugo briefly pocketed the Pot of Greed that he'd just added to his hand from his deck; then he pulled out his whole deck, placed that into another pocket, and then pulled the cards out of his Graveyard. Next, he shuffled the Graveyard cards and placed them into his deck slot, and then put his entire former deck into his Graveyard. As he took his Pot of Greed out of his pocket, he watched while Gaston went through the same routine. "So this was what you were talking about…why you weren't worried about decking yourself out with your Lightsworn monsters' effects," he lamented.

"Quite so, quite so," Gaston nodded. "Of course, it would have been far more brilliant on my part if I could have succeeded in activating my Exchange of the Spirit when you had NO cards in your Graveyard…although we can both guess what would have happened then, yes?"

"Indeed," Yugo muttered. "How humiliating…to only have a deck with eight cards left in it…through no fault of my own, at that…"

"While I now have twenty-eight cards restored to my deck, and the seven that were formerly my deck now sleep in my Graveyard!" Gaston laughed triumphantly. "Well, since my Exchange of the Spirit is now in the Graveyard, that makes eight Graveyard cards that I possess…but I digress!"

Yugo shook his head. "And YOU forget that it's still my turn, and I can still attack—and since you haven't got any Lightsworn monsters on the field anymore, your Lightsworn Barrier is useless to you!"

"Oh…right." Gaston sweat-dropped.

"Go, Dark Sage! Attack directly with Thousand Magic Attack!" Yugo yelled—and Dark Sage complied, blasting a fiery bolt of magic from his staff that hit Gaston head-on.

**YUGO: 6600; GASTON: 5200**

Then: "Now, Time Wizard, it's your turn! Attack directly!" And Time Wizard blasted a smaller ball of energy from his staff, but it nonetheless knocked Gaston backwards.

**YUGO: 6600; GASTON: 4700**

"Ungh…" Gaston shakily got back up. "I do hope I haven't angered you, _Monsieur _Yugo?"

"Well…I have to admit, your little stunt with your Trap card caught me off-guard…" Yugo sighed—and shrugged. "But, oh well, it could've been worse. Anyway, I'll end my turn now."

Gaston promptly drew again. "Well, _Monsieur _Yugo, it has been fun, but I'm afraid that now, things will come to a close," he said quietly. "You see…I've been holding a card in my hand for a little while, my trump card, one that will decimate both you and your monsters."

"Your…trump card?" Yugo cocked an eyebrow.

_"Oui."_ Gaston nodded. "But first, let us confirm the cards in my Graveyard, eh?"

Again he touched a button on his Duel-Disk, bringing up his Graveyard information. "Now, _Monsieur _Yugo…have a look at my Graveyard. How many Lightsworn monsters with different names do you see in there?"

"Hmm…" Yugo took a look. "Uh…I see four."

_"Oui—_and it is providential for me that there is that exact number in there at this time," said Gaston. "Celestia, Lightsworn Angel (ATK 2300, DEF 200)…Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior (ATK 1850, DEF 1300)…Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon (ATK 2000, DEF 1600)…and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter (ATK 200, DEF 100)…their power, even while in the Graveyard, will facilitate the summoning of my deck's most terrifying creature yet!"

Yugo's eyes narrowed. _Why am I suddenly having a bad feeling about this?_

Gaston then held up one of his two hand-cards. "And now…since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters with different names in the Graveyard…I summon you! Come and bring your light of destruction to this battlefield…my great Judgment Dragon (ATK 3000, DEF 2600)!"

All at once—an intense light flooded the field, so much so that Yugo and the spectators had to shield their eyes or be blinded. "ACK! Turn down the lights, dude!" Yugo yelled.

Gaston, however, only laughed. "It is not the light itself you should fear, _Monsieur _Yugo…it is the monster that dwells within the light. Behold!"

Cracking his eyes open a little, Yugo peered out—and then his eyes widened some more and his jaw dropped. "…the hell…?"

There, on Gaston's side of the field, was a large white dragon with feather-like scales, dark crimson eyes, and blood-red claws. As it glared down at Yugo, it let out a menacing growl. "My Judgment Dragon…beautiful, is it not?" asked Gaston. "But indeed, it is as deadly as it is beautiful…for by paying 1000 life points, I can have it destroy all other cards on the field—including the two you currently control!"

Yugo turned white. "Uh-oh."

**YUGO: 6600; GASTON: 3700**

"Go, Judgment Dragon! Annihilate everything on the field!" Gaston yelled. And in response, Judgment Dragon lifted its head skyward and blasted a huge burst of light from its mouth. The light seemed to sail all the way off into space…only for it, seconds later, to come crashing back down in smaller hail-bursts, obliterating not only Dark Sage and Time Wizard, but also Gaston's Light Spiral and Lightsworn Barrier trap cards! Although, oddly enough, in spite of being bombarded by destruction, the Realm of Light managed to remain steady—but two of its seven Shine Counters mysteriously vanished.

At length the hail of light ceased…and Yugo, having huddled on the ground while chaos raged around him, looked up and beheld what had happened. "Ungh…okay, that wasn't pretty…" Then he looked around again. "Hey, waidaminnit—how come your Realm of Light's still standing? It should've been totaled!"

"Were it not for the Realm of Light's effect, it should certainly have been destroyed," Gaston admitted. "But as I told you earlier, if it would have been destroyed by a card effect, I can simply remove two Shine Counters from it instead. It had seven before…now, it only has five."

"Crap…" Yugo groaned.

"And this is only the beginning of your troubles, _Monsieur _Yugo," Gaston went on. "For I have a new monster to summon…Ehren, Lightsworn Monk (ATK 1600, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Then he called out, next to Judgment Dragon, a young woman in a white breastplate and boots and red skirt, wielding an iron bo-staff. As she made her appearance on the field, the five Shine Counters on the Realm of Light increased her ATK to 2100. "Now, Ehren, attack him directly! Shining Staff Attack!"

Spinning her bo-staff over her head, Ehren let out a battle shriek as she leaped forward and spun her body in midair. She then swung her weapon straight into Yugo's gut, causing him to double over. "Ungh…!" Yugo dropped to one knee.

**YUGO: 4500; GASTON: 3700**

"And now, it is time for Judgment Dragon to attack!" said Gaston. "Now, my Judgment Dragon! Strike with your Ragnarok Cannon Blast!"

And as Yugo struggled to get back up, Judgment Dragon's mouth began to fill up with immense white light…

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake watched with a satisfied smirk on his face even as, on the wall-mounted TV, Gaston's Judgment Dragon fired a blast of light from its mouth, consuming Yugo's side of the field and lowering his life points to 1500. "Serves you right, Muto," he said aloud. "And to think, they gave the title of Duel Monsters World Champion to a little bitch like you…well, it'll be fitting that you'll be the first of my three 'special guests' to be knocked out of my tournament. Then the world will see you for what you are—nothing but a punk."

Just then the door opened, and in stepped Jessica. "Welcome back," Drake said coolly. "Finished with your little fit from earlier?"

"Whatever," Jessica flung at him. Then she looked at the TV. "Oh? Gaston's dueling now?"

"Yeah…against the so-called 'World Champion'," replied Drake. "But that broom-headed bastard can't even mash ants, let alone stand up to Gaston."

"Well, Yugo IS World Champion; if he's going to lose, at least he won't lose without putting up some kind of fight," Jessica said reasonably.

_"If."_ Drake's mouth twisted into a sour grimace.

"Aw, come on, Drake—if you're not going to give anybody else in this tournament any credit, at least give Yugo some, why don't you?" Jessica demanded. "After all, he won the final duel of the Dueltropolis tournament under some heavy odds. Or have you forgotten?"

"Beginner's luck; that's all it was—beginner's luck." Drake shook his head. "But now his luck's just about run out. Gaston was able to play his Exchange of the Spirit trap card, so now Muto's deck has been very badly thinned. I was paying close attention to that…at this point, his deck's only got eight cards left thanks to Gaston, and the majority of the cards that make up those eight aren't worth the price of grass. Yugo Muto is a sitting duck waiting to be butchered."

Jessica sighed. "Well…let's see how it turns out, eh? If nothing else, it'll be fun to watch this duel come to a close."

"Whatever rocks your boat," Drake shrugged.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ The duel continues next chapter! And even if you already know from previous reading how it'll turn out, it's still fun to read all over again, especially with the life point tallying…right? Anyway, more to come!


	48. Dark Deal

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The end of the duel is nigh…and no, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 48 – Dark Deal**

KAIBA LAND

**YUGO: 1500; GASTON: 3700**

"Ungh…"

Slowly Yugo got back up after Judgment Dragon's attack had knocked him down. "Geez…that _hurt,_ you know!"

Across from him, Gaston shrugged. "Be that as it may, _Monsieur _Yugo, the fact remains that now you are in quite a fix. I remember the eight cards that were in your Graveyard and are now in your deck slot thanks to my Exchange of the Spirit card…and they cannot help you now. But I will not force you to forfeit…I'll allow you to choose whether you wish to or not, before I take you out in my next turn. So, go ahead…I end my turn."

All at once, Gaston's deck began to shine even as both Judgment Dragon and Ehren, Lightsworn Monk began to glow with bright white light. "Ah, yes…as with the other Lightsworn monsters, Ehren requires that I send cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard—in her case, three. And, Judgment Dragon requires that I send four cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard…so, that's seven cards. A hefty price, but one that I can pay right now." And with that, Gaston sent the top seven cards of his deck to the Graveyard—and another Shine Counter appeared on one of the Realm of Light's columns, so it now sported six in all. "NOW I can hand over to you."

The stats of the duel were now shown for everyone's benefit: Gaston led with 3700 life points, while Yugo held on with 1500. Yugo had one card in his hand, his Pot of Greed; Gaston had an empty hand. On the field, while Yugo's side was empty, of course Gaston had his two monsters—Judgment Dragon and Ehren, Lightsworn Monk—in Attack Mode, with Ehren's ATK now being 2200 thanks to the six Shine Counters on the Realm of Light field magic card. And now…it was Yugo's turn to draw.

Yugo looked at the Pot of Greed in his hand; then he looked down at his Graveyard pile, and then at his very scanty deck. _Gaston probably knows already, but I'm not going to just throw in the towel…what he doesn't know is that I still have a chance to make a comeback. It all depends on this draw…and me using my Pot of Greed and hoping for the best…well, all right—here goes!_

He placed his hand on the deck and readied himself to draw. _C'mon, cards…show me some love here!_

Then he drew.

Gaston eyed Yugo. "Well?"

Yugo glanced at the card he now held. "Hmm…all right, Gaston, I'll now activate the Pot of Greed card in my hand, and draw two more cards." And this he did swiftly, so now he held a total of three cards.

"Now your deck only has five cards left," Gaston observed. "But you won't even get the privilege of lasting five more turns…next turn, as I have said…"

"Next turn, I'll decimate that Judgment Dragon of yours!" Yugo said suddenly.

"What?" Gaston barked.

"See, Gaston, I know the cards that are in my deck right now, just as you do, since they _were_ in my Graveyard before," said Yugo. "However…you don't know which cards were in my deck _before_ your Exchange of the Spirit sent them to the Graveyard. And I know that there's still a few cards that I've got that'll turn this whole duel around for me. I'll soon show you."

"Such bravado...even in the face of imminent defeat…" Gaston cocked an eyebrow. "Very well, _Monsieur _Yugo. If you think you can win, then show me how."

"With pleasure!" Yugo held up one of his three cards. "Now, first things first! By discarding a card from my hand, I'll Special Summon this monster from my hand…the Tricky!"

A moment later, the Tricky came back onto the field, arms crossed over his chest. But Gaston frowned. "Please. What can such a weak monster do against my two creatures over here?"

"Observe, then." Yugo held up his remaining card. "You remember this card, right? It's my Magic card—Monster Reborn! And I'm going to use it to revive a monster from my Graveyard…one you haven't seen yet! Now, come to the field…Dark Magician of Chaos (ATK 2800, DEF 2600) in Attack Mode!"

The familiar ankh of light shone on the field at that moment—and from it there emerged a mage clad in tight black leather from head to toe, with pale skin, wild black hair, and a large red and black headdress. In one hand he held a long staff with a shining green jewel at its tip. On seeing the new arrival, Gaston's face was full of amazement. "My word…!"

"Surprise, surprise," Yugo was smiling now. "But guess what—that's not all there is to him. For when he's Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, his powers allow me to select one Magic card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. And the card I want is the very card I just used to summon this guy—Monster Reborn!"

Suddenly Yugo's Graveyard slot shone, and the Monster Reborn card seemed to pop out on its own; without missing a beat, Yugo added the card to his hand. "And next," he said, "I'll activate Monster Reborn again! Only this time, the monster I'm summoning is the one I just discarded to summon the Tricky…and you ought to remember him well—Buster Blader!"

Again the ankh of light shone on Yugo's side of the field…and Buster Blader emerged from it, his sword at the ready. "And get this," Yugo continued. "Buster Blader's effect increases his ATK by 500 points for every Dragon-type monster on your side of the field and in your Graveyard! And there's your Judgment Dragon over there, and your Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon in your Graveyard, so…now YOU do the math, Gaston!" And as he finished speaking, Buster Blader's ATK shot up to 3600!

_"Sacré bleu!"_ Gaston cried out.

"Go, Buster Blader! Destroy his Judgment Dragon with your Dragonslayer Sword!" Yugo commanded. In response, Buster Blader hefted his sword upon his shoulder and charged forward. Right as he came close to Judgment Dragon, he jumped high into the air and slashed downward—and cleaved the dragon cleanly in two. The next thing, Judgment Dragon exploded in a burst of light.

**YUGO: 1500; GASTON: 3100**

"No! My Judgment Dragon!" Gaston wailed.

"And your Lightsworn Monk is next!" added Yugo. "Dark Magician of Chaos, wipe her out with Chaos Scepter Blast!" In turn, the Chaos Mage fired a huge blast of mystic energy from his staff; the energy blast consumed Ehren, and she screamed in agony as she was reduced to nothing.

**YUGO: 1500; GASTON: 2500**

"And when Dark Magician of Chaos destroys a monster in battle, that monster is removed from play instead of going to the Graveyard," Yugo continued. "And now, you're wide open! Tricky, attack him directly!" And—the Tricky seemed to vanish. As Gaston looked around for the spellcaster, suddenly he found himself confronted by numerous illusions of Tricky that pounced on him and hit him with numerous punches, over and over, while his life points sharply dropped to a mere 500.

**YUGO: 1500; GASTON: 500**

"Whew…" Yugo passed a hand over his brow. "That was too close. All right…I end my turn for now."

Gaston's eyes were overshadowed for a moment as the dust from the latest spate of attacks settled…then he looked up with a big grin. "To snatch a chance for victory from the jaws of defeat…you are truly the World Champion, _Monsieur _Yugo. I applaud you." And he clapped a little.

"Aw, shucks," Yugo chuckled a little, out of embarrassment.

Gaston then drew his next card, replenishing his hand…and he sighed. "Alas, the light of victory does not shine on me this day. Today, that light has shone on you, _Monsieur _Yugo, and as such, as a true duelist I should count my losses and yield. If I continue, you will wipe me out on your next turn anyway."

Yugo shook his head. "You're surrendering?"

"At this point…it is all I can do." Gaston then revealed the card he'd just drawn. "Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress (ATK 1700, DEF 200)…all she would be able to do is defend me from one attack, and you would have two additional opportunities to claim the rest of my life points. So…while I still have what is left of them…I shall retire from this duel with honor."

And with that, Gaston laid his hand over his deck—surrendered the duel.

**YUGO vs. GASTON: Yugo wins by surrender**

Immediately the images of the Realm of Light and Yugo's three monsters vanished from the field…and then someone in the crowd started clapping. Then two persons…then three, four, five six…then little by little the ovation spread till everyone who'd been watching was applauding. Some even started to cheer and whistle. "Great duel! Way to go, you guys!" many now cried.

"Nice show, World Champ!" a few hailed Yugo.

"Good effort there, Frenchman!" others praised Gaston.

Gaston scratched his nose as the acclaim continued. "Well…I am out of the competition now. But I will say, _Monsieur _Yugo, even when the odds came hard against you, you still fought honorably."

Yugo nodded even as he started to walk toward Gaston. "Don't forget yourself, Gaston—you played a noble game, yourself," he answered. "If the game had gone even a little bit differently, I probably would've lost. You really would've mopped up the competition if you'd been at Dueltropolis, I'm convinced of that."

_"Oui. Merci."_ Gaston smiled. "I sincerely hope to duel you again one day soon, _Monsieur._ Till then, good luck in your endeavors." And he held out his hand.

"Right back at you there, _Monsieur," _Yugo replied, and he took Gaston's hand and shook it respectfully.

The cheering from the fans intensified at that moment…and somewhere at the back of the crowd, a figure clad in a motorcycle helmet turned and quietly walked off elsewhere…

----------

"DAMMIT TO HELL!" Drake exploded in a fury, while on the TV screen Yugo and Gaston shook hands amidst the cheering of the surrounding fans. "Gaston Altair, national champion of France and one of the stronger duelists in the House of Cards—how the frigging hell could HE lose to a punk like Muto? HOW?"

"Drake, calm yourself down before you give yourself a coronary," Jessica rolled her eyes at him. "Yugo won, Gaston lost. No big deal—and Gaston's taking the loss like a man, too."

"I don't give a rat's ass!" Drake stormed. "I want Muto, and Seta Kaiba, and Janus especially, knocked out of this tournament—those three must be put in their place! Jessica, you're an eliminator—get out there and _**eliminate!"**_

Jessica sighed. "Yes, _Master,"_ she grumbled sarcastically as she got up and left.

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT THE KAIBA MANSION, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"Heh." Kaiba smirked a giant smirk, even as his butler poured a fresh cup of coffee for him. "Score one against the little Phoenix punk."

----------

MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, AT THE SAME TIME

"Go, Yugo! Go, Yugo! Go, Yugo! Go, Yugo!" Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Taylor, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, danced around the living room, pumping their free hands into the air in victory.

"It's your birthday! It's your birthday!" Jenna and Miki chanted simultaneously, dancing around each other.

"Oh, quit it, all of you—you're like a bunch of high school cheerleaders on sugar highs!" Mrs. Wheeler laughed.

"Three cheers for our very own Yugo! Hip, hip, hooray!" Mrs. Taylor cried.

----------

YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE, AT THE SAME TIME

"I say, pour me another one! This calls for major celebration!" Mr. Bakura shouted gleefully, holding up his now-empty mug.

"Yeah, Dad, you know it! Pour me one too, please!" Kyo yelled, picking up an empty cup.

"Oy, oy, aren't you a bit young to be drinking?" Mrs. Bakura pushed Kyo back onto the couch.

"Aw, come on, Mom!" Kyo protested.

Mr. Muto shook his head and smiled. "Just look at this celebration…and this is only Yugo's first duel in the tournament," he remarked.

"Now, now, dear, let's not spoil the celebrations," Grandma Muto said mildly as she held up two jugs—one with lemonade and another with an odd green liquid.

----------

KAIBA LAND, 12:15 p.m.

It was now past noon as the sun shone high in the sky over the Kaiba Land site. Patrons walked here and there with excitement written all over their faces; some went to nearby rides, while others simply hung out together. Several were eating various hand-held food items; some held helium-filled balloons.

From a small hill overlooking one of the billboard-mounted TV screens, Seta Kaiba took a deep breath. "Ahhhh…" He exhaled loud and long. "That sure was a good show Yugo put on—and I'm glad I was able to catch it. But still…if I want to get further into the tournament, I'd better hurry and wrack up some points of my own…"

He turned and started to descend the hill—and his movement was suddenly arrested. "Well, well…who'd have thought I'd run into you at this point in the tournament."

Standing not more than ten yards away was a figure in a black leather jacket with the buttons undone, black pants and boots, and his hair done in a ponytail. "Reno Dawkins," Seta continued. "It's been a while since we actually chatted face-to-face."

Reno spat to one side. "Cut the crap, kid," he said darkly. "I've been scouring the whole of this Godforsaken place all morning, just to find you. And you should know why I've been looking for you."

"Why—the sight of me gives you a boner or something?" Seta smirked. "Sorry, but I'm not into that."

"Real funny, Kaiba-punk." Reno's tone was waspish. "Don't think I've forgotten the humiliation you dealt me four years ago. Back then, I was king of the Duel Monsters world. Duelist-wannabes worshipped the grime that came off the bottom of my boots. If I told a bitch to bend over, she had to say, 'For how long, _Mr. _Dawkins?' And then _you _came along…you stole my crown from me. No longer was I admired, praised, adored…instead, I became the laughingstock of the entire Duel Monsters community."

"And so you disappeared underground for a year, then came back as a pro-league contender," said Seta. "Spare me your sad story, Dawkins. I know it like the back of my hand already."

"Oh, do you? Then you should know that I've been getting some real good connections since that day four years ago," and now Reno smiled nastily. "Connections that'll help get me back on the throne where I belong. Of course, since you've lately given up the title to a little bed-wetter, I'll have to turn him upside down and shake him till his brains fall out…but first, I'm going to have my revenge on you."

"Please. If you can't defeat me, you shouldn't even entertain the idea of challenging Yugo," Seta growled. "Compared to him, a walk in the park would be too nice to describe you."

"Go ahead, talk all you want…but I'm back, and I'm back with a vengeance," said Reno, and now he pulled out his Duel-Disk and strapped it on. "Come on, then, boy! Let's see which one of us is the true master of the dragons!"

"Let's go, then." Seta readied his own Duel-Disk.

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, a camera feed showed the site where Seta and Reno were confronting each other. Then information graphics for each of the two appeared on the screen. First was Seta's information: _**Seta Kaiba. Age: 16. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Won the Duel Monsters World Championships in 2014, and retained the title until the recent Dueltropolis World Championships, where he lost to Yugo Muto in the final round. Runner-up in the Kaibacorp Challenge Cup, fourth place in this year's British Intercontinental Championship. Deck strategy: Blue-Eyes White Dragon.**_

Then Reno's information came up: _**Reno Dawkins. Age: 20. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Former Duel Monsters world champion, before losing the title to Seta Kaiba in 2014. A consistent contender in the Duel Monster Pro-League circuit. Deck strategy: High-powered Dragon-types.**_

Seeing all of this, Drake sighed and smiled. "Now, here's a duel that has real promise," he chuckled. "Reno really hates Seta Kaiba with a passion; all he cares about is getting revenge on him for his defeat four years ago. Now the question becomes…which of these two is the real master of dragons?" And his smile grew a little more.

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT THE KAIBA MANSION

Kaiba bit thoughtfully into a sandwich as, on the TV, the duel between Seta and Reno was about to get underway. "Hmph…so the previous World Champion's going to duel now, too?" he sighed. "This should be interesting…how will you do against him for the second time around, Seta…?"

----------

KAIBA LAND, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

**SETA: 8000; RENO: 8000**

"All right—I'm going first!" Reno announced, drawing his cards even while his and Seta's life points rose to 8000 apiece. "And don't think I'll be using just the same strategy as when you and I fought the first time, boy—I've improved my deck aplenty!"

"Then stop yapping about it and show me—if you have anything to show, at least," Seta grunted.

"You'll regret that request!" Reno shouted. "Now, to kick this duel off, I'm going to Special Summon a monster from my hand—by sending three other monsters from my hand to the Graveyard! Now, watch and learn, kid…" He held up three of his six hand-cards. "Tiger Dragon (ATK 2400, DEF 1800), Felgrand Dragon (ATK 2800, DEF 2800), and Darkblaze Dragon (ATK 1200, DEF 1000)…I send all three of these from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon this mighty monster…Montage Dragon (ATK ? DEF 0)!"

All at once, there appeared on Reno's side of the field a huge three-headed blue dragon with giant hands instead of front claws. But Seta looked at this monster, unimpressed. "Okay…those three dragons you just sent to the Graveyard, I remember all of them from back then," he sighed. "So what is it about this one that should make me feel impressed?"

"You won't sound so cocky when you hear Montage Dragon's effect," said Reno. "Tiger Dragon's a Level 6 monster, Felgrand Dragon's a Level 8 monster, and Darkblaze Dragon's a Level 7 monster…6 plus 8 plus 7 equals 21…and Montage Dragon's ATK when he's summoned becomes equal to the combined total levels of the monsters I sent to the Graveyard to Special Summon him…times 300! So do the math…"

"21 times 300…" Seta scowled as the implication came home to him—and just at that moment Montage Dragon let out a frightful roar from its three mouths as its ATK rose to an extremely high 6300!

"Got that right, sucker!" Reno was laughing now. "Unfortunately, since this is the very first turn of the duel, I can't just blast you away right now, so I'll have to bide my time. So, I'll call it a turn for now…and now let's see how you're going to get yourself out of this, huh?"

"Be careful what you wish for—didn't anyone ever tell you that?" Seta asked wryly as he took his turn and drew his card. "In any case, it just so happens that I have a way to put your little Montage Dragon to bed."

"What's that?" Reno demanded.

Seta held up one of his cards. "I activate this Magic card, Ancient Rules! It allows me to Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal monster from my hand…and there's only one I need to summon right now…" A twinkle appeared in his eye. "Care to guess what it is?"

Reno flinched. "Not…that…!"

"Oh, yes, THAT!" Seta shouted. "Now—let's go—Blue-Eyes White Dragon (ATK 3000, DEF 2500)!"

A huge parchment scroll appeared on the field…then from that scroll there came a loud howl as Seta's famous white dragon emerged, its sapphire eyes shining with malicious intent in them. "This damn dragon…" Reno snarled and gritted his teeth.

"Good to see you remember how I whipped your sorry ass with my faithful pet, back then," said Seta. "Now—your Montage Dragon may be packing a lot of ATK points right now, but compared to my Blue-Eyes, it's nothing more than a scrawny little lizard."

"What'd you say?" Reno raged.

"Don't believe me? Then maybe a demonstration of my dragon's ancient power will convince you," and here Seta held up another of his cards. "Now, I activate the Magic card that will unlock my Blue-Eyes' incredible fury…Burst Stream of Destruction! And now that I've activated this while the Blue-Eyes is on the field…every monster on your side will be obliterated! And of course, you've only _got _one monster on your side…"

"…shit…!" Reno swore.

"Go, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Show this faker why you're the strongest!" Seta commanded. In response—incredible white light coursed up in the Blue-Eyes' mouth, and with a howl reverberating from its throat, it unleashed a thunderous blast of lightning that tore a hole straight through Montage Dragon's chest and ripped it asunder!

Then Seta sighed. "Of course, there's a downside to using the Burst Stream of Destruction card…no Blue-Eyes White Dragon can attack during the same turn."

At that Reno began to laugh. "And here you _almost _had me convinced that I might have a problem! Well, just wait right there—I'll soon show you—"

"And who said my turn was done?" Seta interrupted coldly. "See, Dawkins, that was always your problem, even before I first came onto the dueling scene—you thought too highly of your skills and imagined yourself to be this grandiose superstar. Now you won't even wait for me to declare my turn over before you start your yapping? Damn, you're annoying!"

"Well, if you still have moves to make, then hurry the hell up and make them!" Reno growled.

Seta nodded, then pulled out one of his three remaining hand-cards. "Now, I will use my Normal Summon and bring forth Cyber-Stein (ATK 700, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" And then there appeared on the field a mechanical Frankenstein's monster.

"BWA HA HA HA!" Reno burst out laughing on sight of the newly arrived monster. "Give me a break! At least your Blue-Eyes White Dragon would've provided something of a challenge, but _that?"_

"Goes to show how much you know," Seta answered flatly. "Cyber-Stein has an effect: by paying 5000 of my life points, I can Special Summon one Fusion monster from my Fusion deck."

"What…?" Reno's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait—no—you can't mean—"

"I do mean it." Seta nodded grimly. "Now…I give up 5000 life points so that Cyber-Stein can summon the next evolution of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon…the Blue-Eyes _Ultimate _Dragon (ATK 4500, DEF 3800)!"

**SETA: 3000; RENO: 8000**

As a red glow suddenly surrounded Seta's body, Cyber-Stein glowed with an incredible white light—then suddenly that light shifted from the cyborg and took on a form of its own. That form stretched here and there for a moment, before taking on the shape of some three-headed creature…and then the white energy exploded outward, revealing a three-headed Blue-Eyes with a body thrice as big as that of the normal Blue-Eyes on the field. "And here's some more bad news, Dawkins," Seta spoke up. "Since this monster isn't a Blue-Eyes _White _Dragon, but the Blue-Eyes _Ultimate _Dragon, it isn't affected by the bounds of my Burst Stream of Destruction card—so it CAN attack you!" And as if to agree, the Ultimate Dragon let loose with a rage-filled roar from its three mouths.

"Argh…so it can…but so what?" Reno spat. "Even if your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Cyber-Stein can attack me, I'll still have life points left at the end of it—and it'll give me enough time to pull a counterattack on your sorry ass!"

"Two corrections to make there," said Seta. "First, I won't be attacking with Cyber-Stein—the Ultimate Dragon is all I need. And second, you won't have any life points left when I'm done."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Reno argued.

"Not convinced?" said Seta. "Then maybe this will change your mind…" He held up one of his two remaining cards. "The Magic card, Megamorph! If I equip this to a monster while my life points are higher than yours, the equipped monster's original ATK will halve…but…if I equip it to a monster while my life points are lower than yours, then that monster's original ATK will double! And since my life points are lower than yours…"

Cold sweat broke out over Reno's face at this information. "No—you're going to equip your Ultimate Dragon with that card!"

"Glad to see you can at least be perceptive!" Seta played the Megamorph card—and instantly the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon seemed to double in size, towering over the entire field even as it roared again, and its roar this time shook the surroundings violently while its ATK soared to 9000.

"…Goddamnit…" Reno's cards slipped out of his hands and his eyes bulged in sudden fright at this sight before him.

"One little word of advice, Dawkins," Seta spoke to him in an ominous undertone. "You may have thought of yourself as a big-shot, but the truth is, you're a dog without teeth…and before my power, dogs without teeth should not bark!"

Reno jerked to attention. "N-no! Wait! Hang on a sec, kid!"

_"Sit, boy!"_ Seta hissed, pointing a menacing finger at Reno.

Frightened further at the venom in Seta's voice, Reno felt his knees give way under him—and he ended up sitting on his laurels on the grass even as the Ultimate Dragon continued to tower over him. Seta, meantime, turned his back to Reno. "Now…feel the full force of my One Turn Kill! Neutron Blast!"

In response, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon opened its three mouths, and at once colored energy surged up in those mouths—red energy in one mouth, blue in another, and green in the third—and then all three energies were fired off as one at the screaming Reno, blasting him off the ground. Reno continued screaming as he flew—and landed squarely on his back at least a few dozen yards away.

**SETA: 3000; RENO: 0**

"Pfft. What a waste of time. And here you had me hoping you'd provide a challenge after four years. Go back into your diapers where you belong." Seta scowled in disgust as he turned and walked off, while on his Duel-Disk his tournament points rose to 2000.

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT THE KAIBA MANSION, AT THAT MOMENT

"HA!" Kaiba laughed loudly at the TV screen. "Now that's what I call entertainment! Seta sure put that loser in his proper place!" He turned to his butler, who was politely standing to one side. "Did you see that? THAT was the strength of the Kaiba family!"

"Quite so, Master Kaiba," the butler answered, nodding respectfully. "The young master certainly does the family name proud."

Kaiba grinned as he turned his attention back to the TV. "Of course, I can't expect him to pull off more one-turn kills like that, but as long as he keeps up that caliber of performance, the world will know the real strength that is his to command! And then," he continued in a lower tone, "Drake Phoenix will regret ever having Seta in his little child's play of a tournament! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

----------

KAIBA LAND

At the Dark Lord Castle…Drake was having the beginnings of a migraine. "Note to self: as soon as this tournament ends, expel that weak asshole Dawkins from the House of Cards," he growled as he rubbed his fingertips against his temples.

Just then there was a loud knocking at the door. "Argh…what is it?" Drake barked.

A female security guard entered. "Sorry to disturb you, sir, but there's someone downstairs to see you…Malachi Jordan."

"Eh?" Drake cocked a confused eyebrow. "Malachi Jordan? Why's he here all of a sudden? Did he say anything about what brings him here?"

"No, sir; only that he wants to speak to you, and he won't leave unless he can see you," the woman answered.

"Sigh…all right. I'm coming." Drake stood up.

----------

A few minutes later, Drake was downstairs in the Dark Lord Castle's main hall…and standing there, arms folded across his chest and a grim expression on his face, was Malachi Jordan. "Ah, welcome," Drake greeted him. "Although it _is _a bit early for you to be here, isn't it? There's still plenty of time before the competitors have to come here to face me in the final duel…"

"Don't flatter yourself—I'm not here to duel you," Malachi said flatly.

"Oh? Then why are you here?" Drake wondered.

"Let me get right to the point," said Malachi. "One of those pro-league duelists you've got here in this tournament—the one who uses snakes. Buck Morgan. I want him."

"Hmm? You want a duel with Buck Morgan?" Drake eyed Malachi keenly. "I wonder why?"

"That shouldn't trouble you. Just give me a chance to duel him, that's all," said Malachi.

Drake fingered his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…let me think about this a moment…" He turned and walked a few steps away from Malachi. "Oh…I think I get it. By any chance, this wouldn't have anything to do with Morgan's last opponent in the tournament, would it? That David Jericho guy…it's no secret he's one of your little circle of chums. Or—how do you Brits put it? One of your…mates?"

Malachi's expression didn't change.

"Desiring to avenge a slight…it's something we can all attest to at one time or another, I suppose," Drake continued. "However, I can't really help you. After all, Jericho lost to Morgan in a fair-and-square duel. Morgan just happened to be that much stronger, that's all. And you _do_ respect strength in duelists…don't you?" And he smirked a little.

"Respecting a duelist's strength is one thing. This is about honor." Malachi's eyes narrowed slightly.

"But tell me, why should I even consider setting up such a meeting between you and Morgan, anyway?" Drake asked.

"Because there's nothing in your little tournament rules that say I can't make a request to duel a specific participant if I want," Malachi answered.

"Hmm. So noted." Drake nodded. "And I suppose that, if the easy way of simply asking me won't work, you'll use…other measures?"

"Don't tempt me," Malachi warned.

Drake chuckled. "You're just as your reputation says—calculating, determined…" He nodded again. "Very well, Jordan, I'll see what I can do. But in exchange for that match-up…I'll need you to do something for me."

Malachi cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Tell me, first…" A glint appeared in Drake's eye. "What do you make of the strength of Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, and Janus Yuki? You've faced Muto and Kaiba personally before, and witnessed Yuki's strength."

Malachi's brow knitted a bit. "True enough…Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba are both strong, and Janus Yuki seems to be a good duelist too. What's your point?"

"My point, simply put, is this," said Drake. "I want you to duel—and eliminate from the tournament—at least one of those three. However, tournament stipulations state that you can't wager your tournament points till you have 5000 or more, and you yourself are not an eliminator, so…"

"So go back out into the tournament, get enough points, then challenge one of those three and win, and then I can get to duel Morgan?" Malachi asked.

"That's exactly it," Drake replied. "By the time you've accumulated 5000 points, those three should have gotten enough points of their own for you to be able to bet points with them. Defeat one of them and knock that one out of the competition…and then you'll have your shot at Morgan. Mark you, though—I'll be watching your progress in this tournament from here on out, Jordan, and as you know there are cameras installed everywhere in Kaiba Land…"

"So you'll be playing 'big brother' to make sure I keep up my end of this deal." Malachi shrugged. "Whatever. Do what you like. But know this…" His eyes suddenly took on a dangerous glare. "Winning duels is what I do best. And I will win. And if YOU cross me on this…you will regret it."

And with that, Malachi turned and stalked toward the front door. Drake chuckled as he watched Malachi go. "Good luck…punk," he said in a low voice.

----------

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, at that very moment…

Raven looked quizzically at the spectacle before his eyes: Right in front of him was one of the park's attractions, a mini-town—but this one appeared to be completely mechanized. Robots of varying sizes and shapes, some humanoid, others not so much, many large, some small, a few shaped like animals, were moving around at a somewhat lazy pace. "Uh…okay…Kaiba Corporation didn't spare any of their budget money when they were building this place, did they?" he asked aloud.

"Oh? Raven Pegasus, is that you? Fancy meeting you in this place!"

"Hmm?" Raven turned his head to one side, and beheld a familiar face. "Oh…well, why am I not surprised? This kind of place would appeal to you, wouldn't it?"

A few yards away, approaching Raven, was Chris Gear. "I've been here admiring the craftwork of this machinery," he remarked. "This is supposedly the 'city of the future,' according to Kaiba Corporation's thinking. And these designs are really very good—very high-tech."

"Yeah, that's what I was just saying to myself," said Raven. "This section of the park alone had to have cost a pretty penny."

"But even looking at this can get boring after a little while, I must admit," said Chris. "What I'd like is a little action for a change. Speaking of which…" He cocked an eyebrow. "Say, Raven. How'd you like to duel me?"

"Duel you?" Raven repeated. Then he rubbed his chin as if for thought. "Meh, why not. It'll sure beat walking around, looking for opponents to defeat."

"Or for opponents to defeat you," Chris grinned.

"Not funny, four-eyes!" Raven snapped, fangs in his mouth.

"But I must warn you…" Chris's voice was suddenly serious. "Drake Phoenix appointed me as an eliminator for this tournament. That means that if I face any competitor, no matter how many points they've amassed by then, I'm able to take them all."

"Mmm-hmm, I remember how the eliminators work in this tournament," Raven nodded. "On the other hand, if I can beat you, I'll get all the points you've collected up to now. And how many points do you have, I wonder?"

Chris suddenly sweat-dropped. "Uh…actually…just the 1000 I started with…"

"Ugh." Raven hung his head a moment; then he brightened up. "Oh well, it's better than nothing. So right now, only one of us can stay in the competition—the other gets the boot."

"And with the new cards I've gotten, the one getting the boot won't be me!" Chris declared, and he readied his Duel-Disk and cards.

"You sure about that? You're not the only one with new cards, you know!" Raven fired back, readying his own equipment. "I just hope you're prepared for the void of defeat!"

"Hmph. Come on!" Chris challenged.

----------

_**neomage:**_ The Ancient gears go to the Different Dimension next chapter!...or something like that.

REVIEW SOON, PLEASE!


	49. Mechanized Dimension

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: **(making mechanical noises) **neomage does not own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 49 – Mechanized Dimension**

KAIBA LAND

**RAVEN: 8000; CHRIS: 8000**

As Raven and Chris readied themselves and drew their respective five cards, while their life points shot up to the starting 8000 each, on TVs worldwide their respective dueling information was broadcast. First was Chris's info. _**Chris Gear, appointed Eliminator. Age: 22. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. Deck strategy: Ancient Gears.**_

Then Raven's info appeared. _**Raven Pegasus. Age: 17. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Participated in this year's British Intercontinental Championships; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Dimensional deck.**_

"As this is a mechanized wonderland, I'll call the first turn!" said Chris, and he drew his sixth card to start off. "Now…hmm…this looks pretty good, here. All right—I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, one card facedown, and…that ends my turn for now."

Nodding, Raven drew his card. "Don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do," he warned. "I'll throw a wrench into the works of your plan—and take this fight into a different dimension!"

Chris's eyes narrowed at that.

"Now—I activate the Magic card, Dimensional Fissure!" Raven played a card from his hand—and suddenly, right above their heads, there opened a huge tear in the very fabric of time and space itself. "As long as this remains active, any Monster cards that are sent to the Graveyard are removed from play instead. But since my monsters are suited for an environment such as this, I'm not too worried about that. Now, what else…" He examined the cards remaining in his hand. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, one card facedown…and that's all."

"Oh, is that all?" asked Chris as he drew his next card. "Well, in that case, perhaps I'd better show you a couple of the new cards I've gotten!"

"Then show me," Raven invited.

"Will do!" said Chris. "Now…I activate the Field Magic card, Geartown!"

Suddenly, all around them there sprouted numerous mechanical buildings, adding to the already-robotic motif of their natural environs. "Let me explain what this does," said Chris. "Geartown lets me Tribute Summon any of my 'Ancient Gear' monsters with one less tribute than what they'd normally require. So, in other words, if one of my 'Ancient Gear' monsters required two tributes to be summoned, it'll only need one tribute; and if it needed one tribute, then I can summon it without tributing. And, when this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon one 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand, deck, or Graveyard."

"Hmm…sounds like a step-up from what you had before," Raven noted. "Let me guess—from Drake Phoenix, right?"

"Yes, he gave me, Victor and Felix a bunch of new cards to spruce up our respective strategies," Chris admitted. "All the better for our roles as eliminators in this tournament, you understand."

"I'm sure," Raven shrugged. "What else will you come at me with?"

"This!" Chris held up another card. "I activate the Magic card, Ancient Gear Castle!"

Then, amid the clockwork gears and ironworks, Chris's Ancient Gear Castle appeared in the background. "After all the training sessions we had to go through with Malachi, I'm sure you remember what this does—right?" asked Chris.

"Yeah, I remember," said Raven. "All 'Ancient Gear' monsters you control get an additional 300 ATK points while that Ancient Gear Castle is on the field…each time a monster is Normal Summon or Set, you put one counter on the Castle…and if you're going to Tribute Summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster, if the number of counters on the Castle is equal to or more than the required number of tributes, you can offer the Castle with its counters instead."

"Very good! Then watch and learn some more—while I summon Ancient Gear Beast (ATK 2000, DEF 2000) in Attack Mode!" Chris shouted—and as he played his card, there appeared on his side of the field a mechanical four-legged creature. As its gears hissed, Ancient Gear Castle increased its ATK to 2300. At the same time, one of the Castle's towers lit up as a large orange orb appeared on its tip. "Now, attack and destroy his facedown monster!"

Ancient Gear Beast crouched slightly, then leaped forward with astonishing agility and pounced upon the facedown monster. As the card was flipped face-up, the monster was revealed to be a man in blue and yellow robes, screaming as the mechanical monster tore him apart. "Heh…that was your Banisher of the Light (ATK 100, DEF 2000)," Chris chuckled. "I sort of expected that that was what you had defending you. And now, thanks to your Dimensional Fissure, he goes off to the great beyond."

Indeed, Banisher of the Light's ghost suddenly arose from the spot where he'd stood only moments ago, and flew up into the rip in time that was the Dimensional Fissure. "Now I do think I'll end my turn," Chris finished. "But now what will you do?"

Raven merely drew his next card; now he had four in all in his hand. "I'm going to make this a much more difficult duel for you, is what I'm going to do!" he answered. "I activate a Magic card…D.D. Borderline!"

At once a large blue force-field erupted out of the ground, surrounding the entire field. "Huh?" Chris stared at it in confusion. "What's this supposed to be?"

"It's a new card I got recently," Raven explained. "As long as I don't have any Magic cards in my Graveyard, then neither of us can conduct our Battle Phase. So, in other words…until a Magic card goes to my Graveyard…neither of us can attack."

Now Chris scowled.

"But anyway, moving on," Raven continued. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…" And as he did this, all at once Ancient Gear Castle gained a second counter. "…and end my turn for now. Only thing is…now what?" and he grinned.

"Oh, I'll show you 'now what'!" Chris said hotly as he drew his next card. "Now, I'll summon a new monster—Green Gadget (ATK 1400, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought forth a green mechanical creature with a body resembling a cog-wheel, even while a third counter went onto the Ancient Gear Castle. "And furthermore, when Green Gadget's Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, his effect lets me add one copy of another monster, Red Gadget (ATK 1300, DEF 1500), from my deck to my hand," Chris went on, and he quickly searched out his deck and added the named card to his hand.

Then Chris pointed to the facedown monster on his side of the field. "Next, I'll Flip Summon this monster of mine: Boot-Up Soldier – Dread Dynamo (ATK 0, DEF 2000)!" Then, as his monster was flipped face-up, it was revealed to be a brown mechanical monster with a wide-open space where its chest should be. "And here's his effect…if I have a 'Gadget' monster on my side of the field, then Dread Dynamo gets 2000 ATK!"

"A 'Gadget' monster…and your Green Gadget counts for that, doesn't it?" Raven asked warily. But he didn't need an answer from Chris—for right at that moment Green Gadget jumped toward Dread Dynamo, settling itself into the space in the latter monster's chest, and Dread Dynamo's ATK rose swiftly to 2000.

"Of course, thanks to your little D.D. Borderline," and here Chris flicked a disdainful glance at the force-field surrounding them, "I can't attack you, so I'll just end my turn for now."

"All right…so you really _have _spruced up your deck," Raven remarked. "But now that we're within _my_ domain, you and your tin-cans don't have a prayer."

"Don't get it twisted, man—_you're_ the one in _my _territory!" Chris replied.

"We'll see about that, won't we? Now—my move!" and with that Raven drew his next card, so now he held three. "Now…how best to do this…"

"Do what, exactly?" Chris wondered.

Raven continued to examine his cards…then he chuckled. "All right…I activate another Magic card, D.D.R – Different Dimension Reincarnation! And here's how it works…first, I discard a card from my hand…" And this he did, and as he discarded the card it suddenly got sucked up into the Dimensional Fissure even as it was revealed to be D.D. Warrior Lady (ATK 1500, DEF 1600). "…then, I select one of my monsters that's been removed from play, then it gets Special Summoned to my side of the field in Attack Mode, and then it gets equipped with this card. And the monster I have in mind is…Banisher of the Light!"

A dimensional rift suddenly opened up right beside Raven, and then Banisher of the Light appeared, a stern expression on his face. "And since the conditions for D.D. Borderline are still correct, I don't have to worry about you attacking my Banisher of the Light for now," Raven went on. "So I'll just end my turn."

"Hmph. Confident, aren't you?" said Chris, even while he drew his next card to give him a total of four in hand. "Well, never mind—I'll soon rectify that. And to aid me in that regard, I'll summon my Red Gadget to the field in Attack Mode!" And then he called forth a red cog-wheel, and a fourth counter popped up onto the Ancient Gear Castle.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that that thing's got an effect…" said Raven.

"And you'd be right," said Chris, "because when Red Gadget's Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, I get to add one Yellow Gadget (ATK 1200, DEF 1200) from my deck to my hand." And this he did right away. "Now…two out of three have been summoned…it'll only be a matter of time now. I'll just end my turn—like I can do anything else, anyway, what with the D.D. Borderline blocking my attacking path and all."

Nonchalantly, Raven drew another card. "Hmm, this here's a good card…I summon Dimensional Alchemist (ATK 1300, DEF 200) in Attack Mode!" Then he called forth a white-armored mage with gold gauntlets on his hands and with a splendid blue cape wrapped about his shoulders. As Dimensional Alchemist made his appearance, a fifth counter showed itself upon the Ancient Gear Castle. "And…that's all from me for now."

"Pfft…is this all you plan to do, man—bore me to death?" Chris complained as he drew another card. "Well, just wait till I find some way to smash this damn D.D. Borderline, and then we'll see what'll become of you and this stalling strategy of yours! Go on and take your turn!"

Grinning a little at Chris's annoyance, Raven drew yet again—and his eyes widened at the card he'd just gotten. "Whew!" he whistled. "I wasn't expecting to get this card this soon, but hey, what the heck…just means plenty more opportunities for me to nab victory!"

"Now what?" Chris grated.

"Just watch!" said Raven. "Now, I activate Dimensional Alchemist's effect—once per turn, by removing the top card on my deck from play, I can increase my Alchemist's ATK by 500 points till the end of this turn!" And as though to confirm this, Dimensional Alchemist placed both of his hands together—and a large dimensional rift opened right in front of him. The top card of Raven's deck, inadvertently revealed to be D.D. Warrior (ATK 1200, DEF 1000) got sucked into the otherworldly portal and vanished from sight; meanwhile, the Alchemist's ATK rose to 1800.

"Then," continued Raven, "just so you'll see what this is, I'll Flip Summon the facedown monster I've got here…D.D. Trainer (ATK 100, DEF 2000)!" And as his facedown monster was flipped, it was revealed to be a large red-scaled beast being ridden by a small goblin in yellow shirt and gray pants.

"And this serves…what purpose, exactly?" Chris complained. "Man, this is why I never liked playing against you much during our training sessions back on Duelist Kingdom Island—your stuff's way too complicated!"

"Hey, well, I can't please everybody," Raven shrugged. "Anyway…" He held up the card he'd drawn moments earlier. "I sacrifice my Dimensional Alchemist to summon a brand-new monster…Caius the Shadow Monarch (ATK 2400, DEF 1000)!"

Dimensional Alchemist quickly got sucked up into the Dimensional Fissure—and emerging in his place, in a crackling of lightning, there was a red-clawed creature clad in silver armor and wearing a tattered black cape. As he emerged, a sixth counter suddenly popped up onto the Ancient Gear Castle. "Now, Caius here's got a really cool effect," Raven explained. "When he's Tribute Summoned, he removes one card on the field from play…and the card I'm going to choose will be my own D.D. Trainer! Do it now, Caius!"

Caius promptly charged a ball of dimensional energy in one hand, then turned and flung it at D.D. Trainer. The ball connected, and the other monster promptly got swallowed up in a swirling portal, shrieking all the way. But Chris's face held sheer confusion. "Okay, uh…why'd you remove your own monster from the game like that?" he demanded.

"Because of Caius's secondary effect," said Raven. "If the card he removed from play was a Dark monster, then 1000 points of damage will be inflicted to _your_ life points!"

"…uh-oh…!" Chris paled—but in that split instant Caius formed another dimensional energy ball and flung it at him. It hit Chris with the force of a wrecking ball, sending him flying back and landing on the ground. "Urgh…!" he groaned as he curled into a ball.

**RAVEN: 8000; CHRIS: 7000**

"Heh…I've drawn first blood now…" Raven smirked. "Now, then, moving on…I've got four monsters removed from play, if memory serves me right—D.D. Warrior Lady, D.D. Warrior, Dimensional Alchemist, and now D.D. Trainer. So now I can activate this card…" He held up the last card left in his hand. "The Magic card, Chaos Greed! I could only activate it once four or more of my cards were removed from play and I had no cards in my Graveyard…and now, I get to draw two cards from my deck!"

Yet another dimensional portal opened near Raven; he casually dipped his arm into it and pulled out two cards, replenishing his hand. But Chris simply shook his head. "All of that just to draw two cards," he muttered. "Couldn't you simply have put a Pot of Greed into your deck or something?"

"Hey, it's _my _strategy, and I do whatever I want with it," Raven answered. "You don't like it, then tough."

"Whatever." Chris shook his head again. "In any case…you just used a Magic card, so shouldn't your D.D. Borderline be useless now?"

"I think you're forgetting something," and Raven pointed to the Banisher of the Light. "This guy's got an effect that's still very much active—as long as he's on the field, cards that are sent to the Graveyard are removed from play instead. So my Chaos Greed card hasn't gone to the Graveyard—it's been removed from play."

"Crap…that's why you went out of your way to bring him back to the field," Chris grumbled. "As long as you don't have any risk of putting any Magic cards in your Graveyard, your D.D. Borderline will still remain in effect…and knowing you, having cards remain out of play strengthens you in the long-term."

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten about that," Raven nodded. "Now, hmm, what to do…I'll just shift Banisher of the Light into Defense Mode, just to be on the safe side, and then I'll end my turn."

Growling in frustration, Chris drew another card, so now he held six. "I think it's about time I do something about you and your stalling!" he shouted. "So I'll activate a Magic card from my hand—Ancient Gear Explosive! To activate it, I target one 'Ancient Gear' monster on my side of the field…and there's only one to target right now—Ancient Gear Beast!"

"I see…and then what happens?" queried Raven.

"What happens?" Chris repeated. "Well, what happens is, the targeted monster will be destroyed—and half of its original ATK points will be deducted from _your_ life points!"

Ancient Gear Beast began to run toward Raven's side of the field—but all at once a green mechanical grenade emerged on its forehead. Then—KA-BOOM! The monster exploded right there and then, and as Raven automatically put up an arm to shield against the heat of the blast, his life points dropped to tie him with Chris.

**RAVEN: 7000; CHRIS: 7000**

"Ancient Gear Beast's ATK was originally 2000, so you've lost 1000 life points as a result," said Chris. "So don't go thinking you're safe behind your little strategy, there—I can still hurt you, given the chance!"

"And yet, now your Ancient Gear Beast is removed from play thanks to Dimensional Fissure, and your Ancient Gear Explosive's also removed from play thanks to my Banisher of the Light," Raven reminded him. "Not exactly much of an advantage, there."

"Grr…well, fine! But now I'm going to give you some extra motivation to fear me and my mechanical army!" cried Chris. "I activate my Trap card—Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"

Just then, Chris's facedown card finally flipped face-up, and there appeared on his side of the field a tall iron behemoth with three open spaces in its chest. "This here is a Trap Monster, you see," said Chris. "When it's activated as a Trap card, it then gets treated as a Machine-type, Earth-attribute, Level 4 monster with 0 ATK and 2000 DEF. And now…the final component will be installed! I summon Yellow Gadget in Attack Mode!"

There then appeared on the field a yellow machine similar in appearance to Green Gadget and Red Gadget, even as the Ancient Gear Castle now got a seventh counter placed upon it. "Now, when Yellow Gadget's Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, I can add one Green Gadget from my deck to my hand—but since I already have Green Gadget on the field, I won't bother to use that effect," said Chris. "And now, I direct you to take a good look at Stronghold…"

Raven looked—and saw that Red Gadget and Yellow Gadget were jumping into two of Stronghold's chest-holes and getting comfortably settled in. Meanwhile, Green Gadget dislodged itself from the Boot-Up Soldier – Dread Dynamo's chest—though Dread Dynamo's ATK didn't alter in any way—and the green machine jumped into Stronghold's third open place in its chest. Now, with all three Gadget Monsters settled in, Stronghold's ATK was climbing to 3000! "While the Green, Red and Yellow Gadgets are all together and face-up on my side of the field, Stronghold gets 3000 ATK," Chris said smugly.

"And yet…either way, right now you still can't attack." Raven shrugged. "What's the point of having a weapon if you can't use it?"

Chris sighed. "Man…well, whatever. I end my turn now."

Raven ran one hand through his hair. "Hey, Gear…you may be getting annoyed with my strategy so far, just like you've always done every time you and I have been paired against each other in practice sessions before…but why don't you try looking at this from a fresh sort of perspective?"

"Eh? What's that mean, now?" Chris asked.

"The tougher an opponent is…the greater your success when you've managed to defeat him." A twinkle appeared in Raven's eye. "To become stronger, you defeat an opponent stronger than yourself. That's the attitude I've developed ever since we all started training alongside Malachi and his bunch…and that's the attitude I've entered this tournament with. And there are at least three people who I've got my sights set on to face in duels, so that I can be a better duelist myself. And in order to face them, I have to be stronger than anybody else who stands in my way."

"Hmph." Chris cocked an eyebrow. "Well, whatever rocks your boat. I'm in this tournament to get paid."

"Well…that's a good motivator, too." Raven sweat-dropped for a moment; then his face returned to being all-business. "Anyway…it's my turn now!"

With a flourish, Raven drew and added his newest card to his hand, so now he held three. He looked at the new card for a moment…and lifted his eyebrows a little. "Well…"

Chris eyed him. "Well?"

Raven chuckled. "I'll just set one card facedown, and end my turn."

Now Chris was suspicious. _Did he get a card that'll help him out somehow?_ he asked himself even while he drew his next card.

"Hey, Gear, what's the matter? You look a little nervous all of a sudden," Raven remarked.

"Nervous, nothing," Chris retorted. "I'll just set a card facedown, as well. Take your turn."

Again Raven drew. "All right, now…time to really turn this dimension topsy-turvy!" he announced. "I activate my Trap card…" Here he pointed to the card he'd set moments earlier. "Macro Cosmos!"

Suddenly, above them, the clear blue sky changed…to show stars, planets and asteroids! "WHOA!" Chris was goggle-eyed. "We're in outer space all of a sudden!"

"In a sense," Raven chuckled. "Now, here's how Macro Cosmos works. First, when I activate it, I can Special Summon a particular monster from my hand or my deck…Helios, the Primordial Sun (ATK ? DEF ?)—and I summon it from my deck in Attack Mode!"

There then appeared on Raven's side of the field a mysterious semi-transparent figure, wrapped up in bandages, with a miniature sun for a head. As its head shone brightly, illuminating the darkness of space, its ATK and DEF—registered a moment earlier at 0—rose slightly to 500. "The Primordial Sun's ATK and DEF are each equal to the number of monsters that are removed from play, times 100 points," Raven explained. "And, of course, five monsters are currently removed from play—your Ancient Gear Beast and my D.D. Warrior, D.D. Warrior Lady, D.D. Trainer and Dimensional Alchemist. But don't watch that—watch Macro Cosmos's second effect instead! For as long as it remains on the field, any card that's sent to the Graveyard is removed from play instead!"

"But—isn't that your Banisher of the Light's effect already?" Chris asked incredulously.

"True…but…the Banisher won't be on the field for much longer," Raven said ominously, as he held up one of his cards. "Nor will any of the other monsters on the field, for that matter! Because now I activate…the Magic card, Grand Convergence!"

Suddenly, above their heads, Chris spied a version of the solar system…and the planets and the sun were all aligned together in the shape of a cross. "What the…?" he began—and just then the planets around the sun began to seemingly send light energy into it.

"I could only activate Grand Convergence when I had Macro Cosmos active on the field," said Raven. "But now that I've met the conditions…I get to inflict 300 points of damage to you _and _destroy all monsters on the field!"

And then—the solar system's sun, having gathered enough energy from the planets, fired a bright white beam of light down onto the field, obliterating all the monsters that were in play! In the process, Chris screamed out while the heat of the attack tore into him. "Gyaa!" he cried out as he got flung back, landing heavily on his backside.

**RAVEN: 7000; CHRIS: 6700**

"Now, moving right along," Raven went on, holding up another card, "I activate the Magic card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy my own D.D. Borderline card!" And no sooner had he played the card, than a whirlwind emerged on the field and totally tore the blue force field asunder. "Now…just one more card to play…"

"Huh?" Chris looked up in surprise, even while he picked himself up off the ground.

Raven held up the last card left in his hand. "Now that I've put the D.D. Borderline out of the way, the path is clear to attack again," he told Chris. "And I have the perfect creature to summon…Gren Maju Da Eiza (ATK ? DEF ?) in Attack Mode!" And then…as he played the card, there suddenly appeared on his side of the field a horrific-looking red fiend, with large crimson claws and wings. As it settled down next to Raven and its appearance placed an eighth counter on Chris's Ancient Gear Castle, its ATK and DEF—previously registered as being at 0 each—inexplicably rose to 4400!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out! What the hell's up with your monster, man?" Chris demanded in bewilderment.

"Oh—that's his effect there," said Raven. "His ATK and DEF are each equal to 400 times the number of my cards that are removed from play. And by my count now, there are eleven: D.D. Warrior, D.D. Warrior Lady, D.D. Trainer, Dimensional Alchemist, Helios – The Primordial Sun, Banisher of the Light, Caius the Shadow Monarch, D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation, Chaos Greed, Mystical Space Typhoon, and D.D. Borderline. And 400 times 11 equals…well, you can see it for yourself."

"Crud…!" Chris's eyes went wide with horror.

"Now, Gren Maju Da Eiza! Attack him directly with your Chaos Fire Stream!" Raven ordered. And then the monster flapped its wings and took flight, reared its head back—and let loose with a stream of fire that erupted all over Chris's side of the field. Chris flinched and cried out again, jumping several steps back to avoid getting burned, but still he smarted from the heat.

**RAVEN: 7000; CHRIS: 2300**

"Ow…damn…" Chris glared at Gren Maju Da Eiza. "Not good…another attack from this son-of-a-bitch, and I'll…"

"I'll end my turn, now," Raven spoke up. "So…? What'll you do now, eh, Gear?"

Eyes narrowing and teeth gritted, Chris drew again, so now he held five cards in hand. "I'm not out of this duel yet!" he declared. "I still have at least one trick that I can use right now!"

"Oh? Well, show me, then," Raven invited.

"I will!" Chris then held up one of his cards. "I activate the magic of Polymerization! Now, I'll fuse together three monsters: one Ancient Gear Golem (ATK 3000, DEF 3000) and two other 'Ancient Gear' monsters…" Here he held them up for Raven to see—the Ancient Gear Golem card, as well as Ancient Gear Soldier (ATK 1300, DEF 1300) and Ancient Gear Cannon (ATK 500, DEF 500). "Disassembled and reassembled, they'll form an incredibly powerful new creature…"

All at once, several mechanical parts appeared on Chris's side of the field, hovering in midair it seemed. Swirling around each other for a moment, presently they collided into each other—and a flash of light erupted all over the field! "Whoa!" Raven exclaimed, shielding his eyes with one arm.

Chris, on the other hand, merely smirked. "And now…it comes…"

The light soon dwindled, enough for Raven to be able to see again—but as he looked up, his eyes slowly widened with horror. "Oh…my…god…"

On Chris's side of the field there stood a fearsome mechanical monstrosity: an iron soldier with pincer-like claws on its left hand, and horse-like legs below its torso. Gears could be heard whirring inside its body, even as steam poured out of its joints. "Bear witness…to my strongest Ancient Gear monster," Chris announced proudly. "Behold…Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (ATK 4400, DEF 3400)!"

"…wow." Raven shook his head. "Like…okay…um…pretty impressive…" Then he got his bearings back a little. "But even so, his ATK is equal to my monster's. It's a stalemate now."

"Oh, _really?"_ demanded Chris. "Well, I think you'd better take a look again…because this _is_ an 'Ancient Gear' monster I'm controlling, and my Ancient Gear Castle is still on the field…so Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem will still get 300 ATK!" And just at that moment, as if to confirm the statement, the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's ATK rose to 4700.

"Damn…!" Raven hissed.

"Oh, don't bother to worry—I'm not going to attack _yet,"_ Chris informed him. "First, I'm going to boost my monster's ATK a little more…with this card." He held up the very last card left in his hand. "Machine Conversion Factory! Any Machine-type monster equipped with this increases its ATK and DEF by 300…and of course, my Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's a Machine-type monster, so…here you go, big boy!"

Seconds later Chris's monster unleashed a mechanized snarl while its DEF rose to 3700 and its ATK rose to—5000! "And now, your creepy monster's going down! Take him out, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem—with your Ultimate Mechanized Melee!" Chris commanded. And as Raven watched, the mechanical monstrosity pulled its right fist back, then plunged that fist deep into Gren Maju da Eiza's chest, shattering its body completely in the process. Raven flinched as he watched his monster's destruction.

**RAVEN: 6400; CHRIS: 2300**

"And that concludes it for me," and now Chris was smirking. "Not so confident now, are you?"

Raven growled a little, even while he cast a glance at his facedown card. Chris noticed this action and chuckled again. "Ah, I've got a good idea what you're thinking, there," he remarked. "You're thinking, maybe you should activate that card of yours if I should attack again, right? Well, sorry to inform you, but when Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem attacks, you can't activate any Magic or Trap cards till the end of the Damage Step. In other words, you won't be able to activate that card while my monster's attacking. So you'd better think of something else."

Now Raven's brow furrowed. _Like I'd be able to use this card at this juncture anyway…_ Again he glanced at the facedown card. _Return from the Different Dimension…I'd put it facedown just in case I might need it, but it requires that I pay half my life points to activate it…that may be too risky…_ Aloud he asked, "Okay, so your walking scrap heap's got that effect…what else can it do?"

"It's not a scrap heap!" Chris snapped. "And as for what else it can do…well, if it attacks a Defense Mode monster with an ATK higher than that monster's DEF, the difference will be taken from your life points as battle damage. And, assuming I've got a regular Ancient Gear Golem in my Graveyard—which I don't, by the way—if the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem is destroyed, I can Special Summon that normal Ancient Gear Golem from the Graveyard, while ignoring any and all summoning conditions it's got."

_Hmm…definitely too risky to use my Trap card…_ Raven's eyes narrowed. _By paying half my life points, I can Special Summon as many of my monsters as possible that have been removed from play…however, they'll be removed from play again at the end of that turn…and now it won't matter which way I summon them, whether in Attack or Defense Mode—with this big machine of his, Gear will still be able to damage my life points. And considering that his monster's got 5000 ATK now, that'll be a pretty hard hit I'll take…_

"My turn! Draw!" he announced aloud as he took his turn again, drawing and replenishing his hand—and he flinched when he saw what he'd drawn. _Crap! I can't use this!_ "Argh…I end my turn."

"Just like that?" Chris sounded disappointed as he drew and replenished his hand. "Oh, well…that just means that now your life points are wide open for a beating! Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, use your Ultimate Mechanized Melee!" And in response, the mechanical monster lifted one fist and sent it crashing down on Raven's side of the field. Hit by the shock of the attack, Raven let out a yell of pain as he was sent flying.

**RAVEN: 1400; CHRIS: 2300**

"And with that, I'll end my turn," Chris announced. "Now, just one more attack, and you're done!"

"Yeah…I kinda figured that out by myself, thanks," Raven growled as he slowly stood back up. "But I didn't come to this tournament just to give up in my first match."

"Not giving up, are you? Boy, you're stubborn…especially considering what I've got here on the field compared to what you've got, which is nothing whatsoever," Chris answered. "But oh well, we can dream, I guess. Do what you're going to do…for all the good it'll do you."

Taking a deep breath, Raven drew again. He examined the card he'd gotten…and cocked an eyebrow. "Well…better this than nothing, I suppose," he sighed. "All right…I activate the Magic card, Card of Sanctity!"

Suddenly all the cards on Raven's side of the field and even the one left in his hand vanished! As this happened, the Dimensional Fissure and the effects of the Macro Cosmos above their heads vanished, and the playing area swiftly returned to normal. "Huh? Hey, what did you just do?" Chris asked, bewildered.

"My Card of Sanctity requires that I remove all other cards in my hand and on my side of the field from play to activate its effect," Raven explained. "Then, I must draw from my deck till I'm holding two cards in hand." And he quickly drew his two cards.

"Hold it!" Chris shouted abruptly. "That means that now I can activate this card—my Trap card, Drastic Drop Off!" And he pointed to his facedown card, which now flipped face-up. "When you add a card or cards from your deck to your hand, including drawing them, I can force you to discard one of those cards!"

Chagrined, Raven obliged and discarded one of his two newly-drawn cards. "Well, if that's how you want to play, I'll play that way too!" and he held up his remaining card. "I activate the Magic card, Chaos End! When I have seven or more cards removed from play, I can destroy all Monster cards on the field—and by my count by now, I've got _sixteen _cards removed from play!"

Without warning, a wormhole opened right above the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, and the mechanical monster was sucked in. "ACK! No! My monster!" Chris wailed.

"And I seem to recall you saying earlier that if your Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was destroyed, you could Special Summon an ordinary Ancient Gear Golem from your Graveyard—but that you didn't have any of those in your Graveyard." Raven now smirked. "So once again, we're at a stalemate."

"Not yet, we're not!" Chris exploded. "Just end your turn, and I'll soon show you something that'll wipe that smirk off your face!"

"All right, then," said Raven. "I end my turn…"

Then—out of nowhere, there appeared on Raven's side of the field a mechanical drone-like ship, spherical in shape. "HUH?" Chris stared at this new phenomenon, flabbergasted.

"Ah—my D.D. Scout Plane (ATK 800, DEF 1200)," said Raven, still smiling. "Remember how I had to remove cards from play when I activated my Card of Sanctity a while ago? Well, D.D. Scout Plane was in my hand when I removed it from play…and its effect says that if it's removed from play, it's Special Summoned to my side of the field in Attack Mode at the end of that same turn. And so…here it is."

"Hmph…" Chris shook his head. "Fine, so that was an unpredictable move. Doesn't mean it was a good move, though—because it's my turn now. I draw!"

He swiftly drew, and so he now had two cards in hand. Carefully he scrutinized the cards; then he looked up with a small scowl. "All right…I'll end my turn for now. Go ahead and bring it on—that little spaceship of yours can't hurt me much."

In response, Raven simply drew a card to replenish his hand. "Bring it on, you said? Well, I'll do just that…" Suddenly he grinned. "…just not with D.D. Scout Plane! Because I'll tribute it in order to summon another monster—my Helios Duo Megistus (ATK ? DEF ?) in Attack Mode!"

D.D. Scout Plane promptly disappeared from the field—and in its place there appeared, in a great ball of fire, a fat, bandaged-wrapped entity with a flaming sun for a head, even while a ninth counter appeared on the Ancient Gear Castle due to the new monster's arrival. "Looks similar to Helios – The Primordial Sun, doesn't it?" asked Raven. "Well, it's just a little bit different…because for every monster that's been removed from play, this monster's ATK and DEF increases by 200 points."

Chris blinked. "200 points…for every monster…removed from play…?"

"Yes. _Both_ players' monsters, I should add." Raven nodded meaningfully. "So, how many monsters do you have removed from play, hmm?"

A tiny bit of sweat suddenly breaking out over his brow, Chris reached into his pocket where he'd tucked his removed-from-play cards, and started to go through them. And as he did this, the more he looked, the more his face paled. "Ancient Gear Beast…Boot-Up Soldier – Dread Dynamo…Green Gadget…Red Gadget…Yellow Gadget…Ancient Gear Golem…Ancient Gear Soldier…Ancient Gear Cannon…that's eight monsters in all…!"

"And as for me…" Raven pulled out his removed-from-play cards and counted off the monsters. "D.D. Warrior…D.D. Warrior Lady…D.D. Trainer…Dimensional Alchemist…Helios – The Primordial Sun…Banisher of the Light…Caius the Shadow Monarch…Gren Maju da Eiza…that's eight for me too. So, eight plus eight equals sixteen…and sixteen times 200 equals…"

"3200…" Chris's eyes widened in growing shock.

"That's right—and that's enough to wipe you out of this duel!" Raven said triumphantly—and as he said this, Helios Duo Megistus's fat body exploded into a ball of fire while its ATK and DEF each rose to 3200. "Go, Duo Megistus! Attack directly with Space Fire Shot!"

In turn, the flame around Helios Duo Megistus's entire body blasted up further, and then it shot forward at blinding speed, toward Chris's side of the field! As it came, the Ancient Gear Castle was swiftly incinerated, while the surrounding Geartown burst into flames. Taking all this in at a glance, Chris turned to run away—but still screamed out as the ball of fire hit him squarely in the back and knocked him down.

**RAVEN: 1400; CHRIS: 0**

"And with that…I win." Raven looked with satisfaction at his life point counter, even as his remaining 1400 points disappeared from the grid and were replaced by the 1000 tournament points. Those points then swiftly increased to 2000 even as he looked on.

"Ow…" On the other side of the field, Chris groaned on the ground even while his own tournament points dropped to 0. "Damn…that royally sucked…"

Raven shrugged. "Oh well, you win some, you lose some. It just means this tournament now has one less eliminator for me to worry about. Anyway, I gotta go now—I still need to get more tournament points, after all."

"Yeah…well…you go ahead and do that." Chris picked himself up. "At least now I've got an excuse to go back to the hotel and get some food. Ciao." And with that, still dusting himself, he walked away.

"Gear!" Raven called after him.

Chris stopped where he was. "Uh-huh…?"

Now Raven allowed himself a smirk. "For what it's worth…that was a pretty good duel."

"…yeah….yeah. It was." Chris nodded. "Well, best of luck to you in the rest of this game, man." And then he resumed walking off, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Now, readers, I'm sorry I haven't paid this much attention to any of my fan-fics in a while…but work and stress…it's all getting to me. (starts ripping hair out) AAAAAGH!

yamikriz: While neomage has his fit, you folks just review soon, okay? And don't worry—a familiar duelist will be in the next battle, for sure!


	50. The Ancient Warrior

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: 50th chapter now…and of course, I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 50 – The Ancient Warrior**

KAIBA LAND, 12:35 p.m.

What had Janus Yuki been doing from the time of the tournament's beginning, 9:30 that morning, until now, in the afternoon?

At the moment, he was tramping along a dusty, beaten path, presently coming up to a natural rock formation complete with a waterfall. "Aw, man," he whined, sitting down on the ground. "I've been walking around all morning, and not one duelist in sight! What, am I jinxed or something?"

_**Patience, Janus. An opportunity will soon present itself.**_

"Huh?" Janus glanced around. "Senshuken?"

_**Shhh, Janus. Think your words—don't say them out loud. There are cameras installed around the area, remember?**_

"Oh—right." Janus chuckled at the reminder, then looked more thoughtful. In his mind he resumed, _Seriously, though, I wanna duel now! If I don't get any tournament points soon, I'll be late in getting to where Drake is! And I'll bet Yugo and Seta have already found opponents to duel…_

_**All in good time. Good things come to those who wait. And as I said before, an opportunity will soon present itself. For now, simply keep searching—that is all you can do, anyway.**_

_ Yeah, well…_ Janus allowed himself to fall flat on his back. _Doesn't change how bored I am right now, though._

_**You seem to get bored easily,**_ Senshuken chuckled.

"What's this, now? Is this really Janus Yuki, lying down on the dirty ground in the middle of all the tournament action? Surely you can't really have time to be lazing around, can you?"

"Eh?" Tilting his head backwards a little, Janus saw—upside down—a somewhat familiar figure looking at him with a quizzical expression. "Oh…wait…you're, uh, wait, don't tell me…Kent West! Uh…right?"

"Right on the money." Kent nodded and smiled. "But what're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be looking for an opponent to challenge?"

"Well, I _was,_ but so far, no dice." Janus sighed. "At least, until you showed up, I couldn't find any duelists who were in the tournament. I was just about ready to give up."

"I see." Kent's expression didn't change. "Well, in that case, how about a duel? At least you'll get some action at last."

"Really?" Janus was on his feet in a flash, brushing the dust off himself. "I mean, that's great and all, but—you sure you should be risking your tournament points on lil' ol' me? You're a famous duelist, after all, and you've probably won plenty of points by now."

"Would that such were the case, but no." Kent smiled a bit sheepishly. "I haven't had any opponents yet, myself. Everyone seems to have been spread out very thinly. Covering more ground in search of challenges, I suppose."

"Hmm…" Janus cocked an eyebrow. "But you know this means only one of us will get to continue in the tournament after this duel's done. If you haven't dueled anybody else yet, you'll be missing out on a lot, isn't that right?"

"Then I'll just have to ensure I don't lose, won't I?" Kent grinned. "And I'll not lose to you, in any case. You may have gotten third place in Dueltropolis, but I'm a pro-league duelist, and you're only just starting out in the tournament business. If I were to lose to a competition amateur, I wouldn't look good at all."

"And if I lose to a guy who wasn't able to compete at Dueltropolis, and in my first duel in this tournament at that, it would make _me_ look bad," Janus countered.

"Hmm. Touché." Kent nodded. "Very well, Janus Yuki. Let me see this Elemental Hero strategy that's made you so famous."

"Bring it on, Kent West!" Janus answered, readying his Duel-Disk.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"Yay! Janus is gonna duel now!" Natasha exclaimed gleefully.

"About time," Jiro smirked.

Just then Ricardo burst into the door, his hands full with bags. "Oh, Ricardo, you're just in time," Cassara said nonchalantly. "Our very own Boy Wonder is about to have his first duel in the tournament."

"Oh, good," Ricardo panted, setting the bags on the floor. "Now I can finally get a chance to rest my aching feet. Seriously, you people seem to think I'm your butler or something!"

"Goody!" Natasha promptly dug into the bags and pulled out several neatly-wrapped sandwiches.

On the TV, the duelists' information came up. First was information on Janus. _**Janus Yuki. Age: 14. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: 3**__**rd**__** place in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Elemental Heroes.**_

Just then there was a knock at the open door; standing there were Principal Yuki and Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "Hi, kids!" Principal Yuki greeted them cheerfully. "Say, Ricardo, what was your rush over here for? We saw you zipping by with a whole lot of bags from the cafeteria…"

"These guys are ordering me around, making me go for food and back again!" Ricardo grumbled.

"C'mon in; Janus's duel is about to start," Cassara invited the couple.

"You don't say?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki remarked as she stepped in. "Who's his opponent?"

"There's your answer," and Jiro indicated the TV screen, where Kent's information was only just being displayed. _**Kent West. Age: 18. Nationality: Canadian. Professional dueling experience: Consistently in the Top 10 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Cú Chulainn.**_

"Hmm…I've seen this West boy duel before," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki said thoughtfully. "He'll be a tough opponent for Janus."

"And good practice for Janus, as well," and Principal Yuki grinned. "Say, kids, care to spare any of your food? I'd like to eat while I watch my boy kick butt!"

"A hundred bucks for a sandwich, forty bucks extra for juice, two hundred and fifty for a boxed lunch," said Cassara, holding out an expectant hand with a grin on her face.

"What? That's extortion!" Principal Yuki yelled.

"Pay or starve." Cassara's hand didn't budge.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki shook her head. "Ruthless little girl…"

----------

KAIBA LAND

At the Dark Lord Castle…

Drake was idly flipping through the channels of the various camera feeds—and presently he stopped. "Hmm? What's this…?"

On the screen, he saw Janus and Kent readying to duel each other. Slowly a smirk appeared on his face. "Well, well…at long last, I get to see Janus duel in the tournament," he said softly. "And West's not so weak that he'll lose against that punk just so. Still…what will the outcome be…?"

----------

As Janus readied himself to duel against Kent, Senshuken's voice emerged in his mind. _**Do you need my help to deal with this Kent West person? He may be all smiles, but I sense incredible power…of an ancient nature…coming from him and his cards.**_

Janus smirked a little and answered mentally. _Thanks for the offer, but I'm cool. This isn't like the duel with Fletcher—this isn't life and death._

_**I see. Well, I will observe, then.**_

**JANUS: 8000; KENT: 8000**

"Let's not waste any time—time waits for no man!" Kent announced. "I'll take the first turn!" and he drew his first five cards and then drew a sixth, while both players' life points rose to 8000. "For my first turn, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and one card facedown. That will be all for now."

"All right, then—my turn!" Janus promptly drew a card for his turn. "Now let's have a look-see here…I think I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode also, and one card facedown as well. That's it from me for now."

"Ah, playing cautiously, now, aren't we?" Kent remarked.

"Like you said, you _are_ a pro-league duelist, and I've only recently started out in the tournament biz," Janus replied. "And I _am_ from Duel Academy, where we learn how to strategize."

"Good for you," said Kent. "In that case, I'll let you in on a little secret. After I first found out that you, Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba would be taking part in this tournament…I went and watched all the videos of your duels that I could get my hands on. Since you haven't been in any tournaments prior to Dueltropolis, tapes of your duels are fewer in number than those for Yugo and Seta—but nonetheless I was able to learn quite a bit from what I did see of your matches."

"So you take time to study your opponents," Janus remarked.

"Every sensible duelist should," said Kent. "So I have a fairly good idea of what cards you use, and so even if you've added or removed any from your deck, I can still defeat you. Now—I think I'll start setting myself up to win, thank you. I draw!"

Swiftly he drew, so again he held five cards in hand. "All right…now I activate my Trap card…" and here he pointed to the facedown card on his side of the field. "Common Charity! And here's how it works—first, I draw two cards…" which he did, so now he held seven in hand. "…then I must remove one Normal Monster card in my hand from play, and if I don't have any such cards in my hand to remove from play, all the cards I'm holding will go straight to the Graveyard. But fortunately, it turns out I DO have Normal Monster cards in my hand! So, let's see…"

Kent began to shift through his hand-cards, then picked one out. "Okay—the card I choose to remove from play for Common Charity's effect is…D. Human (ATK 1300, DEF 1100)!" And he quickly tucked the designated card into one of his coat pockets. "And now, with that out of the way…time to move on with this duel."

"Mmm-hmm…" Janus waited.

Kent examined the six cards remaining in his hand. "Hmm…all right, I'll set another monster facedown in Defense Mode, and two more cards facedown. That'll end my turn."

Janus drew once again. "I activate the Magic card, E – Emergency Call! Now, I can add one 'Elemental Hero' monster from my deck to my hand…and the one I choose is my Elemental Hero Avian (ATK 1000, DEF 1000)!" And swiftly he thumbed through his deck, found the named card, and added it to his hand. "And that's only Step 1…"

"Oh?" Kent seemed interested.

"Now, for Step 2!" Janus went on. "First, I Flip Summon my facedown monster on the field…show yourself, Elemental Hero Clayman (ATK 800, DEF 2000)!" And then his facedown monster card flipped face-up, revealing the red-helmeted warrior's rocky body.

"Well, now, this is interesting…he was your defense this whole time…but why do you put him at risk by making him give up his defending status?" Kent wondered.

"Observe—the next part of Step 2!" Janus held up one of his five cards. "The Magic card, Hero Mask! First, I pick one face-up monster that I control—which, in this case, will be my Clayman—and then, by sending one Elemental Hero monster from my deck to the Graveyard, I can treat Clayman's name as the sent monster's name till the end of this turn! And the monster that'll go from my deck to the Graveyard will be…" Here he shuffled through his deck again, momentarily picking out the card he wanted. "Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200)!" And the Bubbleman card was then sent to the Graveyard…and meanwhile, Clayman's helmet was quickly replaced with Bubbleman's.

"Hmm…" Kent's eyes narrowed a little.

"And now for the sweetest part—Step 3!" Janus held up another card. "I activate the Magic card, Polymerization! Since Clayman's currently acting as Bubbleman due to Hero Mask's effect, I'll fuse him with the Elemental Hero Avian in my hand to summon one of my favorite heroes…Elemental Hero Mariner (ATK 1400, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

A transparent silhouette of the green-feathered Avian appeared next to the now blue-helmeted Clayman, and then both were swiftly sucked into Polymerization's swirling portal. A moment later, there emerged from the vortex a blue-skinned, wild-haired man with a blue and gold mask on his face and giant iron harpoons on his wrists. "Meet Mariner, the ocean king of the Elemental Heroes!" Janus announced proudly. "But don't think I'm done yet…I still have one more little thing to do…"

"Step 4?" Kent queried.

"You could call it that." Janus held up one of his two remaining cards. "I'll use my Normal Summon and bring out a monster that I got from a good friend a little while back…Armor Breaker (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then a moment later…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"Look, Cassara! That's the card you gave Janus, isn't it?" Natasha asked excitedly as, on the TV, Janus brought forth a little red-armored dwarf wielding a mallet that was several times his own size.

"It sure is," and Cassara smiled. "Now let's see him put it to good use."

----------

KAIBA LAND, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"Now, Armor Breaker here's got an effect, and here's how it works," Janus went on. "He's a Union monster, so I can equip him to one Warrior-type monster on my side of the field as an Equip Magic card…and Mariner fits the bill!" And no sooner had he finished saying that than Armor Breaker jumped up onto Mariner's shoulders, standing steadily there.

"And what good will that do, I wonder?" Kent asked.

"You'll soon see," answered Janus. "For now, just know one thing. Mariner's effect says that if I've got any facedown cards in my Magic and Trap zone, he can attack directly—and I happen to have one facedown card right here, so…!"

Kent's eyes widened in surprise. "WHAT!" But then Mariner swiftly flung one of his harpoons over to Kent's side of the field, hitting him directly.

**JANUS: 8000; KENT: 6600**

"And now, Armor Breaker's effect comes into play," Janus went on. "When he's equipped to a monster as an Equip Magic card, each time the equipped monster inflicts battle damage to you, Armor Breaker destroys one card on the field—and I'm eyeing one of your facedown monsters! Armor Breaker, destroy the one on the right!"

Armor Breaker promptly jumped off of Mariner's shoulders and made a flying leap over to Kent's side of the field. Lifting his mallet, he slammed it down hard on the designated facedown monster card, shattering its image into numerous pixels. Then, only briefly touching the ground upon landing, he leaped up into the air and landed right back onto Mariner's shoulders. "Now I'm really getting into the groove!" Janus exclaimed happily. "All right, I'm calling it a turn. Make your move."

Kent nodded. "Congratulations on striking the first blow in this duel," he said. "And with such a skillful combination of otherwise low-tier cards at that…I can see now how you'd have gotten as far as you did in Dueltropolis."

"Well…I tried my best, at least," Janus chuckled.

"Hmph. Well, let's see if your best will aid you against me now." Kent then drew his card, so now he held four—and his face suddenly lit up when he saw what he'd gotten. "Well, unfortunately for you, even your best will not be good enough from here on out!" he told Janus. "Because now I activate a Magic card…Heart of the Underdog!"

"Huh?" Janus jerked on hearing the name. "Heart of the Underdog? How come you have that card?"

"Eh? You've heard of this card?" Kent cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah…one of my friends recently had to duel a crazy lady who used that card," Janus revealed.

"Then you should be familiar with this card's effect," answered Kent. "During my Draw Phase, if the card I draw is a Normal Monster card, then by showing it to you I can draw another card. But worry about that later…for now, what I'm holding in my hand should be your greatest cause for concern."

"And why is that?" asked Janus.

"Because…in my hand is my deck's ace card!" Kent held up a card. "I activate the Ritual Magic card…Emblem of the Awakening!"

All at once, there appeared on Kent's side of the field a large, curious-looking badge. It had three silver pieces shaped in the formation of flower petals, and at their center was a circle with three tear-shaped formations, colored green, red and blue. "Uh, okay…what's that supposed to be?" Janus wondered aloud.

"It's the badge of a great warrior of Irish legend, is what it is," Kent explained. "Now, by tributing monsters whose levels are equal to 4 or higher from the field or my hand, this warrior will be made to appear. And so…" He held up one of the other cards in his hand, revealing it to be the monster card Tri-Horned Dragon (ATK 2850, DEF 2350). "This monster is a Level 8 monster, so he'll do just fine for the ritual." And the card got shuttled off to the Graveyard.

Senshuken's voice spoke up in Janus's mind. _**It's coming…!**_

"Now!" Kent cried. "The ritual has begun! Rise, and vanquish your foes…Cú Chulainn the Awakened (ATK 500, DEF 1000)!"

And then…the Emblem of the Awakening began to spin, glowing brightly as it did. Next thing Janus knew, the emblem ended up on a necklace…and the necklace ended up around the neck of a young man in bulky white armor, with a blue cape and colorful waist-piece, and armed with a heavy-looking lance. "And now…my mighty warrior has arrived to the battlefield…" Kent said softly.

"Mighty…?" Janus scrutinized Cú Chulainn. "Uh, dude, no offense or anything…I mean, he looks cool and all, but…damn, he's _weak,_ even for a Ritual monster!"

"Poke fun all you like…but the fact is, he has secured me many a victory in times past," Kent answered. "And I'll show you, very shortly, what he is in fact capable of. Just wait—and then let's see if you'll still be jeering his supposed 'weakness' after I demonstrate what he's really capable of!"

----------

A little distance away, behind the rock formation that supported the waterfall where Janus and Kent were currently dueling, Diane Chill emerged. "Jeez…no more opponents?" she was grumbling. "What a crock of—eh?"

She suddenly beheld the duel, only a few yards from her position. "Hmm…I see…so West found that Duel Academy kid, huh? Well…this should at least be mildly entertaining…" She grinned. "And with any luck, I might be able to rack up a few more tournament points for the day…"

She glanced down at the life point counter on her Duel-Disk, where her tournament points—2000—were on display. Then she looked back at the duel. "What a plan…wait for one of these guys to knock the other one out of the tournament, then fight the winner…at least this way one of my potential worries will be eliminated, and afterwards I'll be 1000 points closer to that grand prize Phoenix is pushing! Sweet, sweet, sweet…"

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake smirked as he watched the duel between Kent and Janus on the screen. "Yes…now that bastard Janus is in for it…considering West's dueling strategy, Janus won't stand a chance!" He laughed aloud. "Crush him, West!"

----------

"Let me tell you something about this monster of mine," said Kent. "He derives his name from Cú Chulainn, a famous and legendary Irish warrior and hero. He fought off whole armies single-handedly, and was known for his terrifying fury in battle, being unable to distinguish friend from foe whilst in the midst of such fiery passion."

Then he noticed that Janus was yawning. "What the hell?" he demanded, fangs in his mouth.

"Huh? Oh, sorry—history bores the hell out of me," Janus shrugged. "Just duel, that's all."

"Hmph! Well, fine, then. If you won't appreciate the history behind this warrior's great namesake, then I'll have to show you his power directly!" Kent's eyes narrowed. "I'll activate Cú Chulainn's effect now! Once per turn, I can remove from play one Normal monster from my Graveyard, and until the Standby Phase of my next turn, Cú Chulainn will gain ATK equal to the ATK of that Normal monster…and I have a good one to remove from play: the monster you destroyed with your Armor Breaker's effect a little while ago!"

All at once, the silhouette of a pink-skinned monster emerging from a golden treasure box appeared next to Cú Chulainn. "This is my monster, Yaranzo (ATK 1300, DEF 1500)…and his essence will be used to empower my great warrior!" Kent announced—and suddenly it seemed that Yaranzo's spirit got sucked into Cú Chulainn's amulet. A moment later, the warrior let out an inhuman battle cry while his ATK sharply rose to 1800!

Janus now seemed interested. "Uh, okay, so that's what he can do…" Then he frowned. "But hang on a minute—if you can increase his ATK that way, why didn't you just remove your Tri-Horned Dragon from play to do that? It's a Normal monster, and it's in your Graveyard right now, so…"

"Oh—did you want to see him that badly?" asked Kent. "Well, I'm sorry…I can always bring him into play if you like. With this Trap card—Birthright!"

"Huh?" Janus blinked as one of Kent's two facedown card suddenly flipped face-up.

"Birthright allows me to select one Normal monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Mode," said Kent. "And now…rise, Tri-Horned Dragon!"

The Birthright card shone brightly…and then from its image there emerged a frightful blue-scaled dragon with numerous sharp spines on its back and three horns sticking up like the prongs of a pitchfork from its head. As it appeared in full, it let out a devastating roar that shook the battlefield. "Easy, my dragon, it's not time to attack just yet—we're going to make him sweat a little more first," Kent chuckled.

"Who's sweating? I'm not scared one bit!" Janus defended himself.

"We'll soon see about that." Kent nodded meaningfully. "I'll Flip Summon my other monster—Whiptail Crow (ATK 1650, DEF 1600)!" Then his facedown monster card was flipped, and the figure of a monstrous brown creature with a crow's face and a prehensile tail appeared on the field. "Now attack his Elemental Hero Mariner, Whiptail Crow!"

Whiptail Crow flapped its huge gargoyle wings as it prepared to take flight, its tail lashing from side to side in anticipation. It flew skyward, so high that for a moment it appeared as a small black dot in the glare of the overhead sun—then it bombarded down on Mariner, its tail lashing downward to take his head off…but it ended up knocking Armor Breaker off Mariner's shoulders instead, sending the little warrior flying for a loop before breaking into pieces.

**JANUS: 7750; KENT: 6600**

"Nuts…Cassara's gonna kill me for that…" Janus groaned.

"Your Mariner was safe from that attack, even if you lost properly-calculated life points, because Armor Breaker was equipped to him as an Equip Magic card via its Union monster effect…and Armor Breaker was destroyed in Mariner's place through that effect," Kent noted. "But now Mariner's a dead-on target for extermination—and nothing can save him this time! Cú Chulainn, it's your turn to attack!" And, letting out his battle cry again, Cú Chulainn hefted his mighty weapon onto his shoulder and cleaved the hapless Mariner in two.

**JANUS: 7350; KENT: 6600**

"And now's the time to counterattack!" Janus said suddenly. "Activate, Trap card—Hero Counterattack!"

"Huh?" Kent's eyes widened in surprise while Janus's facedown card flipped face-up.

"I could only activate Hero Counterattack when you destroyed one of my Elemental Heroes as a result of battle," Janus explained. "Then, you get to pick one random card from my hand…and if that card is an Elemental Hero monster, I get to destroy one monster you control, and then I Special Summon the Elemental Hero from my hand."

"And you've only got one card in your hand, and I'll wager that it's an Elemental Hero…" Kent gritted his teeth and flinched. "Well, seeing as I've no other choice…I pick the card in your hand."

Now Janus grinned. "And in response…first, I elect to destroy your Tri-Horned Dragon!" He pointed a finger at the blue dragon, which promptly exploded into flames; the flames burned up the holographic image of the Birthright trap card that had been powering the dragon, as well. "And then…" He held up the card in his hand. "I Special Summon my Elemental Hero Necroshade (ATK 1600, DEF 1800) in Defense Mode!"

Sinister greenish-black shadows emanated from the field…then Elemental Hero Necroshade appeared, crouched in a defensive position with his arms crossed over his chest. "Hmm…okay, not too bad, I'll admit," Kent sighed as he adjusted his cap. "All right, then, I'll end my turn for the time being."

Janus glanced at his deck. _Okay…no cards in my hand right now…and…_ He looked up at Kent's side of the field. _He's got Tri-Horned Dragon in his Graveyard now, and if he feels like it, he can remove it from play to juice up his Cú Chulainn's ATK…and then Necroshade will be a sitting duck! So…whether I make a good comeback or not depends on this draw…_

He drew his card—and flinched when he looked at it. _Crap! I can't use this—not right now, at least! Ugh…_ "I'll end my turn for now."

"Oh? Can't use the card you've just gotten, I gather?" Kent inquired even as he drew his own card and replenished his hand. "Well…in that case, here's more bad news for you. Since the card I've just drawn is a Normal Monster card, I can use Heart of the Underdog's effect and, after showing you this card, I'll be allowed to draw another!" Whereupon he held up his card for Janus to see—it was Cyber-Tech Alligator (ATK 2500, DEF 1600).

Janus flinched again. _Not good…!_

The Heart of the Underdog card shone on Kent's side of the field, and he promptly drew another card. "And this one's another Normal monster, so I'll show it to you to draw yet again!" He held up the new card, revealing it to be Mad Dog of Darkness (ATK 1900, DEF 1400)…then Heart of the Underdog activated, and he drew a third card. And revealed it to be yet another Normal monster, Violent Rain (ATK 1550, DEF 800). And drew again thanks to Heart of the Underdog. And revealed the fourth card to be Sorcerer of the Doomed (ATK 1450, DEF 1200). And drew again for Heart of the Underdog. And revealed the fifth card to be Sleeping Lion (ATK 700, DEF 1700). And drew a sixth time for Heart of the Underdog…only this time, he didn't reveal the sixth card. "All right…that'll be all for my Heart of the Underdog for now."

"Okay, I'll say this much…at least you don't go drawing out nearly your whole entire deck like that lady who I saw using Heart of the Underdog," Janus noted. "But don't you still put yourself at risk of decking out this way?"

"It all depends on how the Heart of the Underdog card is used, and if it's used in conjunction with other important cards," Kent replied. "I had to learn this through trial and error, when I first selected my strategy. And speaking of which…"

In that moment the energy field that had surrounded Cú Chulainn disappeared, and his ATK dropped back down to its original 500. "Since it's my Standby Phase now, the ATK that my warrior received from his effect on my last turn is now rescinded," said Kent. "But I'll soon take care of that—I can't have my prized monster stand out all by himself and be a target. So…this is what I'll do…"

Suddenly he pointed to his still-facedown card. "I'll activate my Trap card—a second Common Charity! Now…I'll draw two cards…" Which he did, so now he held a total of eight. "…and then remove one Normal monster in my hand from play…and I'll remove my Sleeping Lion card from play!" And this he did, so he was now left with seven cards in hand.

Janus's eyes narrowed as he watched this display.

"And next…" Kent held up one of his cards. "I activate the Magic card, Double Summon! As the name implies, I can Normal Summon one additional time this turn…and that's just the break I need here! So…"

He shifted his remaining five hand-cards around in his fingers. "First, I'll summon Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!" Then there appeared a large golden-brown dog, snarling viciously with foam creaming from his fangs. "Then I'll offer my Whiptail Crow as a tribute to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator in Attack Mode!" And Whiptail Crow disappeared seconds later from the field—replaced by a reptilian creature with red mechanical wings and limbs.

Then Kent held up one of the three cards remaining in his hand. "And next…I activate the Magic card, Symbols of Duty! By tributing one Normal Monster card that I control, I can Special Summon one monster from either of our Graveyards and equip it with this card. And so, I'll send my Mad Dog of Darkness to the Graveyard for this card's activation and effect…and in the process I'll Special Summon my Tri-Horned Dragon back to the field!"

Mad Dog of Darkness, still growling menacingly, disappeared from Kent's field—and was replaced moments later by the Tri-Horned Dragon, even as out of nowhere a set of dog-tags on a chain emerged around the dragon's neck. Janus took all this in at a glance. "Oh, man…this sucks…and you haven't even used your warrior's effect yet…!"

"But again, THAT'S gonna change!" Kent answered. "Now I activate Cú Chulainn's effect again…and I'll remove my Mad Dog of Darkness in my Graveyard from play for the effect!" And then, as the sinister shadow of the Mad Dog floated away, again Cú Chulainn let out a battle roar as energy coursed up around his body—and his ATK shot up to 2400! "Now, all of my monsters are ready to go! Cú Chulainn, lead the charge and slaughter his Necroshade!"

Screaming out loud, Cú Chulainn swung his lance around his head several times, then rushed forward and swung the weapon at the still-defending Necroshade, cutting him cleanly in half in the process. "And now you're wide open! Tri-Horned Dragon, Cyber-Tech Alligator—attack directly!" Kent commanded. In turn, Tri-Horned Dragon stampeded forward and butted Janus hard…

**JANUS: 4500; KENT: 6600**

…then Cyber-Tech Alligator flew forward at Mach 2 and rammed into Janus, sending him flying backwards and tumbling head over heels.

**JANUS: 2000; KENT: 6600**

----------

Not too far away, Diane watched as Janus got hit flat onto his back by Kent's monsters. A smirk emerged on her lips. _Serves that little punk right…did he really think he'd be able to last long in a grown-up atmosphere? Well…all that's left is for West to hurry up and beat his sorry ass, and then I'll step forward and challenge West myself! And then that'll be an easy 1000 tournament points right there…and then after that, this competition will be easy as pie!_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THE SAME TIME

"No! Janus! C'mon, get up!" Natasha urged.

Principal Yuki scowled at Cassara even as he bit into a sandwich. "I am going to get you for this," he vowed. "Making me pay just to eat…"

"Whatever," Cassara said indifferently. "You're just a tightwad."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki had to hold back her husband from charging at the girl. "Anywaaaaaaaaay…shouldn't our primary concern now be Janus?"

"Yeah, he seems to be in over his head with this Kent West guy," Jiro said matter-of-factly. "When I dueled that McKenzie woman, she was reckless with her deck strategy…but West is definitely different. He actually knows how to play his cards."

"And if Janus doesn't get something to defend himself soon, he'll be wiped out quickly," Ricardo added. "It's all going to boil down to luck of the draw on his turn."

----------

KAIBA LAND

Wincing a little from the sting of having just been attacked, Janus picked himself back up. "Aw, man…that was so not cool…"

"So now you understand the power of my Cú Chulainn strategy, yeah?" asked Kent. "What'll you do? Are you going to give up…or give me the pleasure of wiping you out with my own two hands?"

Janus shook his head, however. "As if. I'm going to have to say no to both of those, thank you very much."

"I see. Well, can't say I support your choice…at least if you'd gone with either of my suggestions, you'd be sparing yourself a whole lot of agony." Kent shrugged. "All right. Do your thing."

But now Janus's eyes narrowed as he looked at his deck again…and his eyes became partially overshadowed. _Even so…even though I said that…if I lose here, I'll…_

_** You'll what?**_ Senshuken's voice rang in his head. _**Janus…if you lose here, it won't be the first time you've lost a duel. There is no shame in defeat…the shame is only there if you ascribe shame to defeat.**_

_ I know that, but…_ Janus's brow furrowed and he closed his eyes. _It's not that I'm incapable of losing a duel…but I CAN'T afford to lose. Not with what's really at stake in this whole tournament…_

_**Janus…do you remember what I told you when we were on our way here?**_ Senshuken asked. _**I asked you to let me shoulder even a little of the burden you've been carrying…I also told you that you are not alone in this endeavor—you have the support of friends to carry you through. You are not taking part in this tournament of your own strength…remember the strength of the ones who've given you their endorsement. And…**_ Here Senshuken's voice seemed to get lower in pitch. _**Do you have faith in your friends, Janus? Do you have the same faith in them as they have in you?**_

_…yes! Yes, I do!_

_** Then act on that faith! Act on that faith, and draw!**_

Then Janus's eyes snapped open—and he drew. A moment passed…and then he looked at what he'd drawn.

And slowly a smile spread out on his lips. "I activate the Magic card, Convert Contact! I can only activate this card when I'm not controlling any monsters…but now, by sending one 'Neo-Spacian' monster from my hand and one from my deck to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards! So…first, from my hand, Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (ATK 900, DEF 300)…" And he discarded the card from his hand. "And from my deck, Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab (ATK 500, DEF 500)…" And he swiftly went through his deck, pulled out the named card, and sent it off to the Graveyard too. "…and then I draw my two cards!" And he quickly did so, replenishing his hand in the process.

"Mmm-hmm…and now what?" asked Kent.

"Now…" Janus held up one of his two newly-drawn cards. "I'll activate this Magic card, Cocoon Party! For every Neo-Spacian monster with a different name in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one 'Chrysalis' monster from my deck…and since I have Grand Mole and Flare Scarab in my Graveyard, that means I can Special Summon two 'Chrysalis' monsters from my deck!"

He pulled his deck out again and thumbed through it rapidly. "Now…I'll Special Summon these two: Chrysalis Pinny (ATK 100, DEF 700) and Chrysalis Larva (ATK 300, DEF 300), both in Defense Mode!" And then a moment later, two monsters appeared in a flash of light—a small glowing creature and a little worm, both encased in shining cocoons. "And then…I'll set this monster in Defense Mode…" And as he played the last card from his hand, the image of a facedown card appeared on the field beside the two monsters he'd just summoned. "And that concludes my turn. You're up!"

"So…at the very least, you were able to gather enough monsters to defend against my onslaught," Kent commented. "Too bad it'll all be for naught, though…because once I take my turn, all you can do is count off the seconds before I wipe you out! Now…my draw!"

He quickly drew his card, so now he held three in hand…and as per Cú Chulainn's effect, the warrior's aura vanished from his body and his ATK went back down to 500. "Notice I haven't bothered using my Heart of the Underdog magic card's effect…because now, I don't even have to," said Kent. "I summon Sorcerer of the Doomed, in Attack Mode!"

A moment later there appeared a weird-looking voodoo shaman with what seemed to be corpses protruding from his torso, right next to Kent's other three monsters. "Now, Cú Chulainn, lead the charge! Annihilate that Chrysalis Larva!" Kent ordered; and Cú Chulainn rushed forward and slashed the little worm in half. Then: "Sorcerer of the Doomed, your turn! Wipe out Chrysalis Pinny!" And as the sorcerer raised his arms and chanted aloud in some weird unknown tongue, several of the corpses erupted from his chest and surrounded the frightened Pinny, moments later devouring it till nothing, not even the cocoon, was left.

"Damn…!" Janus grimaced.

"Now all you've got left is one monster to defend you—but not for long!" Kent remarked. "Cyber-Tech Alligator, destroy that facedown monster!" And Cyber-Tech Dragon swiftly took flight, only dive-bombing on the facedown monster card moments later and forcefully flipping it face-up with the impact, revealing it to be a gray-skinned man in red armor before he ended up shattering into pieces from the power of the shockwave of Cyber-Tech Alligator's attack.

"And now, the end!" Kent lifted a triumphant fist. "It's been great and all, Janus Yuki, but it looks like you're getting the boot from this tournament—and your tournament points will be mine! Now, Tri-Horned Dragon…finish this and attack him directly with your Tri-Horned Stampede!"

And as Janus looked on with gritted teeth, Tri-Horned Dragon let out a frightful bellow as it charged horns-first toward his side of the field…

----------

_**neomage:**_ Oh, no! Kent's one attack away from taking down Janus! Oh, my, oh, dear—what's next? Stay tuned!


	51. Icy Rage

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: So now, the first half-century has gone past…how many more are there to come? And of course, I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 51 – Icy Rage**

KAIBA LAND

**JANUS: 2000; KENT: 6600**

Tri-Horned Dragon let out a frightful bellow as it charged horns-first toward Janus's side of the field…but then it ended up ramming into the silhouetted form of the same gray-skinned, red-armored man that had been destroyed only moments earlier! Snarling, the man grabbed the dragon's horns and wrestled against it for a long moment, just barely managing to shove it right back over to Kent's side of the field before he himself vanished into thin air. Kent, for his part, was watching all this with a dumbfounded expression. "Huh? What was THAT just now?" he cried out.

Now Janus relaxed, chuckling as he did. "Remember my facedown monster that your Cyber-Tech Alligator destroyed?" he asked. "That monster was Necro Gardna (ATK 600, DEF 1300)…and when he's in the Graveyard, I can remove him from play to negate one attack from my opponent. In other words…I'm still in this duel, whether you like it or not."

"…hmm." Kent sighed. "Oh, well…just means I'll have to wait another turn to defeat you—but considering you've got nothing on the field to help you now, that shouldn't be too hard to do. All right…I'm calling it a turn."

Not far away, Diane had a peevish expression even as she continued to observe the duel. _That damn Duel Academy brat…I can't believe he lucked out right there! Well, whatever…hurry up and squash him, West!_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THAT MOMENT

"Hmm." Jiro smiled into his juice box. "So, one of the Necro Gardna cards I gave him managed to save his hide after all…"

"But now what?" Natasha protested. "If Janus doesn't get something to save himself soon, Kent'll destroy him!"

And for sure, on the TV at that moment the statistics of the duel looked very grim. Janus had a flat 2000 points, while Kent had a higher score of 6600. Janus had no cards in his hand; Kent had two, one of which they all knew already was the Violent Rain card he'd drawn earlier. Janus had absolutely nothing on his side of the field; on his side, Kent had four monsters—Cyber-Tech Alligator, Cú Chulainn the Awakened, Sorcerer of the Doomed, and Tri-Horned Dragon—in Attack Mode, plus the Symbols of Duty magic card was equipped to Tri-Horned Dragon, and Kent also had his Heart of the Underdog magic card still active.

"It doesn't have to be all that bad, Natasha," Cassara said. "After all, it's Janus's turn now, right?"

"That may be, but…the chances of him getting a card that'll help him are…" Ricardo mused.

"Dang it, Ricardo, who're you cheering for?" Natasha screeched, smacking Ricardo with a pillow.

"Actually, Natasha, Ricardo's got a point…the chances of Janus getting a suitable card for this situation are remote," said Principal Yuki.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki promptly picked up a hot dog and stuffed it into Principal Yuki's mouth. "Pessimist."

"Mmmph-mmph-mmmph-mmph-mmmmph!" Principal Yuki's protests were muffled by the wiener in his mouth.

----------

KAIBA LAND

_Okay…_ Janus looked at his deck once again. _So…it's down to this…this next card I draw will either make or break me…_ He took a deep breath. _What will the outcome be, eh?_

_**Draw, Janus. Draw with faith…have faith in your cards. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in the heart of the cards.**_

_Yeah…that's right, isn't it?_ Janus steeled himself. _Okay, heart of the cards…guide me!_

Then he drew. And he looked at the card he'd drawn. And…when he saw what it was…a smile came over his face. "I activate a Magic card…Swords of Revealing Light!"

Kent's eyes threatened to pop out of his head. "What!"

But then—three shining swords of light shot down from the sky, encaging all of Kent's monsters! "I trust you know what this does, yeah?" Janus grinned. "Now, for the next three turns, none of your monsters can declare an attack…which means my life points are safe from assault!"

Kent's jaw was now slack, even as his eyes continued to bulge. "Impossible…!"

And, from her observation spot a short distance away, Diane was likewise looking on with a dumbfounded expression. "Impossible…!"

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake had a mixture of disbelief and rage on his face as he saw what had just happened in the duel. "Impossible…!"

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT THE KAIBA MANSION

Kaiba had stopped in mid-action, just as he was about to bite into a Danish roll, and looked on in utter astonishment as Janus played his card on the screen. "Impossible…!"

----------

YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE

Grandma Muto, Mr. and Mrs. Bakura, and Kyo all stared at what had just happened on the TV. "Impossible…!" Grandma whispered.

Standing to one side and also observing what happened, Mr. Muto smiled a little. _Hmmm…perhaps not completely impossible…after all, Janus believes in the heart of the cards…it must have come through for him at just the right moment…but now the question becomes, how will the rest of this duel play out?_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM

"Ha! In your face, hater!" Natasha taunted Ricardo.

"Hey, now…I never said it was impossible for him to draw a card he'd needed," Ricardo muttered.

Jiro's eyes narrowed a little. _Just like when he and I dueled…when he got the cards he needed just when he needed them…and there was no sign of cheating to speak of, either…is this his natural talent coming to the fore, after all?_

----------

KAIBA LAND

"Well…since I haven't anything else to play right now, I'll end my turn," and Janus rubbed the back of his head. "Your go."

Whereupon Kent drew his next card, so now he held three. "Once again, I'll forego using the effect of my Heart of the Underdog card," he announced. "I also won't bother to use Cú Chulainn's effect to increase his ATK by removing any Normal monsters in my Graveyard from play. Instead, I'll just end my turn."

One of the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared at that moment; Kent's monsters became somewhat restless. Cocking his eyebrow, Janus drew again—but suddenly his face paled as he saw what he'd drawn. "…no…!"

"What's wrong? Drew something you can't use?" Kent queried.

"Uh…well…it's not like I can't use it later or anything," Janus replied defensively. "And anyway, there are still two more turns before the Swords of Revealing Light run out, right? By that time I'll definitely have a strategy ready for you!"

"Assuming you get the necessary cards," Kent answered…and now his voice was ominous.

"Grr…well, I call it a turn for now," said Janus.

Again Kent drew a card. "All right…I end my turn."

The second of the Swords vanished from the field; Kent's monsters began to brace forward, seemingly pushing against the remaining Sword in the process. Seeing this from where she stood, Diane couldn't help but smirk. _Not bad, West…you're thinking of making those Swords of Revealing Light vanish real fast so you can end this duel quickly…and that little brat's stall tactic is nothing more than a big bluff! There's no way he can draw any cards to pull himself out of this rut in time—and surely not with how high West's life points are!_

Meanwhile, Janus drew another card, so now he held two…and he didn't turn pale this time, but merely frowned as he examined the new card. _Hmm…this card…and this one that I drew before…I wonder…_ "I end my turn."

"Hmmmm…drawing cards that you can't use…not a good way to make a comeback when your back's against the wall," Kent said in a disappointed voice as he drew his next card, to give him a total of five in hand. "But oh well, it's not like I'll lose any benefits as long as you continue playing the way you're playing. So I'll end my turn." And the last of the Swords of Revealing Light vanished from play at that moment; all four of Kent's monsters snarled at Janus, ready to pounce.

_He didn't use the effects of Heart of the Underdog or of Cú Chulainn again…_ Janus bit his lip. _So Cú Chulainn's ATK is still right where it was originally, at 500…but even if I get a monster to take down Cú Chulainn, he's still got three other monsters strong enough to take me down and out. And then… _His hand went to his deck to draw. _It's all down to one card…one card that'll mean the difference between my staying in this tournament and going home. But...aw, what the heck—if I was able to get the Swords of Revealing Light just at the right time, who's to say I can't another good draw now, right? So…here goes nothing!_

And he drew, so now he held three cards. "Now, let's see what I've gotten," he said, and he looked at the card. "Hmm…I see…"

"Eh?" Kent cocked an eyebrow.

Presently Janus looked up. "Hey, Kent…to tell you the truth, for a little while I was really starting to wonder if I was going to lose here. You really do handle your deck well, even if it consists mainly of Normal monsters."

Kent smiled at the compliment. "Thank you," he answered. "And you're not too bad a duelist yourself…making little comebacks here and there, just enough to let you stay in the duel. You've got a lot of endurance."

"And that's what'll let me win now!" Janus held up all three cards in his hand. "Because I've got everything I need to win!"

"Hmm? Do you, now?" Kent asked.

"That's right…up to now, I've relied on the strength of cards given to me by my friends to pull through this duel, and now I've got one more friend's strength to draw on!" Janus then held up the card he'd just drawn. "Now…I summon my ace monster—Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000) in Attack Mode!"

All at once, a burst of light erupted on Janus's side of the field—and then seconds later Neos was there, standing in a battle-ready pose. As he tightened his fists, Neos slightly turned his head. _"Sorry I kept you waiting so long, Janus,"_ he said apologetically.

Janus shook his head. "No worries, buddy," he said softly. "Let's win this, now."

_"Right!"_ Neos turned his attention back to staring down Kent and his slew of monsters.

----------

Initially astonished at the warrior's appearance, Kent's face presently became calm again. "I see…now I remember," he said. "Your Elemental Hero Necroshade that I destroyed earlier…when he's in the Graveyard, you can use his effect once during the duel to Normal Summon one high-level monster without offering any tributes. That's how you were able to summon Neos, a Level 7 monster, without offering tributes."

"You really did do your homework about me," Janus grinned. "Then I guess you'll know about these next two cards I'm about to play." He held up one of the two remaining cards. "I equip Neos with this Magic card, Neos Force! It'll increase his ATK by 800 points, and when he destroys a monster in battle, you'll receive damage equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK!"

At once Neos's fists began to glow with bluish-white energy as his ATK rose to 3300. But Kent simply chuckled. "All right…so Neos is now stronger than any of my monsters on the field, but so what? Have you really taken into account what I can do to counterattack on my next turn?" he asked. "No matter which one of my monsters you attack, at the end of this turn your Neos Force card will be shuffled back into your deck, rendering your monster weak enough for one of my stronger monsters to wipe him out."

"So you've got it all figured out, huh?" Janus asked.

"That's right," and Kent gestured to his side of the field. "So, if you destroy one of my Normal monsters here on the field, on my next turn I'll simply remove that monster from my Graveyard and add his strength to Cú Chulainn's, and then my other monsters will be free to eliminate what's left your life points. And if you destroy Cú Chulainn, that will simply leave my other monsters free to decimate you. There's no escaping it."

"Oh, but I'll have to disagree with you on that one…" Janus held up the last card left in his hand. "Because I still have one more card to play, and it's a card I'll equip to Neos—my Magic card, Assault Armor!"

Suddenly, a lightning-like aura covered Neos's entire body as his ATK rose further to 3600. Kent was instantly wary. "Assault Armor? I didn't see you using that card in any of the tapes of your duels that I watched!" he shouted.

"But then again, you've never seen me use the Armor Breaker or Necro Gardna cards before, either—right?" Janus chuckled. "Anyway, let me tell you what Assault Armor does. I could only equip it to a Warrior-type monster if that monster was the only monster I had control of on the field—and of course, Neos is the only monster I'm controlling on the field at the moment, and he's a Warrior-type, so he fits the bill. But there's more…" His eyes twinkled. "During my Main Phase, I can send Assault Armor, while it's equipped to a monster, to the Graveyard…and if I do that, the monster that it was equipped to gets to attack twice during the Battle Phase this turn."

"Attack twice…NO!" Kent's eyes widened in sudden horror and realization.

"Neos, break off the Assault Armor!" Janus ordered. In response, Neos let out a battle yell as he abruptly stretched himself—and the lightning that had been coursing all over his body dispersed immediately while his ATK dropped slightly back to 3300. "All right, Neos…" Janus continued. "Time to use the lingering power of the Assault Armor combined with the strength of the Neos Force! Destroy his Tri-Horned Dragon and his Cyber-Tech Alligator!"

Neos responded in a flash. He swung one glowing fist skyward in an uppercut, creating an energy blade that cut cleanly through the Tri-Horned Dragon.

**JANUS: 2000; KENT: 6150**

Then, Neos swung the other fist downward, creating another energy blade that sliced Cyber-Tech Alligator in half and brought Kent's life points further down to 5350.

**JANUS: 2000; KENT: 5350**

Finally, Neos brought both fists back till they were positioned at his sides—then he began a blindingly fast hail of punches that ended up tearing through Cú Chulainn's armor, Sorcerer of the Doomed's undead souls, and what was left of Tri-Horned Dragon and Cyber-Tech Alligator's bodies. The barrage hit Kent, too, and he couldn't help but cry out in pain as he got violently flung backwards, his life points rapidly draining all the way to 0 in the process.

**JANUS: 2000; KENT: 0**

----------

"DAMN IT!" Drake stormed, while Kent's defeat got played out on the screen. "How the hell could Kent West lose? HOW COULD HE LOSE? NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY NOT! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" He grabbed handfuls of his hair, seemingly ready to tear it out from the roots, even as his teeth were bared and tightly clenched.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM

"WOO-HOO! He won! Janus won!" Principal Yuki cheered, grinning the whole while.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki asked.

"Actually, yeah, there was…" Natasha shot Ricardo a dirty look.

"Hey, now, don't crucify me all at once!" Ricardo protested—but that didn't spare him a pillow assault from Natasha.

"So, now Janus can advance in the tournament," Jiro chuckled.

"And he'll be putting our cards to good use the whole way," Cassara nodded. "Keep it up, Janus!"

----------

KAIBA LAND, IN THE MEANTIME

"…ow…" Kent's eyes were squeezed tightly shut from the pain. Bells were ringing in his head; he flinched as the concussion reminded him of its presence with a sharp stinging inside his skull. "Damn…go away, bells…"

"…uh, dude? You okay?"

"Huh?" Gingerly, Kent cracked one eye open…and he saw Janus standing above him, concern on his face. "Oh…hey, you. Did you happen to get the number of the train that ran me over?"

"Uh-oh…guess Neos must've attacked you a little harder than I expected." Sheepishly, Janus held out a hand. "Can you stand?"

"I…I think so." Kent took Janus's hand and allowed the other boy to hoist him up, albeit carefully. "So…I guess you won…"

"Yeah." Janus indicated his Duel-Disk; his tournament points were currently at 2000. "But I'll tell you, man, that really was a good duel!"

"Hm…yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Kent chuckled even as he looked at his own life point counter on his Duel-Disk, where the figure shown was now 0. "At least now I've got proof that your third-place finish in Dueltropolis wasn't a fluke. My hat goes off to you." And he tipped his hat slightly.

"Now I've seen everything…Kent West!"

Janus and Kent looked up as one at the voice—and beheld a woman in a blue biker outfit, with a tattoo of a flaming sword on her hand. Kent's eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Diane Chill! So…you saw it, huh?"

"I sure did." Diane's voice was like frost. "And you are nothing but a frigging disgrace to the House of Cards, West!" Then—taking both boys by complete surprise—she stomped right up to Kent and violently thrust her elbow into his face, knocking him down to the ground.

"AAAGH!" Kent cried out, clutching his suddenly bleeding nose. _**"BITCH!**_ You broke my nose!" he roared, even as blood squirted out from between his fingers.

"Hey! That wasn't called for!" Janus shouted at Diane.

"Tell it to someone who actually cares, whelp," Diane turned a steely glare upon him. "At the moment, there's only one thing I care about…" She pointed right at him. "And that's your tournament points! You may have been lucky to grab 1000 from this weak-ass here," and she turned a scornful gaze upon Kent as she spoke, "but I'll be taking them from you now, in turn! And that'll mean that I'll have a total of 3000 points to go forward in this competition and win the prize that Phoenix is offering."

"Gold-digger…" Kent scowled, raising himself to his knees as he kept one hand over his broken nose.

"You shut your face! You've no right to talk after disgracing yourself like this!" Diane snapped, turning and kicking at Kent again—

—but suddenly her kick was intercepted by Janus's own leg. "Enough!" Janus yelled.

"Eh?" Diane glared at him again.

"You want to duel me…to take away my tournament points…?" Janus said softly, his eyes overshadowed. "Fine, then…you'll get your chance, here and now, if you like. But beating on somebody like this out of the blue…and when they've no chance to defend themselves, at that…unforgiveable!"

Scoffing, Diane yanked her leg away from Janus's and pulled out her Duel-Disk. "Fine, then, boy…come on, if you've really got the guts to fight me!" she declared.

"Yeah…let's go!" Janus nodded.

----------

Drake eyed the screen critically as Janus and Diane's respective dueling information came up. First, Janus's: _**Janus Yuki. Age: 14. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: 3rd place in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Elemental Heroes.**_

Then, Diane's: _**Diane Chill. Age: 22. Nationality: Russia. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2014; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 5 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2016 onward. Deck strategy: Ice theme.**_

Now, on the screen, the two duelists stood several paces away and shuffled their respective decks, while the injured Kent gingerly stood up and walked off to one side. "So much for West's pitiful performance," Drake growled. "On the other hand…I should at least be able to expect better from Diane Chill, the ice mistress. So hurry up and lose already, Janus!"

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE

"My word—what kind of people has Drake Phoenix allowed to enter his tournament?" Mrs. Taylor asked angrily. "First there was Caleb Link's conduct, now this!"

"Gone are the days when duelists refrained from violent acts toward each other during tournaments," Mrs. Wheeler sighed.

"I'm not so sure about that," Mr. Wheeler put in. "Tournaments that we used to be part of had their fair share of drama, too, you know. It's just that we actually managed to live through it all."

"Doesn't excuse what these guys are doing, now, though," Mr. Taylor responded sternly. "And Drake's to blame—he should've known that these duelists couldn't be trusted to behave themselves and act with decorum in this tournament."

"Well, Janus is about to duel Diane now—let's see how it plays out," Miki suggested. "Maybe we'll see her get what's coming to her for what she did to Kent just now."

"Come on, Janus! Let's see you get your game on!" Jenna cried at the TV.

----------

KAIBA LAND

"Ow…" Kent flinched as he gingerly touched his swollen nose. "If it weren't for my upbringing to never hit a girl, Diane Chill, I'd turn you into a bloody stain in the dirt right now!"

"Go suck an egg, West—you're not my concern now," Diane flung at him. Then she turned her attention back to Janus. "Oy, kid, do me a favor, will you? Make sure at least that you don't turn into a little crybaby after I kick the stuffing out of you."

"Whatever," Janus scowled at her. "I'm calling first dibs on this duel!"

"As you like," Diane shrugged.

**JANUS: 8000; DIANE: 8000**

The two swiftly shuffled their decks and slotted them in place. Then they both quickly drew their first five cards, after which Janus drew a sixth to start off. "I summon Neo Space Pathfinder (ATK 1800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then a bright colorful portal emerged on the field, and out stepped his alien explorer. "Then I'll toss a card facedown, for later. Go."

"Hmph. I'm not impressed one bit." Diane simply drew her card. "I summon Blizzard Dragon (ATK 1800, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Suddenly a bitterly cold wind blew all around them, even as a huge blue dragon emerged on Diane's side of the field, its breath being seen as white frost. "And to boost his power a little more, I'll activate this Field Magic card," Diane continued, throwing a card onto her Duel-Disk. "Umiiruka! Now all Water monsters will increase their ATK by 500 in exchange for losing 400 DEF!"

Instantly, waves began to pour all over the playing field, reaching to just below the players' knees, with numerous icebergs accompanying them. As well, Blizzard Dragon's DEF dropped to 600—but its ATK rose to 2300. "Now, Blizzard Dragon! Attack with Ice Shard Breath!" Diane commanded, and in response Blizzard Dragon spewed a whole hail of ice particles from its mouth, simultaneously shredding and freezing Neo Space Pathfinder before her body crumbled into icy dust.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 8000**

"And it's time for me to counter that—with my Trap card, Hero Signal!" Janus turned his hand to his facedown card as it flipped face-up, and immediately a searchlight signal shot out of the surrounding icy waters and lit up the sky. "When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, this card lets me Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand or deck—and I choose Elemental Hero Avian (ATK 1000, DEF 1000), in Defense Mode!"

A moment later, the green-feathered Avian emerged on the field, crouched in a defensive stance, but Diane wasn't worried. "Now I will end my turn," she said smoothly. "And it doesn't matter how many of your little so-called heroes you try to bring out…before long, my icy brigade will take those tournament points from you, and give them to someone more deserving—namely, me!"

Janus said nothing in response, but simply drew his next card and then examined it carefully. "Here's what I'm going to do," he spoke up presently. "I'm going to take away this little ice ocean you have here, and replace it with a completely different kind of landscape…with _my _Field Magic card, Skyscraper!"

"Huh?" Diane reared up at that—but suddenly a whole slew of skyscrapers burst out of the water, even while the skyline changed from brightest day to starry night with a crescent moon in the distance. As well, Blizzard Dragon's stats returned to normal, much to her consternation. "No!"

"Next, I'll activate the Magic card, Polymerization!" Janus went on. "Now I can fuse together two monsters—Elemental Hero Avian on the field and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) in my hand in order to summon …Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK 2100, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

The silhouetted form of Burstinatrix appeared on the field alongside Avian for a moment; then both quickly got sucked into a vacuum that abruptly erupted out of nowhere. Then—from that same vacuum there emerged Flame Wingman, his dragon-headed right arm and left-shoulder wing twitching in anticipation. Meanwhile, Janus held up one of the two remaining cards left in his hand. "Next, I'll use my Normal Summon and call on the power of Elemental Hero Captain Gold (ATK 2100, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And then a moment later, Captain Gold appeared in his shining metallic armor, his red cape billowing behind him as he made himself battle-ready alongside Flame Wingman.

Diane scowled. "This is gonna be troublesome…"

"Go, Flame Wingman! Roast her Blizzard Dragon right now!" Janus cried; and Flame Wingman did just that—lifted his dragon-arm and spewed a burst of fire that incinerated Blizzard Dragon where it stood.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 7700**

But Janus wasn't done. "And he's got a special power—when he destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard, you get damage to your life points equal to the ATK of that destroyed monster! Go again, Flame Wingman!" And Flame Wingman lifted his dragon-arm again, this time blasting Diane with a volley of fiery power and causing her to scream in pain.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 5900**

"What's the matter? This duel getting too heated for you?" Janus taunted her—then he suddenly held up the very last card left in his hand. "Well, I've got even more bad news for you—now I'm going activate a Quick-play Magic card from my hand, one called De-Fusion! Now I'll return Flame Wingman to the Fusion deck, and also I can Special Summon from my Graveyard the monsters that were used to Fusion Summon him in the first place—Avian and Burstinatrix!"

"Wh-what?" Shock came over Diane's face at this news—but before she could blink, Flame Wingman's body turned into a weird spiraling shape that gradually split in twain, transforming back into Avian and Burstinatrix. "Oh, no…now he's got even more firepower…!"

"Go, Avian! Featherbreak Attack!" shouted Janus; and Avian flew skyward, flapping his wings and unleashing a hail of sharp feathers all over Diane's side of the field.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 4900**

Then: "Burstinatrix, use your Burstfire Attack!" And in turn, Burstinatrix flung two intensely hot fireballs at Diane, both of them hitting her in the chest and scorching her.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 3700**

And then: "Now, Captain Gold! Attack with Justice Bomb!" And Captain Gold unhooked one of the gold capsules hanging from his belt and flung it at Diane—causing a tremendous explosion on her side of the field even as the capsule inexplicably rematerialized on Gold's belt and Diane's life points dropped even more to 1600.

**JANUS: 7500; DIANE: 1600**

All of this Kent looked at with amazement in his eyes, even as he flinched a little bit from the pain of his broken nose. _Okay…I sure wasn't expecting this kid to make such a comeback this quickly—and against Diane Chill, at that! In just one turn he's brought her life points down by over three-quarters…!_

But on Diane's side, as she slowly picked herself back up with the smoke from the explosion blowing around her body, her face was a peevish mask. "Why, you…how DARE you!" she spat.

"You've no right to be scolding _me,"_ Janus returned frostily. "Not after what you just did to Kent. He didn't deserve it, even if he did lose to me."

_"Him?"_ Diane nodded her head condescendingly at Kent. "He's just proven himself as nothing but an ignominy to us pro-league duelists! Losing against a little snot like you…!"

"Oh, please! He could've lost against anybody in this tournament!" Janus fired back. "Oh, why am I bothering? Just take your turn and let's get on with this duel!"

"Now you're making sense," Diane snorted, drawing her next card so she now held five. "And sorry to disappoint you just when you're on the verge of victory, boy, but it's about high time I reclaimed this duel from you! And I've got just the tools to do just that!" Then she held up a card. "I activate the Magic card, Cost Down! By discarding one card from my hand, I can reduce the levels of all monsters in my hand by two, till the end of this turn! And that'll make it easy for me to summon one of my ace monsters…" She discarded one card for Cost Down's effect, then held up another card from her hand. "My incredible Frostosaurus (ATK 2600, DEF 1700), come forth!"

Kent started. _Aw, crap—she's gotten that big lump of ice already?_

A huge gust of sub-zero wind blasted over Diane's side of the field; seconds later the icy dinosaur emerged in full view, rumbling low in its throat while its mere presence resulted in icicles forming all over Skyscraper's numerous rooftops. Then Diane held up another card. "All right…now I'll remove two Water monsters in my Graveyard from play—the Blizzard Dragon you destroyed a while ago, and the Mother Grizzly (ATK 1400, DEF 1000) that I discarded for my Cost Down's effect—to Special Summon another monster in Attack Mode…Fenrir (ATK 1400, DEF 1200)!" And as another burst of ice exploded over the field, her snow wolf emerged with blood in its eyes and saliva dripping from its fangs. "Now, Fenrir, ATTACK! Destroy Avian!"

Fenrir bounded forward, and moments later he was mauling the green-feathered hero into nothing but a bloody mess.

**JANUS: 7100; DIANE: 1600**

"And Fenrir's got an effect, too," Diane added. "When he destroys a monster in battle, you're forced to skip your next Draw Phase. And now…" She chuckled. "I'm guessing you're assuming that I'm going to attack Burstinatrix with my Frostosaurus, right? After all, she's the weaker of the two monsters you've got left, so it makes sense, right? However…" Her chuckling stopped. "I know what the effect of your Skyscraper card is. If one of your Elemental Hero monsters attacks an enemy monster, and the hero's ATK is lower than the enemy's ATK, Skyscraper increases the hero's ATK by 1000 points during that damage calculation only. So if I leave your little Captain Gold alone, he'll be able to amass enough ATK to take down Frostosaurus…"

Janus grimaced. _Crap!_

"What? Just because I consider you trash, doesn't mean I'll just ignore you off the bat," said Diane. "You _did_ cop third place in Dueltropolis, even if it _was _a fluke. Now, Frostosaurus, trample Captain Gold!" And in return, Frostosaurus rumbled forward and stampeded all over Captain Gold, turning him into a flattened pulp.

**JANUS: 6600; DIANE: 1600**

_Hmm…_ Kent's eyes narrowed a little at the now-dull throbbing ache in his nose. _Not a bad set of moves from Diane, but even so she's still 5000 life points weaker than Janus. And if he can manage to hold out against her a while longer… _He frowned. _Unless he gets unlucky and her Frostosaurus ends up thrashing him…_

"I'll end my turn now," Diane's voice broke Kent's train of thought as she spoke to Janus. "You're up."

Instantly Fenrir growled savagely at Janus. "Yeah, yeah, mutt, I haven't forgotten—thanks to you, I can't draw from my deck this turn," he grumbled. "But I'm going to put a leash on you now! Burstinatrix, attack Fenrir with your Burstfire Attack!" And then, letting out a battle yell, Burstinatrix charged up fiery energy in her hands—and all at once, Skyscraper's effect raised her ATK to 2200 even while she flung the fireball at Fenrir, burning it to cinders.

**JANUS: 6600; DIANE: 800**

"Damn…Fenrir…" Diane scowled.

"I'll call it a turn, now," Janus declared. "You know, this'll be pointing out the obvious, but even if you've got a stronger monster on the field right now, you've still got a lo-o-o-ong way to go if you want to beat me." His look darkened. "And I'm not about to just go belly-up and let you beat me."

"And, what—your little lady in red spandex is going to save your skin?" Diane scoffed. "No matter how hot her fire might be, against the cold of the deepest winter she'll eventually succumb."

Burstinatrix glared at Diane in response, but the duelist simply ignored it as she drew another card, giving her a total of two in hand. "Okay—right now I activate a Magic card, Cold Wave!" Diane spoke up. "I could only activate it at the start of my Main Phase 1, but now…until my next turn, neither of us can activate or set any Magic or Trap card, or activate the effects of any Magic or Trap cards that are already face-up on the field. Case in point…"

To Janus's astonishment, suddenly the entire landscape of Skyscraper got covered in a whitewash of ice, snow and sleet even as a fiercely cold wind blew all around them. "Now, time to put out Burstinatrix's fire! Frostosaurus, attack!" Diane yelled. Frostosaurus, in turn, spun its body impossibly quickly and lashed its tail out at Janus's side of the field, knocking poor Burstinatrix for a loop.

**JANUS: 5200; DIANE: 800**

"Your life points are still higher than mine by plenty—but so what?" said Diane. "I can afford to wait until I can beat your pasty ass into the ground where it belongs. Go on and take your turn—for all the good it'll do you."

"All right—here goes!" Janus immediately drew his next card—and froze when he saw it develop icicles on its edges. _Wait…this is…but I can't use it now! Thanks to that Cold Wave card she played last turn…_ "Uh…I end my turn."

"Oh? What happened all of a sudden? Run out of wit?" Diane asked sarcastically as she drew her next card. Immediately, the frost all around them melted away as the effect of Cold Wave relented—but Frostosaurus was still there. "Well, now, kid, it's time to put you in your place! Frostosaurus, attack directly!"

Frostosaurus raised its head and let out a deafening bellow as frostbite-inducing wind blasted outward from its body. The wind instantly numbed Janus's skin and caused him, without him even realizing it for a second, to topple over onto his rear. "All right, boy—one more attack after this, and I win!" Diane announced.

**JANUS: 2600; DIANE: 800**

"Ungh…" Shivering badly, Janus managed to stand back up. His teeth were chattering rapidly from the cold. _I just know I'm gonna catch a cold later…_

----------

_**neomage:**_ AH-CHOO! Excuse me. Anyway, review, please!


	52. Of Aliens and Frogs

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Ribbit, ribbit! I come in peace…and I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 52 – Of Aliens and Frogs**

KAIBA LAND

**JANUS: 2600; DIANE: 800**

"So? Go on and do whatever you feel like…I don't have any more moves—not that I'll need any," Diane remarked. "So you got lucky at the outset, but in the end, you're nothing more than a punk."

"Y-y-yeah?" Realizing that he was still shivering, Janus willed himself not to feel the cold he knew was turning his skin blue. "Well…guess what this 'punk' can do?" He swiftly drew his next card. "He can play a card he couldn't play last turn 'cuz of your Cold Wave card…" And he held up the card he'd drawn the previous turn. "The Magic card, Miracle Fusion!"

"Miracle Fusion…?" Realization etched itself onto Diane's face. "Wait a minute—oh, shit!"

"You _did _say you didn't completely ignore me, right?" Janus reminded her. "That means you should know what this card can do, but just in case you've forgotten, I'll remind you. Miracle Fusion lets me remove from play, either from the field or my Graveyard, any Fusion-material monsters that are listed on a Fusion monster that's got 'Elemental Hero' in its name, and then I get to Special Summon that particular Fusion monster from the Fusion deck, while treating its summon as a Fusion Summon. And so, I'll remove Avian and Burstinatrix in my Graveyard from play to call back to the field…Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

"No!" Diane cried. But much to her horror, and true to Janus's statement, the silhouetted forms of Avian and Burstinatrix floated out of his Graveyard and then swirled together, colliding and merging—and the result was Flame Wingman, ready to fight again.

"I'm sure you remember what Flame Wingman's special effect is," said Janus. "And you were so knowledgeable about Skyscraper's effect, too, so you ought to know what's coming next! Flame Wingman, melt her Frostosaurus and end this duel!" In turn, Skyscraper promptly increased Flame Wingman's ATK to 3100, even as the warrior himself took flight. Pointing his dragon-arm downwards, he unleashed a fiery torrent that resulted in Frostosaurus melting into one huge puddle.

**JANUS: 2600; DIANE: 300**

Then, mere seconds later, Flame Wingman flew down upon Diane herself, buffeting her with even more flame from the dragon's mouth, and she screamed in agony while she got thrown to the ground by the attack.

**JANUS: 2600; DIANE: 0**

Watching as the flames burned on Diane's side of the field and then gradually disappeared to leave nothing but smoke behind, Janus looked at his Duel-Disk's life point counter. His life points vanished, replaced a moment later by his 2000 tournament points—only now, those were increasing to 3000. "All right…just another 2000 from here on out, and I'll be able to place bets with whosoever else has got 5000 points!" he noted. "And at least I won't have to worry about being challenged again for the rest of the day by you…" and he cast the fallen Diane a withering glance.

"Ungh…" Diane slowly sat up from where she'd fallen, and winced as she looked at her own tournament points; they were now back down to 1000. "Damn it all…right back where I started!" she hissed. "Hey, kid, don't think I'm going to forget this insult! I'll get you back, just you wait!"

"Well, if you wanna do that, that's fine—but you'll have to wait till tomorrow to challenge me again," Janus reminded her. "Tournament rules and all that."

"Whatever!" Diane snapped, standing up. "You just wait, Duel Academy punk…I'll pay you back but good for this! And YOU…" She turned her eyes on Kent, who was still on the sidelines holding his broken nose. "Don't think the House of Cards will overlook your loss to this—this—UGH!" Then she turned on her heel and stomped off in a random direction.

"Huh…good riddance." Janus shook his head as he watched Diane leave. Then he turned to Kent. "Hey, man, how's the nose?"

"Hurts…but I'll live." Kent touched his nose again and winced. "Ugh…maybe I'd better go find a doctor or something. I don't want to end up going through life with a crooked nose."

"How about I go with you?" Janus offered.

"Uh…well, thanks, but you don't have to…" Kent started.

"Hey, it's no biggie, really. I don't have much else to do right now, in any case." Janus shrugged his shoulders. "So…?"

Kent blinked. "Well…okay, sure, I guess. Let's go, then."

----------

"Who'd have thought…who the hell would've thought?" Drake's face held a bitter grimace. "For two pro-league duelists, and members of the House of Cards at that, to lose to _him…_it's so damn embarrassing!"

Grabbing up the remote, he flopped back into the couch and touched one of the remote's buttons. A moment later the camera feed on the screen disappeared, and was replaced with a graph showing the stats of all the tournament's active participants. "All right, so…up to now, the following duelists have been eliminated from the tournament," he read aloud. "Alyx Brodie…David Jericho…Gaston Altair…Reno Dawkins…Kent West…three eliminators, Victor Greaves, Vasha Morrison and Chris Gear…that's eight people in all vanquished from the competition." His eyes narrowed. "Among the known remaining competitors…Diane Chill's just gotten her sorry ass back to Square One with 1000 tournament points…Buck Morgan, Caleb Link, Usagi Saiou, Raven Pegasus, Yugo Muto, and Seta Kaiba each have 2000 points…and Janus Yuki has 3000 points now, the highest in the tournament." He gritted his teeth as he spoke this particular bit of information aloud. "As for those participants who haven't dueled as yet—Malachi Jordan, Miriam Jordan, Luke Jericho, Honey Pegasus, Jillian Uriah…those five still have their starting 1000 points…and there are still four remaining eliminators who haven't fought anyone as yet…"

Sighing, he switched the screen back to the camera feeds. "My House of Cards…only seven members remain…but will any of them fulfill their objective before this tournament draws to a close?" And in his mind he added: _Janus…how much further will you come toward me…before one of the chess pieces on this playing field called Kaiba Land eventually brings your advance to a grinding halt…?_

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 1:00 p.m.

Malachi Jordan walked along, hands in his pockets, scarcely paying any attention to the little groups of people he was going past…to the attractions to his left and right…to the occasional whispering about him that his ever-alert ears couldn't help but detect. All of this information passed through his consciousness only automatically—his focus was on other things.

----------

_"So go back out into the tournament, get enough points, then challenge one of those three and win, and then I can get to duel Morgan?" Malachi asked._

_ "That's exactly it," Drake replied. "By the time you've accumulated 5000 points, those three should have gotten enough points of their own for you to be able to bet points with them. Defeat one of them and knock that one out of the competition…and then you'll have your shot at Morgan. Mark you, though—I'll be watching your progress in this tournament from here on out, Jordan, and as you know there are cameras installed everywhere in Kaiba Land…"_

_ "So you'll be playing 'big brother' to make sure I keep up my end of this deal." Malachi shrugged. "Whatever. Do what you like. But know this…" His eyes suddenly took on a dangerous glare. "Winning duels is what I do best. And I will win. And if YOU cross me on this…you will regret it."_

----------

Taking his mind off his train of thought, Malachi looked up—and beheld a large scene before him. Just up ahead there were several hydrogen-filled balloons, all in the form of various 30-foot-high cuddly animals of different colors. _Hmph…unlikely place to find any duelists…but then again, what have I to lose by investigating this spot, except a bit of time? _Again he started forward. And there were various groups consisting of families, or couples, or larger assemblies, admiring the cute animal balloons towering over them. He could see the happy smiles on the children's faces, the laughter on the mouths of men and women who were coupled together…

"Malachi Jordan!"

The sudden shout brought Malachi to the attention of those who were close by…and now, on seeing him, furious mouth-corner whispering began. But Malachi wasn't concerned with these; his attention was now diverted to looking over his shoulder at the one who'd called his name. "And you are…?"

This was addressed to a blond-haired guy, clad in a blue jacket over a purple shirt, black jeans and boots, and bearing a large smirk on his face. "Ah…it _is _you," he chuckled. "The infamous Malachi Jordan, notorious in the dueling world for his utter lack of compassion or mercy. Who'd have thought I'd get my big break in this tournament by defeating you!"

Malachi slowly turned around, so now his eyes were locked on level with the speaker's. "You still haven't answered me," he said flatly. "Who are you?"

"Name's Vincente, Calhoun Vincente," the other answered. "Strongest student of Duel Academy's Obelisk Blue, at your service."

"Duel Academy…the same school that Janus Yuki hails from…" Malachi cocked an eyebrow. "But I don't recall seeing you in this tournament's roster. Or are you just looking for an autograph or something?"

"An autograph?" Calhoun's smirk vanished as an annoyed expression came over his face. "For your information, pal, I'm one of this tournament's special eliminators!"

"An eliminator…well, that would certainly explain why your face wasn't in the line-up for this contest," Malachi said dryly. "For a moment I thought it was because you were a low-rate loser."

"What'd you say?" Calhoun barked. "That's it—ready your Duel-Disk, NOW! I'll show you who's the real loser here! And once you're out of this tournament, Janus Yuki will be next on my list for elimination!"

"Hmph. So stop talking trash and show me what you've got…assuming you've got anything at all to show," Malachi intoned, even while he pulled out his deck and slotted it into his Duel-Disk.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALHOUN: 8000**

Around the world at that moment, the two duelists' stats appeared on the TV screens of everyone who was watching. First was Malachi's information. _**Malachi Jordan. Age: 18. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2014 and remained champion until this year, 2018, when he was defeated by Yugo Muto for the title. Was a contender in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Gravekeepers.**_

Then Calhoun's information came up. _**Calhoun Vincente, appointed Eliminator. Age: 17. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Has studied at Duel Academy for the past five years; currently in his first year in the Obelisk Blue dorm. Deck strategy: Alien theme.**_

"Okay! Since I'm the challenger, I'll go first!" Calhoun announced while he drew his first five cards. "And I'll soon show you why I'm the strongest duelist of Obelisk Blue!" Then he drew a sixth card. "I summon Alien Warrior (ATK 1800, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Moments later, his giant-clawed alien appeared on the field, snarling.

Malachi, however, wasn't even slightly fazed. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to be intimidated? I think not."

"Maybe not yet," Calhoun countered. "Anyway, I'll set one card facedown, for later. Go ahead now."

"Pfft." Malachi drew a card. "I activate the effect of a card from my hand—Gravekeeper's Commandant (ATK 1600, DEF 1500). I can discard it to the Graveyard to add one 'Necrovalley' card from my deck to my hand." And without so much as a second glance, he discarded the Gravekeeper's Commandant card from his hand to the Graveyard, then promptly pulled out his deck, shuffled through it, and added the Necrovalley card to his hand—and then promptly held up said card. "And then, I activate the Field Magic card, Necrovalley." In a moment, they were surrounded by the rocky walls of a very forbidding valley; the balloon attractions looked awkwardly out of place here. But even this Malachi didn't seem to notice or care about as he fiddled with the five cards left in his hand. "As long as Necrovalley remains on the field, card effects that affect any cards in the Graveyard are negated, and neither player can remove any cards in the Graveyard from play…"

"And all of your 'Gravekeeper' monsters will increase their ATK and DEF by 500 points," Calhoun interrupted. "I know all about that already. You're not that obscure when it comes to your deck strategy, you know. Everybody can practically predict what you'll play whenever you duel."

"Hm. So I'm predictable, now am I?" Malachi cocked an eyebrow. "Then perhaps you can predict what these next few cards will be, hmm?" He selected three of his five hand-cards. "I'll set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, and place two more cards facedown. That is all."

"Ha! Are you _kidding_ me?" Calhoun scoffed. "I know your strategies like the back of my own hand—I've watched a whole lot of duels on TV, including some of yours, and I tell you I know what you're trying to pull!"

"Why not expound on that, then, since you seem to know so much?" Malachi invited.

"All right." Calhoun chuckled. "Your facedown monster is probably Gravekeeper's Spy (ATK 1200, DEF 2000), which will get 500 ATK and DEF thanks to Necrovalley, which further means that if I attack with a monster whose ATK will be lower than Gravekeeper's Spy's DEF, I'll lose life points _and_ you'll be able to Special Summon a 'Gravekeeper' monster from your deck. As well, at least one of those other two facedown cards must be a Dust Tornado trap card, which you'll use to destroy any Magic or Trap card I place on the field. But like I've said, I've already got you well figured out—and I won't fall into your little trap!" He then drew his next card, giving him a total of five in hand. "Ever since I became an eliminator for this tournament, Drake Phoenix has given me a lot of new cards to really beef up my deck! You won't escape me unscathed, Malachi Jordan!"

"I won't escape unscathed?" Malachi repeated. "Then why don't you attack me, if that claim is true?"

"Heh…considering I've already got your particular strategy pegged, why should I just jump headlong into your trap, eh?" asked Calhoun. "Anyway, my Alien Warrior's strong enough as is. I'll bide my time till I'm ready to strike, but for now…I'll just end my turn."

Shaking his head, Malachi drew another card, so now he held three in hand. "Is _this _really the kind of talent Phoenix has hired to act as his eliminators? He must've been scraping the bottom of the barrel to have hired a fool like you."

"WHAT?" Calhoun barked.

Malachi's eyes narrowed. "You, idiot, presumed far too much about me. Your gravest mistake was to challenge me. And I will show you why." He indicated the cards on his side of the field. "You think you know my strategy so well? Well, why don't we see if your claims were right? I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster…Gravekeeper's Guard (ATK 1000, DEF 1900)."

His facedown monster card flipped face-up, revealing a pot-bellied man wielding a large iron staff; Necrovalley's effect immediately increased his ATK to 1500 and his DEF to 2400. But Calhoun was staring aghast at the newly-summoned Guard. "What the hell? That's not Gravekeeper's Spy!" he shouted.

"Congratulations for being so observant, genius," Malachi replied with biting sarcasm. "When Gravekeeper's Guard is flipped face-up, his effect returns one monster on my opponent's side of the field to the owner's hand…and since you only have one monster in your control, it returns to your hand."

Gravekeeper's Guard hefted his staff in one hand and jumped forward, slamming it down hard on Alien Warrior's head; almost immediately, the Alien Warrior card was forcefully jettisoned off Calhoun's Duel-Disk and right back into his hand. Then Malachi held up another card from his hand. "Next, I offer Gravekeeper's Guard as a tribute to summon Gravekeeper's Chief (ATK 1900, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode." And as Gravekeeper's Guard now relaxed, his body disappeared from the field, replaced a moment later by a stern-looking man wielding a golden serpent-headed staff; Necrovalley increased his ATK and DEF to 2400 and 1700 respectively.

"As his name suggests, Gravekeeper's Chief is the leader of the Gravekeepers, who will fight rather than let the ancient tombs be defiled by intruders," said Malachi. "As long as the Chief is on my side of the field, my Graveyard is unaffected by the power of Necrovalley…and also, when he is Tribute Summoned, I can Special Summon one Gravekeeper from my Graveyard. And so, I will use the Chief's power to resurrect the Commandant, who is the only Gravekeeper in my Graveyard at this time."

Gravekeeper's Chief held up his staff, even as the serpent-head's eyes glowed with mystic power…then a moment later, a glowing ankh appeared on Malachi's side of the field, and from it emerged Gravekeeper's Commandant, a man wearing a mask shaped like a jackal's face. As he brandished the huge staff he wielded in a battle-ready pose, Necrovalley increased his ATK and DEF to 2100 and 2000 respectively. Then Malachi held up one of the two cards he had left in his hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Royal Tribute," he said. "I could only activate it when I had Necrovalley active on the field—but now, we must both discard all Monster cards in our hands to the Graveyard." And so saying, he held up the last card in his hand for Calhoun to see—Gravekeeper's Assailant (ATK 1500, DEF 1500)—and then sent it off to the Graveyard.

Now red in the face, Calhoun held up his six cards for Malachi to see. They were revealed to be Alien Warrior, the Magic card Monster Reborn, the Magic card "A" Cell Incubator, Cosmic Horror Gangi'el (ATK 2600, DEF 2000), the Magic card Code A Ancient Ruins, and the Trap card Brainwashing Beam. Stiffly, Calhoun pulled Alien Warrior and Cosmic Horror Gangi'el from his hand and shuttled them off to the Graveyard. "No fair, man!" he whined.

"Tough," Malachi said dryly. "Now, where was I? Hmm…all right, time to activate both of my facedown cards…" He pointed to the two facedown cards in his Magic/Trap slot. "Activate, both cards—two copies of the Trap card, Rite of Spirit."

"Huh?" Calhoun's eyes widened—and then both of Malachi's facedown cards flipped face-up, revealed to indeed be two copies of the same card. "Aw, great—now what?"

"Rite of Spirit is a Trap card that allows me to Special Summon one 'Gravekeeper' monster from my Graveyard in face-up Attack or Defense Mode, regardless of Necrovalley's influence," explained Malachi. "And since I've activated two Rite of Spirit cards, I can Special Summon two Gravekeepers from the great beyond—Gravekeeper's Guard and Gravekeeper's Assailant, both in Attack Mode." Then, as he finished talking, two shining ankhs appeared on the field, and out stepped Gravekeeper's Guard and Gravekeeper's Assailant, the latter a figure clad in black from head to toe and armed with a short sword that had a blade curved like a snake's body. Necrovalley promptly increased the Guard's stats to 1500 ATK and 2400 DEF, and the Assailant's stats to 2000 ATK and 2000 DEF.

Calhoun beheld the four monsters' stats…and paled. "Oh, no…!"

"Now, Gravekeepers—clean up this worthless weak trash!" Malachi commanded. And the four Gravekeepers acted swiftly. First, the Commandant lunged forward and slammed his staff into Calhoun's midsection.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALHOUN: 5900**

Then the Assailant rushed forward and slashed Calhoun across the chest.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALHOUN: 3900**

Then, the Guard leaped forward and bashed Calhoun across the face with his staff.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALHOUN: 2400**

Finally, the Chief raised his serpent-headed staff—and a blast of green magic erupted from the serpent's mouth, hitting Calhoun dead-center in his torso and knocking him down and backwards.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALHOUN: 0**

"Argh…" Calhoun, on the ground, grimaced in pain while the tournament points on his life point counter briefly showed, then swiftly rushed down to 0 like his life points had moments earlier. "Damn it…I didn't even get a chance to use any of the new cards Phoenix gave me…damn it all…!"

"Pfft." Malachi scoffed at Calhoun, then checked his own Duel-Disk's life point counter; his tournament points now rose to 2000. "Even if I don't put a lot of variety into my strategy, trying to predict the moves I'll make is utterly, utterly foolish. And your own overconfidence in the face of a superior opponent only made it worse." He turned his back on Calhoun. "Word of advice for the future: Less trash talk, more training."

With that said, Malachi calmly walked away. The spectators, meanwhile, began to boo the still-downed Calhoun. "Dude, you suck! Were you really an eliminator? Get outta here!" many of them snapped, throwing popcorn and food wrappers at him.

"Ungh…" Calhoun didn't even bother to make an attempt to get up, but merely covered his face with his hands.

----------

Back at Kaiba Land's hotel, in the meantime…David Jericho was in his room, packing his clothes into his traveling bag, while on the TV the duel between Malachi and Calhoun was just ending. Watching the outcome, David sighed forlornly. _Well…couldn't expect any less from Malachi, at least…_ Picking up the remote, he switched the TV off. Then he tossed the remote back onto the bed and picked his bag up, slinging it over his shoulder. _Well, see you around, mates…next time you see me, I'll definitely be stronger, and won't hold any of you back…and I won't disappoint you next time, either…_

Then he went to the door, stepped outside into the passageway, and quietly shut the door behind him.

----------

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land… "Aaaahhh…!" Honey Pegasus groaned aloud as she flopped down on a bench, located next to a pond on which ducks swam freely. "How long has it been since I left the fairgrounds and actually went to _search_ for duelists? And yet, not a one in sight!"

"Maybe you're not looking in the right places…"

"Eh?" Turning in her seat, Honey beheld a gray-haired, hazel-eyed girl standing only a couple of meters away. "Oh—you're Drake's sister, aren't you? Jessica?"

"That's me," Jessica nodded. "Say, you mind if I sit with you a little bit? I've been walking around for a while now, and I really need to rest my legs!"

"Sure," Honey invited. "Plenty of space on the bench for one more," and she patted the space beside her.

"Thanks." Jessica walked up and sat down on the empty spot on the bench. "So, how are you?"

"Um…okay, I guess," Honey shrugged. "A lot's happened in the last few weeks and months, even before this tournament was announced…I can't even remember the last time I actually saw anybody in your family—uh, other than when Drake came and gave us invitations to compete in this tournament, that is."

"I see." Jessica smiled. "Y'know, now that I stop to think about it, our families have gotten together in times past for fundraisers, celebrity dinners and whatnot—with us being rich people and all—but I don't think we've ever actually sat down and been able to chat one-on-one, like what we're doing right now."

"First time for everything," Honey answered. "So, what brings you here to Kaiba Land? Here to give your brother moral support for his hosting this Phoenix Herald Crown?"

"Well, actually…" Jessica sighed. "Remember Drake's announcement this morning, when he said that there are eliminators hidden throughout Kaiba Land? Well, I'm one of them."

Honey stared in surprise. "No way—really? He put you up as one of those eliminators?"

"That he did," said Jessica. "And between you and me, I'm actually supposed to maintain my station near the Dark Lord Castle, to intercept whichever duelist will pass that way later on…but I just HAD to get away from there. Drake is _such_ a pain in the ass!"

"Oh?" Honey blinked—then she giggled a little. "Well, I guess that's something I can relate to, having a brother myself."

"At least yours doesn't throw a hissy fit whenever things don't go his way," Jessica sighed.

"He used to," Honey told her.

"Agh—boys!" Jessica threw her hands upward in a gesture of supplication to the heavens. "What is it with guys and their macho behavior, huh?"

"Actually, my dad's not really that macho…" Honey sweat-dropped.

"Oh. Well, that's true, too." Jessica chuckled.

Silence passed between the two girls for a moment. Then Honey looked at Jessica again. "So…an eliminator, huh? I guess that means my tournament points are going to be in trouble…"

"Well, I say that'll all be left up to fate," Jessica said, smiling a little more easily. "Everybody knows you use the Toon strategy your dad used to use in his glory days. And who knows—maybe you'll beat me and get the points I've got. At least then you'll have one less eliminator to worry about."

"Sounds fair enough." Honey stood up, holding up her Duel-Disk-equipped arm. "So, ready to get it on, girl?"

"Yeah, why not? I need a way to relax after what I had to put up with from Drake earlier, anyway, and walking around aimlessly wasn't exactly doing it for me," Jessica answered, and she stood up and held up her Duel-Disk too.

"Then it's settled!" said Honey. "My Toons against your…your…uh, what kind of strategy _do_ you use, anyway? I've never seen you duel before."

"That's because I don't get out in the tournament circuit like Drake does," Jessica admitted. "But I do duel now and again, for the practice and the fun. Of course, I have to do it when my mom's not around—she hates Duel Monsters."

"Ah, yeah, THAT much I remember about your mom," and Honey sweat-dropped again. "I mean, no offense, but I swear that last time our families got together, your mom looked about ready to bite my dad's head off just because he invented Duel Monsters! What's up with that, anyway?"

"That's a question better left unasked, if you want to keep your life," Jessica chuckled a bit, sweat-dropping also. Then, with a more serious face, she asked, "So, you ready for this?"

"Anytime, girl! Let's go!" Honey answered.

**HONEY: 8000; JESSICA: 8000**

On viewing TV sets worldwide their respective dueling information was shown. First there was Honey's info: _**Honey Pegasus. Age: 15. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Participated in this year's British Intercontinental Championships; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Toon deck.**_

Then there was Jessica's info. _**Jessica Phoenix, appointed eliminator. Age: 15. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: None prior to this tournament. Deck strategy: Frog theme.**_

"I call first turn!" Jessica announced as she and Honey drew their respective opening hands. "Now…" She drew her sixth card to start. "I will set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, and one card facedown. That's it for now. Your turn!"

"Okay," said Honey, drawing her card. Then she looked at her hand and growled in irritation. "Urgh…I end my turn."

"Already?" Jessica looked surprised for a moment. "Oh, wait, I get it—you don't have your Toon World magic card on hand, do you now? Your deck _is_ pretty heavily reliant on that card, you have to admit."

"Maybe," Honey answered, "but that doesn't mean I won't be able to beat you."

"We'll see," said Jessica. "After all, Drake didn't appoint me as an eliminator for nothing." Then she went ahead and drew another card. "Hmm…I see. Okay, Honey Pegasus…I'm sorry, but I'll have to change this lovely scenery around us for a little bit."

"Eh? What're you up to?" Honey regarded her suspiciously.

"Watch and learn!" Jessica then held up a card. "I activate the Field Magic card, Wetlands!"

Suddenly, the lake they were dueling nearby seemed to get covered up by extremely tall, wet grass. "Whoa! What's with this, now?" Honey wondered.

"Wetlands is a neat little Field Magic card with a nice effect," Jessica explained. "All monsters that are Aqua-type, Water-attribute, and Level 2 or lower gain 1200 ATK points. Case in point…" She indicated the facedown monster on her side of the field. "Be Flip Summoned, my Substitoad (ATK 100, DEF 2000)!" And then the monster card flipped face-up—and revealed a very unusual creature: It was an amphibian that seemed to be half frog, half toad, with half of its body being smooth and pink with a white feathery wing on the back, and the other half being black and covered in unsightly warts and with a black bat's wing on the back.

Honey took one look at the newly Flip Summoned monster—and freaked. "AAAAAHHHHH! It's a FROG! I HATE FROGS! EW EW EW EW EW EWWW!" she screeched, running up and down in a wild panic.

"Huh?" Jessica stared at Honey, sweat-dropping in the process. "Uh…okay…"

At length, with much difficulty, Honey managed to compose herself, although looking at Substitoad made her flinch. "Ugh…frogs…so disgusting!" she wailed.

"Aw, don't say that," said Jessica. "You'll hurt my Substitoad's feelings. And besides, frogs and toads are actually really cute. Haven't you read _The Frog Prince_ or something?"

"Who the hell would read _The Frog Prince?" _Honey demanded, fangs in her mouth.

"Hmph…not you, apparently," Jessica answered. "Well, anyway, Substitoad satisfies the requirements for Wetland's effect to affect him…take a look and see." And she pointed out Substitoad's ATK, which was now at 1300. "Plus, he's got effects—all 'Frog' monsters, except for the one called Frog the Jam (ATK 700, DEF 500), cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. Also, as long as Substitoad's on the field, I can tribute one monster to Special Summon one 'Frog' monster from my deck, as long as that frog isn't Frog the Jam."

"Oh, no…your whole deck's based around FROGS?" Honey made a disgusted face.

"Why not? Like I said, I find them to be cute!" Jessica's eyes momentarily turned into hearts as she made the proclamation; then just as suddenly she became all-business again. "Now I summon Submarine Frog (ATK 1200, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" A moment later she brought out a green-skinned frog that was, oddly enough, decked out in a yellow wetsuit and holding a red spear with a blue propeller on one end. As the new frog made its appearance, Wetlands swiftly increased its ATK to 2400! "Submarine Frog's a Level 2, Water-attribute, Aqua-type monster, so he fits the bill for Wetlands—look at how strong he is now!" she pointed out. "All right, froggies…go get her!"

"Eek!" Honey screeched—but suddenly Substitoad shot out a long pink tongue and slapped her on the body.

**HONEY: 6700; JESSICA: 8000**

Then Submarine Frog bounded forward, jabbing Honey repeatedly with the tip of its spear as her score went down further to 4300.

**HONEY: 4300; JESSICA: 8000**

"That's it from me for now," said Jessica. "So? Aren't you gonna try to defend yourself against my cute and strong froggies?"

Still wincing from the aftereffects of the two attacks on her person, Honey glanced down at her deck. _This is bad…if I don't get something good real soon, I'll be a goner! Jessica will be able to take me out of the game with her…ugh…her frog monsters! Man… _Taking a deep breath, she placed her fingers on her deck as she readied herself to draw. _All right…here goes nothing…!_

And then she drew. _C'mon…please let it be a card I can use…please let it be a card I can use… _She looked at her drawn card. And— "YES!" she cried happily.

"Hmm?" Jessica looked up at Honey's jubilance. "Got something good?"

"You bet I did!" Honey gushed. "All right, now…I'll pay 1000 life points to activate my signature card—Toon World!"

**HONEY: 3300; JESSICA: 8000**

Out of nowhere, a huge green-covered book appeared on her side of the field. The book bore cartoon characters on its covers, and even now it jerked up and down as though it were animate. "Hmm…so now you've finally got it," Jessica observed.

"Yes, I do!" Honey said brightly. "And now that I've got Toon World on the field, I'll Special Summon two monsters from my hand—two copies of Toon Mermaid (ATK 1400, DEF 1500) in Defense Mode!"

The Toon World book immediately opened up—and from its pages there emerged a large, cartoon-style town with very comical-looking buildings. From the midst of these there appeared two huge clam shells…then each opened up to reveal a cartoonish mermaid with a bow and arrows, even while the clams themselves suddenly sported large cartoon-styled eyes. Then Honey held up another card. "These Toon Mermaids aren't going to stay on the field for long," she declared, "because now I'll tribute both of them to Special Summon an even more powerful monster, and my deck's strongest…Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon (ATK 3000, DEF 2500)!"

Giggling mischievously, the two Toon Mermaids inexplicably stretched themselves and their clams right back into the waiting Toon World…and then emerging from the book there emerged a cute-and-cuddly white dragon with a maniacal grin. "How do you like that?" Honey chuckled. "Unfortunately, my Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon can't attack the same turn he's summoned—nor can most of my Toons, for that matter—but that's all right…next turn, I'll guide him and all other Toon monsters that I'll soon summon, in a campaign to wipe out your life points!"

"Hmm…" Jessica frowned contemplatively. "Yeah, you just might be able to do that…after all, with your Toon World on the field, all Toon monsters get the power to attack directly, unless the opponent also controls Toon monsters…and since I obviously don't have any Toon monsters to speak of, you'll put a serious hurting on my life points without even touching my frogs for as long as you so choose. But all the same…your strategy's still got one really obvious weakness. And you know what it is."

Honey cocked an eyebrow. "But will you get a chance to exploit it before I can take you down?"

"Let's find out." Jessica drew her next card, adding it to her hand so now she held four in hand. "Oh-oh…Honey, it seems I'm about to bump you out of this competition after all!"

"Huh?" Honey stared sharply at Jessica.

In turn, Jessica held up the card she'd just drawn. "I summon another monster to the field in Attack Mode…Unifrog (ATK 400, DEF 400)!" Then, from the grassy marshes of the Wetlands, there popped up a bluish-purple frog with what appeared to be a spiraling unicorn horn pointing out from its head; the Wetlands promptly increased his ATK to 1600. "And guess what he can do?"

"What—look ugly?" Honey looked very squeamish.

"Aw, come on, now, that's not fair to the poor little froggy!" Jessica complained. "What Unifrog can do is…attack your life points directly! Go, Unifrog!"

"ACK! NO!" Honey screamed out—split seconds before Unifrog bounded over to her side of the field and butted right into her with his horn. "Ow! That hurt, you know!"

**HONEY: 1700; JESSICA: 8000**

"And Unifrog's got another effect," Jessica added. "When he successfully attacks directly, if I have control of a Frog monster other than Frog the Jam or Unifrog himself, then Unifrog can destroy one Magic or Trap card controlled by my opponent…and I've got Submarine Frog right here, of course…and right now you've only got one Magic card on the field to speak of."

"Wha…? Oh, crap! Not my Toon World!" Honey panicked.

"Yes, your Toon World!" Jessica returned. "Go on, Unifrog—destroy Toon World!" And at her bidding, Unifrog bounded forward and stabbed right through the Toon World book with his horn, utterly destroying it. As this happened, the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon put its front claws to its head as a panicked expression emerged on its face…and then it, too, spontaneously exploded.

"Oh, no…" Honey sank to her knees.

"If Toon World's destroyed, any Toon monsters you control at the time will be destroyed along with it," Jessica pointed out. "And of course, now your life points are fair game for me! But since I'm a nice girl, I'll make it quick. Submarine Frog, attack directly!" And hefting his spear in hand, Submarine Frog bounded over to Honey's side of the field till he was standing right in front of Honey herself. Honey flinched and closed her eyes, expecting to feel the sharp stab of the spear somewhere on her person…

…but she wasn't prepared to feel something cold, rubbery and slimy pressing right up on her mouth. "MMMMMPPPHHH!" she shrieked out in her throat as she felt the amphibian's mouth press on hers for a few split seconds, even while on her Duel-Disk her life point counter dropped to 0. Then, while she sat there in shock, Submarine Frog grinned right into her face before disappearing, along with the rest of the holographic images on the field.

**HONEY: 0; JESSICA: 8000**

Honey snapped back to her senses. "EEEEEYUCK!" she gagged, hurriedly wiping the whole length of her arm across her lips. "Gross, gross, gross! I can't believe a frog just KISSED me! EWWWW!"

Jessica giggled, then observed her own life point counter; her up-to-now untouched life points were replaced by her tournament points, climbing to 2000. "All right…guess I'm gonna have to go and find other tournament players to oust from the game, now, before it gets too late."

"Ugh…" Honey was still wiping her mouth. "I can't believe it…a frog just KISSED me!"

"It wasn't _that_ bad, was it?" Jessica asked.

Honey glared at her. "That's a serious invasion of personal space you pulled off, even if it was with a Duel Monster. I hope you know that."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, really." Jessica put up her hands in surrender. "Tell you what. I'll take you shopping at the park's gift shops to make up for it."

"Shopping?" Honey's angry look vanished instantly, her eyes replaced by stars. "Okay, you got a deal!"

A relieved look came over Jessica's face. "Okay, then. Shall we go, Ms. Pegasus?"

"Lead the way, Ms. Phoenix! Shopping spree, here we come!" Honey cheered in singsong.

----------

_**neomage:**_ So anger in women can be dispelled by a suggestion of shopping? Interesting…review soon, everyone!


	53. Redemption's Card

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: As everybody who's read my stuff should know by now, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 53 – Redemption's Card**

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 1:20 p.m.

"All done!" the young woman said brightly as she straightened herself up. "Give it a little time, Mr. West, and your nose will be as good as new!"

Kent blinked a bit as he just barely touched the small bandages wrapped over his nose-bridge. "Thanks a bunch," he answered.

He and Janus were at a small food-stand whose operator was currently serving grilled burgers and fries to passersby. The vendor glanced over to where Kent was sitting, where the young woman had tended to his broken nose only minutes earlier. "You're done re-setting his nose now, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mom," the girl answered. "Good thing we had a stock of bandages and gauzes here with us—you never can tell when medical emergencies might pop up. If it had been anything more serious, you'd have had to go right back to the hotel—the medical staff there's got advanced training."

Janus was standing nearby, chomping away at a burger. "That's good to know," he answered. "And these burgers are terrific!"

"Why, thank you," the vendor smiled. "Eat as much as you like—tournament participants get to eat from the food establishments here at Kaiba Land for free, you know."

"I'll definitely take you up on that!" Janus said eagerly. "In that case, could I trouble you to make another burger for me—and two helpings of your fries to go?"

"Sure!" said the vendor. Then, to her daughter, "Sweetheart, let's get this grill smoking! Can't keep a hungry customer waiting!"

"Got it, Mom!" the girl answered. Then she turned to Kent. "Anything else we can get you?"

"Thanks," said Kent. "I'll take a burger, myself."

Nodding, the daughter went to help her mother at the grill. Janus, meanwhile, came over and sat down next to Kent. "You sure you'll be able to handle eating with a broken nose?" he asked between bites of his burger.

"It's all good, now," Kent assured him. "At the very least, this nice girl here," indicating the vendor's daughter, "was able to re-set my nose. It still stings like a bastard, though…but the swelling should go down soon, what with the first-aid these folks have given to me."

"Mmm-hmm." Janus swallowed his mouthful of burger—and then his face became more thoughtful. "So…what's the House of Cards?"

Kent turned to look at him. "Eh?"

Janus looked right back at him. "Diane Chill was talking about it earlier…right when she broke your nose." He shook his head. "I gather it must be something really crucial for her to have done that to you, right?"

"Hmm…" Kent looked at Janus for a long moment. Then he sighed and looked away. "I shouldn't be talking about this with you, but…since blabbermouth Diane already blurted it out in your presence, I may as well tell you what I know of this whole thing."

Janus looked at him expectantly.

"The House of Cards…all of the pro league duelists here at this tournament are part of that group, including me and Diane, of course," said Kent. "Drake Phoenix founded our group four years or so ago. He was just beginning to get noticed in the pro leagues at the time, being a kid and all, but he's a dueling genius, and he places emphasis on power in a duelist. That's what drew a lot of us to him—we all want to be known as the best duelists this world's got to offer, and he's offering that to us—by association with other strong duelists, we become stronger ourselves."

"Hmm…" Janus seemed contemplative for a moment. "Okay, I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask this question, then. Did Drake forming this little club of yours have anything to do with me?"

"You?" Kent returned. "Hmm…I've never thought about it quite like that…then again, it's no big secret that he really doesn't like you, so I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if that was the real reason the House of Cards was formed. And considering that he brought all of us together for this tournament, this would support that argument…as well, Phoenix and a couple of others in our group don't exactly hold you, Yugo Muto or Seta Kaiba in very high regard…you saw that for yourself with Diane." Then he shrugged. "Then again, it's just speculation—what do I know for sure without solid evidence, right?"

Janus sucked his bottom lip thoughtfully. "What do I do, then? It's clear to me that a lot of your pro league pals have it out for me, Yugo and Seta…and Drake's using this tournament as a way for them to act on their grudges."

"Well, I'll tell you this much," said Kent. "You'd better start looking for Usagi Saiou—she'll probably be able to tell you, better than I can, what Phoenix's motive really is. Oh, and you remember those eliminators Phoenix spoke about in his announcement this morning? You'd better look out for four of them in particular…one of them joined the House of Cards very recently, and I've seen him duel—he's no walk in the park. And the other three are former members of those Zodiacs who sneaked into Dueltropolis."

Janus was immediately attentive on hearing that. "The Zodiacs are back again?"

"Well, these three guys were staying with Maximillion Pegasus after the World Championships, so Phoenix said," Kent clarified. "But in any case, watch out for those three Zodiacs, and that other guy I was just telling you about. You can't miss _him_—he's got spiky light-blue hair and wears a dark trench-coat. Oh, and he uses Archfiend monsters—ever hear of those?"

"Yeah, I've heard of those," Janus confirmed. "So, Archfiend monsters, huh? All right, I'll keep an eye out…and I'll look out for Usagi, too. Maybe she can fill me in a bit better, like you say."

"All right," Kent nodded. "And it probably wouldn't hurt for you to let Yugo and Seta know, as well, just to be safe. After all…I'm all for surpassing you three and becoming the best, but I personally prefer to do it under fair conditions—not as part of a gauntlet designed to topple you three just for the sake of earning status."

Janus looked knowingly at him and grinned. "Even if you end up getting your ass kicked?"

"Hey, as long as I learn from my defeats…" Kent chuckled. "So, what'll you do now? You've got 3000 tournament points…and by now it's been a couple of hours since the tournament started…"

Janus bit into his burger again. "Yeah, well, I suppose it'd be smart for me to go get more points before the day wears out," he reasoned even as he chewed. "And who knows—maybe I'll run into either Yugo or Seta. I'd really like a chance to duel Yugo again, and it'd be really cool to duel Seta—I've never dueled him before, you know."

"More power to you, then," Kent smirked. "As for me, I'm going back to the hotel and chilling out there…at least the TVs there have cable."

"All right!" Janus swallowed his mouthful of burger and then stood up. "Well, here I go again…and thanks for the heads-up, Kent."

"No problem," Kent nodded. "Just watch your back out there—if one of those eliminators gets you, you're done."

"Got it." Janus then turned his attention to the vendor and her daughter. "The burger and fries ready yet? I'm about ready to go."

"Just about done…now!" the vendor replied. "All right, I'll just bag it up for you…"

----------

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, at that very moment…

"Okay, where are all those competitors hiding at? I'm ready for anybody!" Raven grinned widely as he now walked through a densely forested section of the amusement park. He then glanced down at his 2000 tournament points, proudly displayed on his Duel-Disk's life point counter. "2000 points…just a couple more to go, and then…"

He was so caught up in his enthusiasm that he didn't notice the shadow flitting from tree to tree, stalking him. Then—

_Crack. _The snapping of a twig just within the tree grove snagged Raven's attention. Immediately he turned around in the direction of the noise, glancing around. "Huh? Somebody there?" he called.

For answer all he got was the sound of the wind gently rustling the trees' leaves. Then…out stepped a tall figure with aqua-colored hair and clad in a maroon-colored trench-coat. "So…looks like I can finally stop twiddling my thumbs out of boredom, now," he said softly.

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE

Kyo's jaw dropped when he saw the figure on the TV, coming out to confront Raven. "Oh, my God…that's…"

Mr. Bakura, too, was astonished. "Why…why is _he_ in the tournament, too?"

Grandma Muto frowned. "Is that…Jan?"

"It is," Mrs. Bakura answered. "But I thought he'd turned himself in to the police in Egypt after what happened over there…?"

"He did," said Kyo. "So, why…?"

"Did he escape from prison, if indeed he had turned himself in as you say?" Mr. Muto suggested.

"Who knows…" Kyo's eyes were overshadowed. "Right now, though, he's _there,_ at the Phoenix Herald Crown…"

----------

MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

The Wheelers and Taylors were mutually silent when a camera close-up of Jan on the TV came up. "Kyo's brother…" Miki said softly.

"So, that's him," said Jenna thoughtfully. "Why's he there at the tournament, though?"

"Oh, dear…first pro league duelists without ethics, now a criminal…" Mrs. Taylor shook her head sadly.

Mr. Wheeler scowled. "I really smell a rat here…"

"I've a mind to call over there and find out what the hell's going on—Drake Phoenix has a LOT of explaining to do!" Mr. Taylor snapped.

"The standard of Duel Monster tournaments has truly gone down with every generation," Mrs. Wheeler sighed. "At any rate, though, guys, there isn't much we can do from here…all we _can_ do is watch and see how this plays out."

"Yeah…you're right," and Mr. Taylor sat back on the couch reluctantly. "There'll hopefully be time after this to get answers."

----------

THE KAIBA MANSION, AT THE SAME TIME

Kaiba frowned a little at Jan's image on the TV. "So…you're showing yourself now, in the tournament," he said softly. "As one of the eliminators, no doubt…well, let's see what you're capable of here, hmm?"

----------

KAIBA LAND, IN THE MEANTIME

Raven cocked an eyebrow at the stranger standing before him. "Who're you?" he asked. Then he glanced at the newcomer's Duel-Disk. "You one of the tournament eliminators or something?"

"I am…and I'm more than that, too." Jan nodded with meaning. "I'm the guy who's going to send you packing out of this tournament—never mind that you're Maximillion Pegasus's heir."

"Hey, now, don't go underestimating me just because you're an eliminator!" Raven argued.

"Who's underestimating anything?" Jan asked. "I saw your duel against Seta Kaiba on TV, in the Dueltropolis tournament a while back. True, you were able to hold your own against him for a while, but…if you couldn't defeat him, why would you think you'd be able to defeat me?"

"That was then—this is now! I've become a better duelist since Dueltropolis!" Raven insisted.

"In such a short period of time? If you're talking about getting new cards, fine; if you're talking about improving your own individual skill, you'll have to convince me." Jan held up his Duel-Disk. "Don't disappoint me, now."

"That's supposed to be my line!" Raven barked, readying his Duel-Disk in turn. "And anyway, you shouldn't talk—I've never seen your face in any Duel Monster tournament circuits before! How do I know you didn't just get lucky enough to have Drake Phoenix pick you as an eliminator for this tournament?

"When I am done, you'll wish I _had_ stayed anonymous to your knowledge," Jan said ominously.

**RAVEN: 8000; JAN: 8000**

At once, on TVs worldwide—though the two weren't aware of it just then—their respective dueling information popped up. First was Raven's. _**Raven Pegasus. Age: 17. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Participated in this year's British Intercontinental Championships; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Different Dimension deck.**_

Then followed Jan's info. _**Jan Shimizu, appointed eliminator. Age: 25. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: No known prior tournament experience. Deck strategy: Archfiend.**_

"I'll make you swallow those words of yours!" Raven vowed, while his and Jan's life points each went up to 8000. "I've managed to beat one eliminator already; you'll just be a walk in the park!"

"You wish." Jan's eyes were narrow.

The two drew their first five cards. "I shall go first, being the eliminator here," said Jan, and he drew his sixth card. "And I summon Mad Archfiend (ATK 1800, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" And—there suddenly appeared on his side of the field a red-haired creature with long skulls for shoulder-plates, and a smaller skull for a stomach. "And then I'll set two cards facedown, for later."

"Ha! That's the best you can do?" Raven scoffed while he drew his card. "Sorry, but I'm yet to be impressed."

"Why the rush?" asked Jan. "Or are you in that much of a hurry to be humiliated?"

"Hmph." Raven looked at the card he'd drawn. "Okay, you know what? I think I'll be a nice guy…I summon D.D. Guide (ATK 1400, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later a black-robed figure appeared on Raven's side of the field. His head was obscured by the hood he wore, but his hands protruded from the sleeves of the robe, and they appeared to be cybernetic in nature. "And…what exactly is this? It can't match up to my Mad Archfiend," Jan pointed out.

"True," said Raven. "But I didn't bring D.D. Guide onto the field to fight with…you see, he has an effect that'll work very well for me now. When he's Normal Summoned, control of him switches to you…"

At once a dimensional portal appeared on Raven's side of the field, and D.D. Guide stepped into it—and seconds later he re-emerged on Jan's side, standing next to the bemused Mad Archfiend. "Hmm…I see…and I assume you wouldn't so easily just give your monster to me, unless his effect somehow hinders me," Jan remarked.

"You're actually pretty sharp," Raven grinned. "During each player's End Phase, the opponent of D.D. Guide's controller gets to pick one card from the controller's Graveyard and then removes that picked card from play. So, in other words, since you control D.D. Guide now, at the end of each of our turns I'll be able to remove one card in your Graveyard from play."

"I see…fairly ingenious—except that now I have two monsters to attack you with next turn," Jan pointed out.

"Actually, you won't get to attack at all—not after I activate my Magic card, D.D. Borderline!" Raven promptly activated the card from his hand, and a short while later the huge blue barrier emerged and surrounded both players. "Now, while D.D. Borderline's active, so long as I don't have any Magic cards in my Graveyard, neither of us can attack!" Raven continued.

"So, in other words, you plan to bide your time until you can come up with a way to defeat me," said Jan. "Well, normally I respect duelists who can cleverly use strategy…and yours might be considered a clever strategy…except for two glaring points at this very moment."

"Oh?" Raven cocked an eyebrow.

Jan nodded. "First of all, the effect of your D.D. Guide—which you were very kind to give over to me, by the way—that effect that removes a card in the Graveyard from play…it'll only work if I have ANY cards in the Graveyard at all, and right now, I do not. Second of all, your D.D. Borderline here might protect you from being attacked, but, A: you yourself are restricted from attacking as well, so any opportunities you may otherwise have to strike at my life points will fall through terribly; and B: how do you know I won't still find a way to damage your life points anyway?"

"Analytical, now aren't you?" Raven quipped.

"End your turn, and then we'll see if I can't demonstrate my point," said Jan.

"Hmm…all right. I end my turn—and as you said, since you don't have any cards in the Graveyard, D.D. Guide's effect won't activate for now," said Raven, even as he sighed grudgingly.

Jan wasted no time, drawing his next card so now he held four. "Now…" His eyes flashed. "I activate the Magic card, Card Destruction! Now both of us must discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards from our decks that we'd discarded!"

Raven flinched like he'd been slapped. "Damn it…!" he hissed, even as he discarded the four cards in his hand and drew another four. No sooner had he done this, though, than all at once D.D. Borderline's force field dimmed a little.

"Just as I suspected…those cards you discarded, at least one of them must have been a Magic card," Jan remarked, even while he discarded his remaining three hand-cards and then drew another three. "And now to capitalize on my advantage! Mad Archfiend, D.D. Guide, attack directly!"

Mad Archfiend pulled the skull out of its stomach and hurled it with bullet-like force at Raven; the skull hit him square in the head and violently ricocheted off his cranium. As Raven staggered back from the blow, the skull flew right back into Mad Archfiend's hand and was swiftly returned to its rightful place in the monster's otherwise hollow stomach space.

**RAVEN: 6200; JAN: 8000**

Then D.D. Guide appeared to levitate—then seconds later shot right toward Raven, leaving after-images of himself behind in the process, and unleashed a barrage of punches into Raven's midsection. Already disoriented from Mad Archfiend's attack on his person, Raven now reeled from his own monster's assault on him.

**RAVEN: 4800; JAN: 8000**

"You should think over your strategies a little more thoroughly before you execute them," Jan said coolly. "But I believe in fair play—and in all fairness, you were quite open to attack without monsters on the field to protect you, and I _did_ attack you with your own monster. So, allow me to make it up to you—by activating my Trap card, Nightmare Archfiends!"

Suddenly, D.D. Guide vanished from Jan's side of the field in a burst of flame. Then, from out of nowhere three balls of green flame appeared on Raven's side of the field…and from those balls of flame there appeared three ebony-skinned, red-eyed, green-haired creatures, cackling maniacally. "Uhh…what the hell…?" Raven asked in bewilderment, still a bit groggy from the attacks he'd suffered moments earlier.

"I see…still disoriented, eh? Then allow me to break it down for you," Jan offered. "Just now, I activated my Trap card, a card called Nightmare Archfiends. Here is how it works: I had to tribute a monster on my side of the field to activate it, and I tributed your D.D. Guide. Then, I was able to Special Summon three Nightmare Archfiend tokens to your side of the field in Attack Mode, and from here on out they're treated as Level 6, Fiend-type, Dark-attribute monsters with 2000 ATK and 2000 DEF."

Raven shook his head, the swimming lights finally clearing away from his vision. "Oh…okay…I get it now…that's decent, I guess…" Then suddenly his gaze hardened. "But I'm not stupid. I wouldn't just get a monster or monster tokens from my opponent unless there were strings attached, like with my D.D. Guide when you got control of it after I summoned it."

"How astute," Jan nodded. "Very well, I'll tell you the secret of these tokens. When a Nightmare Archfiend token is destroyed, its controller gets 800 points of damage. And since you have three of them there, if all three are destroyed…"

"…then that's 2400 points of damage to my life points," Raven finished.

"Exactly." Jan nodded again. "And now, I will offer Mad Archfiend as a tribute to call on the power of the Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200)!"

A bolt of lightning shot down from above and took out the Mad Archfiend—then, standing in its place was Jan's tall, hulking, winged skeletal fiend, roaring with fury even while electricity coursed around its body. "And now," Jan finished, "I'll call it a turn."

His eyes narrowing at this development, Raven drew his next card so he now held five in hand. "You got a stronger monster into play to stand against these three creatures here," he observed. "But you're not gonna get a chance to destroy them, no way! I'm gonna pay you back for attacking me…and I've got just the cards here in my hand to do the job right!"

"Do you?" asked Jan.

"Yeah, that's right," said Raven. "Now that I've got a better idea of how you play, I'm going to have to really make the most of my next play—I know that much at least. So, here I go!" He held up one of his cards. "I activate the Magic card, Dark Core! Now, by discarding one card from my hand…" Which he did. "…I can remove one face-up monster on the field from play—and naturally, I choose the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"

Instantaneously a ball of dark energy emerged and sucked the helpless and screaming Skull Archfiend into it; it then shrank into nothing. Jan furrowed his brow at this development. "So now it's _my_ life points that are exposed," he said.

"And I'll give these three Nightmare Archfiends an additional boost of strength—by summoning D.D. Crazy Beast (ATK 1400, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" Raven played another card—and as a dimensional portal opened on his side of the field, from it there emerged a red-skinned, worm-like beast with foam slathered over its large teeth.

"Now, I'm just sorry this big guy doesn't have more ATK so that he and these three critters here can wipe you out right now, but I guess I'll have to take what I can get," Raven continued. "Go, monsters—attack directly!"

All three of the Nightmare Archfiends burst into flame, cackling wildly. Then, hovering in the air, they flew at Jan like bullets, striking him one after another; he flinched a bit as their combined assault sharply dropped his life points to 2000.

**RAVEN: 4800; JAN: 2000**

Then, as he was steadying himself, D.D. Crazy Beast barreled forward and snapped at him; he managed to jump back just in time to avoid its jaws, but still his life points went further to a dangerously low 600.

**RAVEN: 4800; JAN: 600**

"And finally, I'll put one card facedown, just to be safe, and then call it a turn," Raven finished while he set a card facedown in the Magic/Trap slot. "Not much of an eliminator, now are you? I've got you on the ropes, instead of the other way around!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself," Jan warned. "You might've taken advantage of my giving you those Nightmare Archfiend tokens to pull yourself ahead in this duel…but you still have a long way to go before you can hope to beat me."

Raven scowled. "Why, you arrogant…"

"I suppose it would be better to give you a physical demonstration of my point." Jan then drew his next card, so once again he held three in hand. Then he picked one of the three cards and held it up for Raven to see. "All right—I activate the magic of Monster Reborn! And I'll use it to revive a monster from my Graveyard, in Attack Mode…"

Raven watched him carefully, instinctively on his guard.

"Now, just so you don't get confused," Jan continued, "this monster I'm about to summon from the Graveyard—it got sent there when I activated my Card Destruction card earlier. And…it's coming straight from my own personal collection, one that I'd put on the back-burner for years…but with this tournament so full of pro-league competitors, there's no reason for me not to play it safe—at least, that's what I told myself."

Raven frowned. "Would you stop yapping and bring out your monster if you're going to?"

"Mmm-hmm…definitely in a hurry to be defeated. Very well." Jan slapped the Monster Reborn card onto his Duel-Disk. "Monster Reborn, activate! Special Summon from my Graveyard, in Attack Mode…Darklord Zerato (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)!"

Monster Reborn's familiar ankh of light shone on Jan's side of the field…then abruptly it turned black as a menacing shadow slinked out from it and took form. The shadow sprouted bat-like wings, and the form of a sword appeared in one of its hands. Then, quite suddenly, the darkness evaporated from the mysterious arrival—and when it did, there stood a gray-skinned man, with blood-red wings, jagged red guards on his wrists and a horned red helmet on his head, and in his hand he held a wicked-looking sword with a grinning silver blade.

"Eh?" Raven blinked at this sight. "Okay…this guy's really creepy-looking…"

"I admit, he's a stretch from my usual Archfiend strategy—but his power is useful to me nonetheless," said Jan. "For you see, kid, by discarding one Dark monster from my hand to the Graveyard," and here he held up one of his two remaining hand-cards, the Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300) card, and sent it off to the Graveyard, "I activate Darklord Zerato's effect—he'll destroy every monster that you control!"

Raven turned ashen at this information. "No!"

But Darklord Zerato raised his sword above his head, then abruptly swung downward—and created a haze of red crescent-shaped energy disks that flew right over to Raven's side of the field, cutting straight through D.D. Crazy Beast and the three Nightmare Archfiend tokens. As the latter three got destroyed, their fiery essence hurtled back onto Raven, and he cringed as he lost life points by their effect.

**RAVEN: 2400; JAN: 600**

"Normally, when I activate that effect for Darklord Zerato, he'll be destroyed at the end of the turn," Jan pointed out. "However, considering the current situation, that's no longer a concern for me. So…Darklord Zerato, attack directly! Blade of the Corrupted Heavens!"

Readying his sword again and flapping his large wings, Darklord Zerato rushed headlong at Raven—but the other duelist suddenly shouted, "And I counter with my Trap card, Dimensional Prison! When you declare an attack with a monster, I get to remove that attacking monster from play!"

A large tear in the dimensional fabric opened up just then, and the hapless Darklord Zerato ended up flying right into it. Just as he realized his mishap, the dimensional tear sealed up again. "Now _that's_ one prison that the prisoner won't be escaping from any time ever!" Raven declared.

For a long moment Jan stared at the space that Darklord Zerato had, only moments ago, been occupying. Then he sighed. "Well…that was certainly a bad error in judgment on my part. I'll ensure it doesn't happen again." He looked at the one remaining card in his hand. "All right…I'll set this card facedown, and that will be all for my turn."

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE

"Um…" Mrs. Bakura cocked an eyebrow. "That monster Jan just summoned…"

"I've heard of it," Mr. Bakura told her. "It's one of a series of cards that Industrial Illusions released years ago…around the same time Jan…left home. Those cards are supposed to be dark versions of already-established monsters."

"And that monster just now…it was a dark version of my own Archlord Zerato (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)," Kyo said quietly.

"Yes," Mr. Bakura affirmed. "But there's also a separate set of monsters within that category…Dark-attribute, Fairy-type monsters. They're known as the 'Fallen Angel' set…but who would've thought Jan had one of them all this time?"

"But what does it mean, then?" Grandma Muto wondered.

"Hmm…" Mr. Muto frowned. "Ryou, those monsters…they're Dark-attribute, but at the same time they're Fairy-type, yes? Traditionally, those two descriptions would never mesh in the Duel Monsters game…with faeries being attributed with goodness, and darkness being attributed with evil—with certain exceptions."

"Then these Fairy-types being of the Dark attribute…they'd be included in those exceptions," Mr. Bakura put in. "I wonder…it's been said that those particular monsters are symbolic of falling from grace and seeking of redemption, within Duel Monster lore…" He looked at the others. "Do you suppose…"

"The only one who can truly say is Jan himself," Kyo interrupted. "And right now, we're here, and he's there. So…let's just see how the rest of this duel turns out."

"Kyo…" Mrs. Bakura said softly.

----------

And now, as Raven prepared to take his turn, his face had all the marks of serious contemplation on it. _Can't deny it…this guy's good! Even if he got that Darklord Zerato card last turn by luck of the draw, he sure knows how to handle his cards well! And for all I know, that facedown card of his might just be a trap he's waiting to use to finish me off…I'll have to really play it safe from this point onward! _He drew his card, so now he held two in hand. _Oh? These are the cards I have? Hmm…all right, then…this is going to be really risky to do, but if I can pull it off, it'll be well worth it! All right—here goes! _Then, aloud he announced, "I summon Dimension Fortress Weapon (ATK 1700, DEF 200) in Attack Mode!" He then played one of his cards—and there emerged a huge gold-plated mechanical monstrosity, hissing and whirring with every bit of movement.

"I see…so this is what you're going to use to end my tenure in this tournament, eh?" asked Jan. "Well, what're you waiting for? Attack me, if you're brave enough to do so, boy…"

But Raven waved a disapproving finger. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? For me to attack you blindly, giving you an ample opportunity to activate that facedown card of yours, right? Sorry, Mac, but I've got other things in mind!" He then held up his remaining hand-card. "I activate the Magic card, Different Dimension Capsule!"

All at once a dimensional rift opened above Raven's side of the field; the next thing Jan knew, hovering there was a huge casket with an Egyptian pharaoh's head decorating the top. "Here's how this card works," said Raven. "After the Different Dimension Capsule's been activated, it'll stay on the field until my second Standby Phase after I activated it—in other words, until my next two turns. Now, I select one card from my deck…" He pulled his deck out of its slot, thumbed through it quickly, and then picked a card. "…then I shuffle my deck…" Pocketing the selected card for a moment, Raven shuffled his deck and replaced it into his Duel-Disk. "Afterwards, I remove the selected card from play, and it's placed facedown in the process." He took the selected card out of his pocket and held it up, its face away from Jan; the card swiftly soared up to the Different Dimension Capsule, which opened up and admitted the card into its dark bowels before slamming shut. "And then, during my second Standby Phase two turns later, I destroy the Different Dimension Capsule and add the selected card to my hand," Raven finished.

"Hmm." Jan cocked an eyebrow. "It must be quite a card if you're willing to go to this kind of trouble, huh?"

"That's for me to know and you to discover—eventually," Raven grinned. "For now, though, I'll end my turn."

"Very well." Jan nodded and drew his card, replenishing his hand. "And now…it is time for me to deliver my own counterattack."

"Counterattack?" Raven said doubtfully.

"Watch and see." Jan indicated his facedown card. "You were right to be suspicious about this facedown card of mine…it IS a Trap card—although probably not the type you were expecting." He held a hand out toward it. "Activate—Archfiend's Roar!"

**RAVEN: 2400; JAN: 100**

As Jan's facedown card was revealed, his life points dropped to a scant 100! "I had to sacrifice 500 life points to activate this card," Jan explained. "However, in return it allows me to Special Summon one Archfiend monster from my Graveyard, although that monster can't be tributed under any circumstances and will be destroyed at the end of this turn. But for what I'm about to do, it'll be worth it—so be resurrected, Mad Archfiend, in Attack Mode!"

From the Archfiend's Roar card a loud and frightful roar erupted—and then Mad Archfiend burst from the ground, cackling wildly. "Okay…but so what? That's not nearly enough to frighten me!" Raven scoffed.

"No? Then how about this?" Jan held up the card he'd just drawn. "Being in close proximity to Pegasus near-constantly, you should know this card that I'm about to play…it was one of his earlier works from way back in the day." Then he flipped the card's face around so Raven could see what it was. "The Magic card—Change of Heart!"

"Wha—" Raven's doubtful expression gave way swiftly to one of utter panic. "No! You CAN'T!"

"I can, and I shall!" Jan played the card. "I activate the Change of Heart—and with it, I'll take command of your Dimension Fortress Weapon!"

All at once, from the Change of Heart card, a youngster emerged, bearing wings on his back—but one wing was a black bat's wing, and the other was a pure white dove's wing. The spirit now flew over to Raven's side of the field and entered the Dimension Fortress Weapon…and just like that, it rolled over to Jan's side of the field, hissing and grinding all the way. "Shit…!" Raven cursed under his breath.

"Now—the end! Mad Archfiend, Dimension Fortress Weapon, attack directly and finish him off!" Jan yelled. In turn, Mad Archfiend flung its stomach-skull at Raven again, hitting him square in the chest and bringing his score down to 600.

**RAVEN: 600; JAN: 100**

Then, parts of the Fortress Weapon's metallic chest opened up, revealing a huge particle cannon within. The cannon swiftly charged up with energy, then fired a blast that thundered toward Raven's side of the field…

**RAVEN: 0; JAN: 100**

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

"…ouch." Mr. Wheeler flinched as the Dimension Fortress Weapon's particle cannon attack exploded all over Raven's side of the field.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Miki said quietly. "When I dueled him in Egypt, during the whole JUDAS affair, he beat me really easily. I didn't stand a chance."

"Do you think anybody will be able to best him in this tournament?" Jenna wondered.

"We'll just have to see, I guess…" Miki shrugged.

----------

KAIBA LAND

As the holographic figures disappeared from the field, Jan looked at his Duel-Disk's life point counter, where his tournament points were rising to 3000. "2000 points added to my tally…as easily as that," he remarked. "And yet it will be just as easy for me, as an eliminator, to lose them to any tournament player who defeats me. I'll need to be careful from here on out."

Across from him, Raven was slowly starting to get up, even as the smoke from Dimension Fortress Weapon's attack steamed off his clothing. "Ow…that sucked…" he groaned. "Looks like I'm out of the tournament now…"

Jan cast a glance at him. "I'm curious. Just what was your strategy that you were going to employ, that you needed to use your Different Dimension Capsule card?"

"Huh?" Raven looked at him. "Oh…well…" He tucked a hand into the pocket where he'd stored the removed-from-play card—which was soon revealed to be Caius the Shadow Monarch (ATK 2400, DEF 1000). "Well, since you're asking…if I'd had a chance to add this card to my hand when my Different Dimension Capsule's effect wore off, I would've tributed the Dimension Fortress Weapon to summon this guy, and use his effect to remove your facedown card from play. That way, I'd have had a clear shot at your life points. Or, if I'd have gotten to summon another monster alongside the Fortress Weapon, then I could tribute that one to summon Caius, and remove the Fortress Weapon from play with Caius's effect—and his effect says that if the card I remove by Caius's power is a Dark-attribute monster, you'd get 1000 points of damage." Then he sighed ruefully. "At least, that's how I could've won, if it hadn't been for your Change of Heart card."

"Hmm." Jan seemed to consider this information. "Well…for what it's worth, kid…that kind of strategy _probably_ could have worked. But the fact is, I still prevailed, and you still lost."

"Yeah. Can't escape that." Raven shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "So…now I'm going to have to watch the rest of the tournament from a distance." He nodded at Jan. "You're strong, I have to admit that. Maybe one of these days I can get to duel you again, or something."

"Maybe." Jan's expression was poker-faced. "Well, time for me to continue my eliminator duties. See you around."

That being said, Jan turned and walked off in a random direction. _Raven Pegasus…you have the potential to become strong, too…I will not forget your name or face._

_----------_

_**neomage:**_ The enigmatic (not so much) Jan Shimizu continues in the tournament…and who will his next target be? Review soon, please!


	54. Icy Vengeance

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Hold up your hands if you love your income-earning job…hold up both hands if said job is the kind you trained for! Oh—and by the way, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh in any way, shape or form.)

**CHAPTER 54 – Icy Vengeance**

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 1:45 p.m.

The festivities of the amusement park carried on, with patrons excitedly buying food and souvenirs and taking pictures here and there with several mascots in Duel Monster-themed costumes. "Mommy, Mommy! I wanna take pictures!" one child after another could be heard crying, and moments later _clicks_ could be heard and flashes could be seen as cameras did their work.

Standing off a good distance away from the crowds, the Jewel Duelist watched all of this. The more she watched, the softer the expression in her eyes became. "Such innocence…such tranquility…" she whispered.

"Got bored with Drake's tournament, already, have we?"

The voice speaking up abruptly behind her caused her to whirl—and then she relaxed. "Oh, it's _you,"_ she remarked. "I almost didn't recognize you…guess it's been a while since I heard your voice."

Standing several meters away from her was the same mysterious rider who'd been en route to Kaiba Land the previous night—dark brown body suit, black leather gloves, light brown boots, and maroon-colored safety helmet with its face-concealing visor. "I say," the Jewel Duelist continued, "doesn't your face get to breathe? You could at least remove the helmet—it's not as if I don't know who you are."

The rider made no motion to remove the helmet, however. "Only if you remove your own little excuse for a mask first."

The Jewel Duelist chuckled. "Touché. Point noted. But—why _are_ you here?"

"I was asked to do a bit of babysitting, so to speak," the rider replied. "Of course, I had to get into the park the same way I figure you must have—by sneaking in past the security detail. If Drake were to get wind that I'm here, no matter what my reasons might be, he'd toss me out of here on my head and I'd never be able to do what I've been tasked to do."

"Which explains your refusal to remove your helmet, I imagine," said the Jewel Duelist. "So…you're here to babysit him, yeah?"

"Yeah." The rider nodded. "So far, though, no sign of him anywhere. This isn't exactly a small attraction we're at, after all. But I have observed a few duels here and there in the midst of my searching…and they've been good duels, so my searching won't be utterly fruitless."

"I admire your optimism," said the Jewel Duelist. "But just in case you do get tired of searching eventually, head on over to the hotel grounds—all the duelists will have roomed there, and it's the only safe-zone within the bounds of Kaiba Land."

"So noted," and the rider nodded. "By the way, what will _you_ be doing?"

"Me?" The Jewel Duelist chuckled a little. "I'm only going to be a silent observer for now…it's not like my intervention in the running of the tournament is an absolute necessity."

"Even though Drake Phoenix is the organizer—and you have a good idea why he set it all up to begin with?" The rider's head cocked to one side as the question hung in the air.

"Any fool who knows the inner politics of the Duel Monsters world knows the reason for his hosting this tournament—it's far too thinly veiled," said the Jewel Duelist. "And I'm sure that those three—Yugo, Seta, and Janus—will have figured it out for themselves by this point. However, the ball's in _their_ court. It's up to them to make the next play as their best judgment will allow."

"I follow you…but I'm still wary of what Drake may do, nonetheless," said the rider. "I've a feeling he won't hesitate to bend or break his own rules if he thinks it'll be to his own benefit."

"What do you propose, then?" asked the Jewel Duelist.

The rider seemed to consider the query. "Well…perhaps you could keep one eye on Drake, while he's sitting all cozy-like in that castle of his. What do you think of that?"

"Keep one eye on him…and act as a restraint to his activities, ensuring he doesn't rig this tournament in his favor, or do more than his hosting duties should permit…hmm, doesn't seem like a bad plan." The Jewel Duelist nodded. "And meantime, you'll continue your own search."

"That I will. And once I've found him…I'll be able to have a question answered that I've had for a little while now…"

"Hmm?" The Jewel Duelist cocked an eyebrow at the rider's statement.

"Ah—never mind. If we should meet up again, after I've found him, I'll explain all to you." The rider turned. "Take care." And then walked away.

"Yes…you, too," the Jewel Duelist replied softly.

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 1:50 p.m.

Jillian Uriah leaned against an iron post, munching on a corn-dog as she watched the patrons pass by. "No duelists in sight up to now…and here I've spent the whole morning walking hither and thither," she sighed aloud.

"Excuse me, miss…?"

"Hmm?" Jillian looked down to see two young boys looking up at her curiously. "Something I can do for you, kids?"

"Uh, yeah…" One of the boys, a sandy-blond kid, nudged his companion. "Hey, D.J., you wanted to ask her—so ask her!"

The other boy bristled underneath his blue baseball cap. "Don't rush me, Clyde! I'll ask her when I'm good and ready!"

"Ask me what, boys?" Jillian cocked an eyebrow.

Clyde smirked. "D.J. wants to know if he can get your autograph, 'cuz he thinks you're _pretty!"_ he said tauntingly.

"Sh-shut up! I can talk for myself, you know!" D.J. yelled, even as a blush appeared on his face.

"Now, now, no need to fight," Jillian said smoothly. Then she turned to D.J. "So, an autograph, is it? I can do that…do you have a pen and paper?"

"Uh…" D.J. searched his pockets. "Uh, yeah! Here you go!"

"All right…" Jillian accepted the pen and paper, quickly did some scribbling, and then handed the writing instruments back to the boy. "There!"

"Gosh, thanks," D.J. said, looking at the signature on the paper.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you two!"

The three looked up at the sound of the voice. "Oh, look, it's our mom!" Clyde remarked. "Hi, Mom! Come look who we're meeting!"

The woman who'd called out to them was an attractive older woman, who now came toward them with a worried expression on her face. "How many times must I tell you two, don't run off like that! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry, Mom," Clyde and D.J. hung their heads sheepishly.

The woman then turned her attention to Jillian. "Sorry about this, miss," she said. "These two tumbleweeds here can be such a handful…they were so excited about being here to see the Phoenix Herald Crown in person and getting a chance to see some of the world's most famous duelists up close."

"It was no trouble, really," Jillian assured her. "And your boys seem to be good kids."

"They are, they are," the woman said appreciatively. Then she took note of Jillian's Duel-Disk. "Say…that Duel-Disk…"

"Hmm? Oh, yes…I'm a participant in this tournament," Jillian affirmed.

The woman studied her for a moment. "Ah, yes! Now I remember your face…Jillian Uriah, isn't it? And you were in Dueltropolis, as well!"

"Yes, I was," Jillian nodded. "Your sons were just asking me for my autograph."

"I shouldn't be surprised, now," the mother beamed. "Clyde and D.J. really idolize you duelists, you know."

"We sure do!" Clyde spoke up.

"Yep!" D.J. nodded. "Although, when it comes down to it, our cousin's the best duelist EVER! He's way tougher than any other duelist—tougher than Yugo and Seta, even!"

"Oh? Is that right?" Jillian smiled knowingly. "Tougher than me, too?"

"Well…uh…" D.J. seemed ready to recant his statement. "Well, maybe just a little…but you're still the best-looking of the girl duelists we've ever seen!"

"Why, thank you." Jillian chuckled a little and brushed her red bang away from her face. "By the way, what's your cousin's name? If he's really as tough a duelist as you say, I think I'd like to meet him sometime."

"Uh…about that…" The mother's face was suddenly grave. "Their cousin…he doesn't really duel anymore, these days. He used to, though—he was a perfect candidate for the title of World Champion, up to ten years ago."

"Oh, is that so?" Jillian seemed interested. "He must've been something back in his day…"

"He was." The mother's face was thoughtful.

Jillian took note of the serious expression on the woman's face, even as the two boys looked at their mother questioningly. "Would you…would you mind telling me what your nephew's name is, ma'am?" she asked carefully.

The woman shrugged. "I don't see what it could hurt…although, I imagine, once you hear the name, you'll understand why I say he doesn't duel anymore."

"Oh?" Jillian looked at her expectantly.

Then the woman looked Jillian squarely in the eye. "Tell me, Ms. Uriah…does the name _Gabriel Roman_ ring any bells for you?"

Jillian's eyes widened at the mention of the name. _That name…! Can it be? This woman…these kids…they're actually related to—_

"YOU THERE!"

Jillian snapped her head to one side on hearing the shout. So did the mother and the two kids, and several other nearby patrons, for that matter. "Oh—! That's…!" The mother was quite surprised.

Clyde and D.J.'s eyes lit up. "It's Diane Chill!"

Indeed, it was Diane Chill…but on her face was an utterly peeved expression. "Yeah, I knew it was you," she spat at Jillian. "Jillian Uriah, right? Who was always parading around with Seta Kaiba?"

"That's me," Jillian answered warily. "Something I can do for you?"

"Actually, yeah, there's something you can do for me," and Diane held up her Duel-Disk. "I've been in a really bad mood for a good while now…and now I've got the perfect outlet to unleash my rage on—the personal lap-dog of that has-been hack, Seta Kaiba!"

Jillian frowned. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you," she said quietly. "Anyway, I've no quarrel with you—but if it's a duel you want, I'll be more than happy to accept."

"Wow! You're really gonna duel, Jillian?" Clyde exclaimed. "Awesome! D.J., we're gonna see Jillian duel up close and personal!"

"Sweetness itself!" D.J. exulted.

The next thing, Diane gave the two kids a look that would've frozen them into icicles if it could. "Beat it, shrimps!" she hissed.

"Hey! There's no need for that!" the mother protested, even as the boys scurried behind her for protection.

"I agree." Jillian leveled a look at Diane. "I don't know what's gotten you so riled up, but you need to calm down. And as I said, if it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll have." She readied her Duel-Disk. "So…?"

"Good, then!" Diane grinned. "Let's go, lap-dog!"

"Come on, kids…let's get out of their way," Clyde and D.J.'s mother urged them, pulling them toward the growing barrier of spectators that had gathered and were still gathering.

"Do your best, Jillian!" Clyde called to the girl.

"Yeah! We'll be here, so make sure you don't lose!" D.J. added his voice.

Jillian nodded briefly at them, then turned to Diane. "So…for some reason, you're not quite living up to your name—you're hot under the collar all of a sudden," she remarked. "Care to say why?"

"Oh, sure, why not?" said Diane, even while she slotted her deck of cards into her Duel-Disk. "Just about an hour ago, I ran into one of the three bastards who're hanging on to the world's top three dueling spots—Janus Yuki. I was all set to put him in his place, but the little punk somehow managed to luck out and defeated ME! Me, a pro league duelist! Defeated by a nobody!"

Jillian couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, he _is_ the world's Number Three ranked duelist now…"

"That was just chance, I tell you!" Diane raged. "He doesn't deserve that spot—and if _he_ doesn't deserve that spot, Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba don't deserve the other spots either! Muto's nothing but a brat who got lucky, and Kaiba…he nearly got innocent people KILLED at Tokyo Dome! He—the whole bunch of them—they deserve to be strung up!"

Now the smile disappeared from Jillian's face. "What happened, happened," she said softly. "But you are coming _this_ close to insulting Sir Seta's integrity. I will not tolerate that…and if you insult Yugo Muto and Janus Yuki, I won't let you off the hook for that either."

"Why do _you_ even care, huh?" Diane seethed.

"Don't pass judgment on people just like that," Jillian answered. "You weren't even at the World Championships—how can you possibly understand what those three had to endure, hmm? And anyway, you shouldn't knock those three's skill—Janus Yuki _did _defeat you, as you yourself just admitted."

"Grr…enough! Duel me now!" Diane demanded. "You're nothing more than a calendar girl for that shit-for-brains Seta Kaiba—it'll be a cinch to grab your tournament points from you!"

Jillian's eyes flashed. "For underestimating me…and for insulting Sir Seta…I'll crack your skull."

"Come on!" Diane shouted.

**JILLIAN: 8000; DIANE: 8000**

Their respective dueling information got quickly displayed on TV screens across the globe. First, Diane's: _**Diane Chill. Age: 22. Nationality: Russia. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2014; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 5 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2016 onward. Deck strategy: Ice theme.**_

Then, Jillian's: _**Jillian Uriah. Age: 17. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Ranked in the Top 8 in the Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. Deck strategy: Guardian theme.**_

Each drew her first five cards. "I'm the better duelist here, so I'll go first!" Diane declared haughtily, drawing her sixth card to begin. "Now, I'll just set a monster in Defense Mode, and two cards facedown—for later. And I'm done."

_She may be snotty, but I'll give her this much—she knows how to play cautiously,_ Jillian thought to herself as she drew her card. _But I doubt she paid much attention to the Dueltropolis tournament on TV, or else she'd know what kind of player she's up against. So…_ She glanced at the hand she currently held. _I just may have an ample opportunity to show her just what she's really in for. Here I go!_

Aloud she announced, "I activate the Ritual Magic card, Novox's Prayer! By tributing monsters from my side of the field or my hand whose total levels equal 7 or more, I can Ritual Summon a powerful beast…Skull Guardian (ATK 2050, DEF 2500) in Attack Mode! And so, I'll offer two monsters from my hand for the ritual…" She held up two cards. "Guardian Baou (ATK 800, DEF 400) and Guardian Kay'est (ATK 1000, DEF 1800)! Now, come forth to battle, Skull Guardian!"

The image of a young woman clad in a red cloak appeared on Jillian's side of the field. The woman had her hands clasped together as in prayer; a moment later the silhouettes of a purple-skinned, wild-haired man with fiendish-looking armor and armed with a gigantic blade—Guardian Baou—and of a green-haired, blue-finned mermaid armed with a blue rod—Guardian Kay'est—appeared on either side of her. Then suddenly, all three disappeared from the field altogether…replaced mere seconds later by a figure clad in brown armor, with two wickedly-curved blades in place of arms! "All right, Skull Guardian! Attack her facedown monster!" Jillian commanded.

Flashing his blade-arms around stylishly for a few seconds, Skull Guardian sprinted forward and slashed at Diane's facedown monster. The card was cleanly cut into four pieces, and a transparent image of what looked like a penguin in a top hat and suit squawked before being vanquished. But—Diane grinned at this display. "Idiot bitch, I was hoping you'd do something that retarded!" she gloated. "You just destroyed my Nightmare Penguin (ATK 900, DEF 1800), and when he's flipped face-up, his effect lets me return one card that you control to your hand!"

To Jillian's consternation, Skull Guardian was inexplicably covered in icy sleet—and then broke into several brittle pieces. Chagrined, she took up Skull Guardian's card from her Duel-Disk and added it back to her hand. "Argh, fine," she grumbled. "I can't do anything else right now. I end my turn."

Now Diane smirked as she drew her next card. "Heh…looks like taking your tournament points from you is going to be even easier than I'd hoped," she quipped. "I summon Cold Enchanter (ATK 1600, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

A sharp burst of cold wind blew all across the field at that moment, even as icicles formed on Diane's side of the field. The icicles then shifted around till they were in the shape of a human body—and then abruptly melted away, revealing a young white-haired girl in light-blue clothing, clutching a staff with a huge snowflake decoration at its tip. "See this little ice princess here? She's one of my most useful monsters," said Diane proudly. "And I'm going to show you why. She has an effect that allows me to discard one card from my hand in order to put what's known as an Ice Counter on one face-up monster—and since she's the only face-up monster on the field at the moment, I'll put it on her!"

As Diane discarded a card from her hand, a large white snowflake materialized over Cold Enchanter's cleavage—and her ATK rose to 1900. "Cold Enchanter's ATK increases by 300 for each Ice Counter on the field," Diane told Jillian. "So, I could conceivably discard these last two cards of mine from my hand, give Cold Enchanter two more Ice Counters, and increase her ATK by another 600 points. But I'm not going to do that—and you know why? Because I'm going to do a whole lot of damage to you in this turn!"

Jillian's eyes narrowed.

"Just to let you know," and here Diane touched a button on her Duel-Disk, bringing up a holographic screen of her Graveyard information, "there are currently two monsters in my Graveyard: my Nightmare Penguin, which you destroyed earlier, and my Mobius the Frost Monarch (ATK 2400, DEF 1000), which I just discarded to activate Cold Enchanter's Ice Counter effect. And since both of them are Water-attribute monsters, I'll remove them both from play to Special Summon another monster from my hand…Fenrir (ATK 1400, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!"

A moment later Fenrir appeared, snarling, next to Cold Enchanter. Then Diane held up the very last card in her hand. "And now, the icing on the cake, so to speak," she chuckled. "The Field Magic card, Umiiruka! In exchange for lowering the DEF of all Water-attribute monsters by 400 points, their ATK will be increased by 500 points!" And as she played the card, the surrounding field immediately transformed into an icy ocean, with huge chunks of ice floating around in the water. Even as Jillian shivered a bit at the sudden change in temperature, Fenrir's and Cold Enchanter's respective DEF points each dropped to 800—but Fenrir's ATK shot up to 1900, while Cold Enchanter's climbed to 2400!

"Go, my monsters! Freeze her sorry ass!" Diane yelled. In reply, Cold Enchanter pointed her staff at Jillian and generated a burst of freezing wind at the duelist, knocking her back.

**JILLIAN: 5600; DIANE: 8000**

Then Fenrir charged forward and snapped its jowls at Jillian's leg; she flinched as she felt its fangs sink into her flesh, then abruptly let go.

**JILLIAN: 3700; DIANE: 8000**

"And with that, I'll end my turn," Diane finished. "Next turn, you're dead!"

Jillian flinched as the place where Fenrir had bitten her felt exceedingly numb and cold, and as the blizzard-level winds emanating from Cold Enchanter reached over to her side of the field. _This is bad…unless I get something really good on my next draw, she'll really be able to knock me down and out of this tournament! And…_ She grimaced. _After that…how will I be able to face Sir Seta, after failing to defend his honor…?_

"Don't give up, Jillian! You can still win!"

"Huh?" Jillian turned to look at Clyde and D.J., still on the sidelines with their mother. "You guys…?"

"Did you forget already?" D.J. yelled. "We told you we'd be watching you, didn't we? So you can't lose—you just _can't!"_

"Yeah!" Clyde added. "Show her your powerhouse monsters that you've got in your deck! Don't let her beat you!"

Diane wasn't taking the kids' cheering for Jillian well. "Idiot brats," she fumed. "Can't they see who's got the advantage here? _I'm_ the pro league duelist here; _I'm_ the one they should be cheering for!"

Jillian, on the other hand, kept looking at the kids…and then she smirked a little and gave them a thumbs-up. "Hey, guys," she said to them, "let me know if the way I duel from here on out is in any way comparable to your cousin, got it?"

Clyde and D.J., in turned, grinned. "Yeah!" they answered.

Now Jillian turned her full attention back to Diane. "Those two little fans of mine…they may be the only fans I have, compared to the world's top three ranked duelists, but I'll do my best for them nonetheless—even if my opponent _is_ pro league!" she declared.

"How sweet." Diane's voice dripped sarcasm.

"Now—my turn!" Jillian drew another card, so now she held four. "And I'll begin this turn by activating the magic of Graceful Charity! Now I get to draw three cards, but then I'll have to discard two from my hand."

Graceful Charity's green-robed angel appeared and offered three cards to Jillian; adding them to her hand, she then selected two from her hand and sent them off to the Graveyard. "All right…" She closely examined the cards she now held. "I'll activate the power of an Equip Magic card, Butterfly Dagger – Elma! A monster equipped with this weapon increases its ATK by 300…and when this card's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard while it's equipped to a monster, it gets returned to my hand…and I'm equipping it to…your Fenrir!"

At once a murmur of disbelief swept through the crowd of spectators, even while a mystical green dagger suddenly appeared, its handle tightly within Fenrir's jaws as the wolf's ATK rose a little bit to 2200. "Granted, that was only one of two monsters you could've equipped that little knife of yours to, both of them being in my control, but…why the hell would you DO that?" Diane asked. "Or are you that eager for me to eliminate what's left of your life points, is that it?"

"Just watch," Jillian admonished her. "Next, I activate the magic of Premature Burial! By paying 800 life points…"

**JILLIAN: 2900; DIANE: 8000**

"…I get to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode, and it gets equipped with this card. And the one I choose is…Guardian Elma (ATK 1300, DEF 1200)!"

Suddenly, from the depths of the active Umiiruka, there appeared a young woman with short red hair, armed with a knife that suspiciously resembled the Butterfly Dagger – Elma. "Wait…that girl…and this knife my Fenrir's got…" Diane looked suspiciously at one, then the other.

"Oh, so you noticed," Jillian remarked. "I guess I'd better explain. Guardian Elma can't be summoned unless her signature weapon, the Butterfly Dagger – Elma, is already active on my side of the field, whether it's equipped to one of my own monsters or to a monster my opponent controls. And since I'd equipped it to your Fenrir already, I was able to summon Guardian Elma from the Graveyard with no problem."

"I see," said Diane. "But that's just plain stupid. Who'd pay that kind of life point cost for a weak monster like _this?"_

"Watch yourself," Jillian warned. "Guardian Elma's got another effect, which I'll show you right now. When she's Normal Summoned or Special Summoned successfully, I can select one Equip Magic card in my Graveyard and equip it to her, so long as she _can_ be equipped with it. And there's a card in the Graveyard now that I'll equip her with right away…Gravity Axe – Grarl!"

Guardian Elma immediately sheathed her knife so that both of her hands were free—then, next thing everyone knew, she was holding onto a heavy double-bladed axe while her ATK shot up to 1800. At the same moment, some invisible force began to inexplicably press down on Fenrir and Cold Enchanter! "Huh?" Diane stared in confusion.

"Oh—that? That's the effect of the Gravity Axe – Grarl at work," Jillian explained. "In addition to increasing the ATK of the monster it's equipped to by 500 points, as long as it stays on the field, your monsters can't change their battle positions."

"Hmm…I see." Diane's eyes narrowed. "When you activated your Graceful Charity card, those were the two cards you discarded…Guardian Elma and Gravity Axe – Grarl…all so you could accomplish—what, exactly? Even if she's equipped with a weapon now, your little friend's still too weak to take on either of my monsters!"

"Then maybe I should make her strong enough to at least be able to take on one of them, eh?" Jillian then held up one of her two remaining cards. "I activate the Magic card, Tailor of the Fickle! This will now take one equipped Magic card and switch it to another correct target…and I think I'll take the Butterfly Dagger – Elma from your Fenrir and give it back to its rightful owner…Guardian Elma!"

"Ergh…!" Diane gritted her teeth in incredulous fury while the dagger vanished in a shower of sparks from the bewildered Fenrir's mouth, as its ATK dropped back down to 1900. Then, as Guardian Elma balanced the Gravity Axe – Grarl into one hand with surprising ease, she reached her other hand into her dagger's sheath and pulled the weapon out, its blade glowing with bright green light while her ATK rose to 2100.

"I sincerely wish Elma could've gotten a little more ATK, enough so she'd be able to take down your Cold Enchanter," Jillian admitted, "but at least if I can defeat your Fenrir, I'll get an edge! Now, Elma, go forward! Strike down the snow wolf!"

Tightly grasping her weaponry, Guardian Elma sprinted toward the now-cowering Fenrir. But as Diane observed this, an angry glint appeared in her eyes. "Hell freezes over! I activate my Trap card—Prideful Roar!"

**JILLIAN: 2900; DIANE: 7800**

A howling wind burst forth from Diane's flipped card, while her life points dropped slightly to 7800. That wind swirled around the entire field, bitingly cold, and then hit Fenrir all over its body, causing its fur to rise up from the freezing temperature—but suddenly it reared itself upon its legs, snarling viciously while its ATK inexplicably rose to 2400. Lunging forward and narrowly dodging the swinging blades of Elma's weapons, the wolf clamped its jaws shut around the girl's neck, strangling her death scream as her body shattered into pixels…and Jillian's life points dropped to 2600, even as Fenrir's ATK dropped back down to 1900.

**JILLIAN: 2600; DIANE: 7800**

"No! Guardian Elma!" Jillian screamed, her eyes wide with disbelief at Elma's shocking death. Then she looked straight at Diane, disbelief covering her face. "What the…? What the hell did you do? What happened just now? My monster was going to win that fight!"

"Uh, no—I don't think so," Diane replied scornfully. "But since you seem so confused as to what exactly just went down, I'll explain it for you. You see, I activated my Trap card, Prideful Roar…it could only be activated during the damage calculation, when my battling monster's ATK was less than your monster's ATK. Then, I had to pay life points equal to the difference in the monsters' ATK strengths, and then during that damage calculation, my monster's ATK was increased by an amount equal to that difference plus 300. So, therefore…" She mockingly counted off on her fingers. "Your monster's ATK was 2100, and Fenrir's was 1900—a difference of 200 points. So, all I did was pay 200 life points, and then Fenrir's ATK was increased by 200, plus an additional 300, so that's an increase of 500 points…and after that—well, you can figure out the rest."

"Damn it…!" Jillian hissed through clenched teeth.

"Now, what's next, hmm?" asked Diane. "I can easily guess what that card you're hanging on to is—that little Skull Guardian card from earlier. But it's a Ritual monster, and it won't do you any good by just being in your hand. Besides which, even if I was to be a little generous and allow you one turn to come back around, it wouldn't do you any good…because Fenrir's effect, when he destroys a monster in battle, prevents you from drawing for your next Draw Phase."

"Not like you'd have the heart to allow me a free turn anyway…" Jillian's look darkened.

"Why would I do that? I'm a pro league duelist, after all; in the pro leagues, show mercy and you'll be double-crossed!" Diane wasted no time, drawing her next card. "Now, Fenrir, Cold Enchanter! Finish her off and give me my victory!" And Fenrir rushed at Jillian, snapping at her legs…

**JILLIAN: 700; DIANE: 7800**

…then Cold Enchanter blasted Jillian with icy wind from her staff, and Jillian's life points went down to 0.

**JILLIAN: 0; DIANE: 7800**

"Aw! Jillian!" Clyde and D.J., still on the sidelines, cried out in disappointment. Elsewhere in the crowd, however, others of the spectators were cheering Diane's victory.

"Let that be a lesson, bitch," Diane declared as the holographic images disappeared from the field and her own tournament points, on her Duel-Disk life point counter, shot up to 2000. "Stay in the anonymous zone where you belong. Now…" She clenched a fist in determination. "I'll ice Yugo Muto and your dear Seta Kaiba next, and then tomorrow I'll take my revenge on that little prick Janus Yuki. Then the whole world will know who's really the strongest duelist around!"

Steadying herself, meanwhile, Jillian looked at her life point counter as her tournament points dropped to 0, like her life points had moments earlier. "You're welcome to try," she answered. "But after all Yugo and Sir Seta have gone through, I doubt you'll find it as easy to defeat either of them as you'd like…and as for Janus Yuki, if you couldn't beat him once in this tournament, what makes you think you'll have better luck a second time around?"

"Pfft. Whatever to you, loser." Diane turned and stalked off, even as the congratulations from her fans in the crowd followed after her.

Now Clyde, D.J. and their mother approached Jillian. "Sorry about your loss just now, dear," the mother said.

Jillian sighed. "No…it's I who should say sorry." She looked at the boys. "Guess I'm not as good as you hoped, huh?"

"Well…" D.J. shuffled his feet a little. "It's too bad you lost, but you're still pretty cool. And what I said before still stands—that girl you just dueled doesn't hold a candle to you!"

"My, my…thank you," Jillian smiled a little. Then on impulse she asked, "By the way…your cousin…" She looked at the boys' mother. "Gabriel Roman, right? Did he come here to Kaiba Land with you?"

The older woman bit her lip, seeming to contemplate the question. "He did," she said finally. "But he said he'd be staying in our hotel room—said he'd watch the duels on TV from there. He's not so keen on having unnecessary paparazzi around him, especially nowadays, you understand."

"I understand," said Jillian. "Well…if it's no imposition on you…would it be all right if I could meet him?"

"Meet him?" The mother cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Clyde turned to his mother. "She _can_ meet Cousin Gabriel, can't she, Mom? It'd be really cool if she could get to talk to him—maybe he could give her a couple of pointers and all, you know?"

"Yeah, Mom, please?" D.J. petitioned her, too.

Their mother sighed. "Well…I don't see what it could hurt…" She nodded to Jillian. "Why don't you come by our room later this evening, once you've come back to the hotel? Our room is Number 116."

"116…all right, got it. And thank you for the opportunity." Jillian bowed respectfully. "I'll be by after the hotel's scheduled dinner time, if that's all right by you."

"Yes, that should be fine." The older woman nodded.

"What're you gonna do now?" Clyde asked Jillian.

"Well…I _was_ going to continue searching for more duelists to get more tournament points, but now that I'm out of the competition, I'll just have to do something else, I guess," said Jillian. "Perhaps I'll go check out any other duels that are happening nearby. What about you?"

"I say we go look for more duels!" D.J. suggested.

"Well, we'll have to do a lot of walking around to find those duels," his mother replied. "But in any case, it was nice meeting you. And thanks again for giving my boys your autograph."

"Sure thing," Jillian nodded. "And thanks again for letting me meet your nephew, later."

The mother nodded. Then to her sons: "All right, you two, say goodbye to Miss Jillian for now."

"Bye, Miss Jillian," the boys waved to Jillian.

"Bye, guys," Jillian waved to them, and she watched as the family went off in another direction. But in her mind, she was thinking some deep thoughts. _Well…I might have lost my duel in this tournament, but at least I stumbled on a chance to meet Gabriel Roman…this is such a rare opportunity…and I'll have to make the most of it…tonight!_

----------

_**neomage:**_ Now, the questions: Who exactly is this Gabriel Roman character? What's so significant about his name? Why does Jillian want to meet him, and why does she consider it a rare opportunity to do so? And, with regards to the tournament itself—who will duel next? Who will gain or lose tournament points, and who will be eliminated? And at the end of the first day of the Phoenix Herald Crown, who will remain to take part in the next phase of the competition? Review soon, please!


	55. Snakes Among the Rocks

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Go talk to Kazuki Takahashi-sama. He's the owner of this franchise, not me.)

**CHAPTER 55 – Snakes Among the Rocks**

KAIBA LAND HOTEL, 2:15 p.m.

Alyx Brodie sat in the dining area, a scowl on her face even as she idly picked away at the chicken Caesar salad with her fork. Just above the dining room's entrance, there was a large wall-mounted plasma-screen TV, on which the tournament was playing a few recapping shots of duels completed and past in the competition by this point. At the moment, Diane Chill's recently-concluded duel with Jillian Uriah was being recapped. "Damn bitch," Alyx growled, her glare set straight on Diane as the other woman's face appeared on the TV.

"Ah—excuse me, mademoiselle, but perhaps I have caught you at a bad time?"

Glancing up, Alyx beheld Gaston Altair standing over her. "Oh, it's you, Frenchman," she grunted. "Can I help you?"

"Well, I _was_ going to ask if I could join you, but considering this foul mood you seem to be in…" Gaston began.

But Alyx shook her head. "Nah, suit yourself," and she waved casually toward one of the empty chairs at the table.

_"Merci,"_ said Gaston, and with that he pulled out a chair and sat. "So…" He eyed her salad. "The hotel's afternoon fare is good, yes?"

"Can't really say…I'm not eating for the taste of it. I'm just eating because I'm hungry." A dark look crossed Alyx's face again. "Although, watching _that_ up there still being in this competition…it's making the salad taste bad," and she indicated Diane on the TV for emphasis.

"Ah." Gaston nodded with understanding. "You and she really do hate each other, don't you? As I think on it now, I find it surprising that you two could exist in the same group together, in our House of Cards…"

"I only kept myself in check around that cow because that's what Phoenix wanted," Alyx said dryly. "But to see her still carrying on in this tournament after she knocked me out in the very first duel…"

"Mmm-hmm." Gaston nodded. "Well, that is between the two of you, I suppose. How about the rest of the tournament as you have been watching it—what do you think of the duels?"

Now Alyx allowed a smirk. "Well, what's there to tell, eh, Frenchman?" she asked. "That dumbass Dawkins got his own head stuffed up his ass by Seta Kaiba—and in one turn, too. I always _did_ wonder when somebody was gonna shut his grandstanding mouth up."

"Ay, yi, yi…in one turn?" Gaston scowled in disapproval. "Surely _Monsieur _Drake will not overlook such a humiliating brand upon the name of the House of Cards…"

"You shouldn't talk. I saw your duel with that Muto kid here on the screen." Alyx gave him a look. "What was the big idea, surrendering like that?"

"Ah…yes…about that…" Gaston sweat-dropped. "If I'd continued on at that point, _Monsieur _Yugo would definitely have defeated me anyway. And a gentleman knows when to admit defeat."

"Hn. Well, whatever." Alyx plucked a piece of chicken, wrapped around a piece of lettuce, onto her fork and popped the combination into her mouth.

"So, anyway, let's see what else is in store where duels are concerned, shall we?" Gaston looked up at the TV. "Ah—there's our good friend, _Monsieur _Buck Morgan. Still in good form, from what I can tell."

Alyx glanced up at the TV, too, just in time to see Buck Morgan in the camera's view at that moment. On the screen, a small graphic popped up, showing that his current tournament points were 2000. "Well, _there's_ a guy who's definitely bound to beat Dueltropolis's top three," she remarked. "He at least knows how to manage himself when it comes to dueling."

"And with the strategy he wields, he is without a doubt one of the House of Cards' stronger members," Gaston agreed. "I only wonder who his last unlucky opponent was—see, he has 2000 tournament points."

"Well, whoever it was, they're of no consequence now," Alyx replied. "What I'm interested to know is, who's the next duelist he's going to face off against?"

"Perhaps we'll soon find that out," said Gaston, watching the TV intently.

----------

"This isn't very good…" Luke Jericho panted as he stopped trekking along and leaned against a tree. "Afternoon already, and not a single opponent yet…man, even facing David or the boss right now would be better than not facing anybody…at least then one of us could be assured of advancing in this crappy tournament…" Wiping the back of his hand against his forehead, he looked up toward the sky overhead. A few clouds were obscuring the glare of the sun, but otherwise the sky was a deep and peaceful blue. _Hmm…_ Luke's eyes closed a little as the serenity overtook him. _Wonder how the others ARE doing, come to think of it…how many points have they gotten by now?_

"Howdy there! Sorry to bother you…"

"Eh?" Luke snapped out of his reverie and glanced to one side—and beheld a familiar figure in a brown cowboy hat. "Oh—you're that guy, aren't you? Uh…Buck Morgan, right?"

"The one and only!" Buck grinned and tipped his hat in greeting. "And you look like one of Malachi Jordan's little bunch…I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah, that's me," Luke nodded. "Luke Jericho."

"Mmm-hmm…although I almost mistook you for that other guy, David," Buck remarked, a little sheepishly.

"Eh? David?" Luke looked at him. "You met my brother?"

"Sure did, partner," Buck acknowledged. "Met him and dueled him. He was pretty resilient, I gotta say."

"Was?" Luke cocked an eyebrow. "So…you defeated him, then?"

"What else is there to do, right? This _is_ a Duel Monsters tournament, after all." Buck shrugged a bit. "But like I said, he was resilient…even when I gave him a chance to forfeit instead of losing outright, he wouldn't budge."

"Hmm…I see." Luke was silent for a moment. "Well, I guess that's just what he'd do. He's pretty stubborn that way."

"How about you? Are you the same way?" Buck cocked an eyebrow.

"What's this? Is this a challenge?" Luke gave Buck a look.

"Oh, I reckon it is, partner!" Buck grinned. "So, what do you say? Wanna test your luck against me?"

"Oh, it'll be more than luck coming your way, I tell you," answered Luke. "David may not have been able to beat you, but I'm different from him. My tactics are a whole other cup of tea from his, mate…as I'm willing to show you!"

"Heh." Buck held up his Duel-Disk. "In that case, I'll just have to see you as another notch on my scoreboard for this tournament, buddy. After I'm done here, I'll be well up there in the tournament rankings."

"Or I'll be, after I kick your sorry ass!" Luke held up his own Duel-Disk as well. "Come on, then, mate! I'll show you my pride!"

----------

Alyx and Gaston watched as, on the TV screen, the two duelists' respective information popped up one after the other. First, Buck's: _**Buck Morgan. Age: 19. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2016; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2017. Deck strategy: Snake theme.**_

Then came Luke's: _**Luke Jericho. Age: 17. Nationality: Great Britain. Professional dueling experience: Has participated in British Intercontinental Championships from 2016 onwards; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Rock theme.**_

"Ah—Luke Jericho," Gaston remarked. "I have heard of him. One of Malachi Jordan's friends, _oui?_ I understand he gave a heroic performance at Dueltropolis."

"Maybe he did," Alyx shrugged, "but he still didn't make it to the finals. Morgan, on the other hand—well, we know his dueling record already. He'll crush this chump."

"Do not be so quick to assume," Gaston warned her. "Even the deadliest serpent can be crushed by the heaviest rock."

"On the other hand, snakes can crawl out of some really tight places, even between rocks, and poison you with their bite." Alyx smirked at this. "But sure, let's see how this duel does turn out, what do you say?"

----------

**LUKE: 8000; BUCK: 8000**

"I shall go first!" Buck announced, and he drew six cards to begin. "Now, I'll show you the same terror that your brother David got subjected to when he faced me! Consider it an honor!"

He selected a card from his hand. "I activate the Magic card, Snake Rain! By discarding one card from my hand, I get to select four Reptile-type monsters from my deck and send them to the Graveyard!" Then, as he discarded a card from his hand, there suddenly appeared a shower of snake-like creatures all around him, disappearing as soon as they hit the ground; meanwhile, he swiftly shuffled through his deck, selected four cards from it, and sent them off to the Graveyard. As they went, their images were shown so Luke could see what they were: three copies of Venom Cobra (ATK 100, DEF 2000) and one Venom Snake (ATK 1200, DEF 600). "Then, I'll set three cards facedown, set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn. Your go."

Luke narrowed his eyes. _He used up his entire hand in the first turn…he must be planning something big, and especially for him to have sent four cards from his deck to the Graveyard without hesitation…but what's he planning?_ He drew his card for his turn. "I summon Big Piece Golem (ATK 2100, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" He then called forth a huge slab of rock that sported a humanlike face, arms and legs.

"Huh?" Buck stared at the new arrival for a moment. "Hey, wait a sec, partner—isn't that a Level 5 monster?"

"Yes, it is," Luke nodded. "And it's a Level 5 monster with an effect: if you control a monster and I don't, I can Normal Summon my Big Piece Golem without tributing." He rubbed his nose with one finger. "This is just one of several new cards I got while I was training with Malachi and my mates. You won't be defeating me just so. Now…Big Piece Golem, smash his facedown monster into the ground!"

In an instant, Big Piece Golem seemed to leap high into the sky, then came crashing down on Buck's facedown monster, revealing it to be a second Venom Snake seconds before the deadly reptile got squashed into paste. But as that happened, Buck shouted, "Now I activate the Trap card, Snake Whistle! When a Reptile-type monster on my side of the field gets destroyed, I get to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Reptile-type monster from the deck…so come on out, Venom Serpent (ATK 1000, DEF 800) in Defense Mode!"

In an instant his two-headed green serpent slithered onto the field, coiled up for protection even as it hissed at Luke. But Luke himself wasn't impressed. "Snakes? This is what defeated David—frigging _snakes?"_

"You really have no clue, do you?" Buck sounded surprised. "Oh, well, I guess you'll soon learn."

"Pfft. Sure." Luke smirked a bit at this. "Anyway, mate, I'll just throw two cards facedown, and that's all for now."

"All right, partner—my draw! Yee-haw!" Buck cried as he drew his card. "And now I'm gonna activate another Trap card—this one's called Offering to the Snake Deity! This'll destroy a Reptile-type monster I control _and_ two cards you control!"

"Huh?" Luke started.

"Now, what to pick to destroy on your side…ah, heck, I'll get rid of your Big Piece Golem and the facedown card you've got on the left!" Buck pointed out the cards of his choice…and seconds later, flames burst out from the Offering to the Snake Deity trap and consumed Venom Serpent, Big Piece Golem and one of Luke's facedown cards, leaving nothing but ashes behind. "Well, the way's clear for me to make a move…"

"Make a move with _what?"_ Luke countered. "You haven't got any monsters on the field now, either, thanks to your little Trap card just now! And we both have one card facedown, and untouched life points…it's pretty much a stalemate on this field!"

"Err…" Buck looked suddenly sheepish. "You got me there, buddy. All right…I'm ending my turn now."

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" Luke drew from his deck. "Now, you may be a pro duelist, and sure, you might've managed to beat my brother, but I told you—I'm a whole other kind of duelist! Now I'll show you just what I mean!"

He studied the cards he was holding in hand. "Okay…first, I'm going to remove the Big Piece Golem in my Graveyard from play…" Then a shadowy silhouette of the aforementioned monster floated up from Luke's Duel-Disk and then disappeared. "…so I can Special Summon this monster from my hand—Gigantes (ATK 1900, DEF 1300) in Attack Mode!" Then all at once, a hulking monster with a huge horn sticking out of his forehead, clad in iron armor, and wielding an enormous tree as a weapon came into view!

"Wh-e-e-e-ew…" Buck whistled. "This is gonna be a problem…"

"You haven't seen problems yet!" Luke pointed to his remaining facedown card. "I'll let you in on a little secret…when you activated your Trap card last turn, you picked the wrong facedown card to destroy—you should've picked this one instead! Activate—Release from Stone!"

All at once a large mountain seemed to sprout from the ground behind Luke, towering over the entire field! "What this does is, it lets me select one of my Rock-type monsters that's been removed from play, and then that monster is Special Summoned to my side of the field!" said Luke. "So come on back here, Big Piece Golem—Attack Mode!"

The mountain suddenly exploded—and from it appeared Big Piece Golem, albeit now with some residue of the rock it had been entombed in sticking to its limbs. "When I Special Summon my Rock-type monster that was removed from play, Release from Stone is treated as an Equip Magic card and is equipped to that monster in question," Luke went on. "Okay, moving on…" He looked at the four cards in his hand. "Now I'll use my Normal Summon to call upon Medium Piece Golem (ATK 1600, DEF 0)!" And a moment later a rock with arms and legs, but with a skinnier body than Big Piece Golem and sporting rocky protrusions from its elbows, knees and back emerged alongside Luke's other two monsters.

"Huh." Buck looked at the monsters under his opponent's control. "So…Big Piece Golem…Medium Piece Golem…I'm going to assume you've got a Little Piece Golem or something?" he queried.

"Close enough." Luke smirked. "You see, when I summon Medium Piece Golem, if at that time I'm already controlling Big Piece Golem, I can Special Summon one Small Piece Golem (ATK 1100, DEF 0) from my Deck, at the cost of negating that monster's effect as long as it's on the field! So…come on out to play, too, Small Piece Golem!" He hurriedly thumbed through his deck, then moments later he brought forth a small rock with hands and legs, significantly shorter than its two other rocky counterparts.

"Uh-oh…!" Buck gritted his teeth.

"Now my monsters are going to knock you down flat!" Luke shouted. "Go!" And one after the other, they went: Small Piece Golem jumped forward and hit Buck square in the chest, lowering his life points to 6900. Then Medium Piece Golem thundered forward and slammed a huge fist into Buck's chest, knocking him backward and bringing his life points further down to 5300. Next, Gigantes took a swing at Buck with the tree it was wielding, but Buck managed to duck underneath it—though that didn't stop his life points from dropping even more to 3400. Finally, Big Piece Golem jumped up high in the air—but Buck was able to get out of the way in the nick of time before the anthropomorphic rock smashed down on where he'd been standing seconds earlier, though his life points plummeted to 1300 as a result.

**LUKE: 8000; BUCK: 1300**

"Wooo…" Buck steadied his hat on his head. "Yeah, buddy, you were right—you're definitely different from your brother. He couldn't even touch my life points, but you—man! You made it look so easy!"

"Well, why not? My training has really done me a great deal of good, after all," and Luke snickered.

"Uh-huh…" Then suddenly the smile vanished from Buck's face. "Okay, partner, you've had your fun. Now it's time for the fun to stop." He pointed to his facedown card. "I activate this Trap card: Damage = Reptile!"

"What?" Luke frowned as Buck's card flipped face-up. "What's _that_ supposed to do?"

"It's really quite simple," answered Buck. "From here on out, once per turn, whenever I get battle damage from a battle that involved a Reptile-type monster, I can Special Summon a Reptile-type monster from my deck, as long as that summoned monster's got ATK points equal to, or less than, the battle damage I took from that battle in question."

"Hmm…well, suit yourself. It's your turn now," said Luke.

Buck complied, drawing his next card so now he held two in his hand. "All righty, then…you've seen that I've got two Venom Snakes within my bunch of cards already—well, here's the third, in Attack Mode!" And a moment later another rattlesnake came into play, its brown and orange scales glistening while its rattle shook menacingly. "Now…to attack or not to attack…"

"What difference would it make?" asked Luke. "Sure, it might be strong enough to beat my Small Piece Golem, but that's about all, you know? And besides, I know you've only summoned that snake so that when I destroy it, you can use the effect of your Trap card, like you described just now…so all I have to do is keep from attacking you for the time being, so you can't use your Trap card's effect. _And_ you've only got one card in your hand—if it had been of any use to you, you would've used it by now; otherwise, you'll have to keep drawing till you get the card you want…"

"Hey, uh, aren't you over-thinking this a little, partner?" Buck wondered. "I mean, yeah, what you've said so far is true…but if you _don't_ attack my Venom Snake here, don't you think I'll eventually be able to simply sacrifice him for a stronger monster? And if you just leave me be, so that I'll continuously draw cards every turn, I'll eventually get one that'll benefit me, and then that's the end of the matter, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess that's true." Luke shrugged. "In that case, what're you going to do?"

Buck looked at Venom Snake, then back at Luke. "Well, I suppose the only thing I can do that'll really mean anything right about now is to use Venom Snake's effect…once per turn, I can put one Venom Counter on a monster you control, but in exchange Venom Snake can't battle for that turn. And the monster I pick is your Big Piece Golem."

Venom Snake promptly slithered forward and swiftly wrapped itself around Big Piece Golem, biting at the rock monster's body. The snake's fangs failed to penetrate the rock; yet a small worm-like snake slithered onto Big Piece Golem nonetheless. "Uh…what's with that little snake-thing?" Luke asked.

"Oh, that's a Venom Counter right there," Buck explained. "You're wondering what it's for, yeah? Well, you'll just have to wait to find that out. For now, I'm ending my turn."

"Hmph." Luke smirked. "And now I can commence with crushing you! Let's go, snake-man!"

----------

"It's only been ten minutes into the duel, and already that Luke Jericho is dueling quite fiercely!" Gaston remarked, very impressed.

"What the hell is Morgan _doing?"_ Alyx asked distastefully. "Even if that Jericho guy _is_ that good, Morgan shouldn't be losing like THIS!"

"Well, _Monsieur _Jericho IS a companion of Malachi Jordan's; and as everyone knows, Malachi Jordan prizes dueling strength quite highly," Gaston pointed out. "It's no surprise, then, that _Monsieur _Jericho, having trained so long with _Monsieur _Jordan, should be so skilled."

"Maybe," Alyx grumbled, "but if Morgan doesn't step up his game now, he'll have lost _my_ vote of confidence."

"Like our friend Reno Dawkins has?" Gaston cocked an eyebrow and smirked a little.

"No joke about that." Alyx shook her head. "Losing to a one-turn kill…I mean, really, how much more pathetic can you possibly get than that? Oh, wait—I know. Losing to a duelist without even scratching their life points—like what Morgan's setting himself up to do!"

"The duel is not over yet, _mon cherie,"_ Gaston answered. "Let us see where it goes from here, that's all."

----------

"My draw!" Luke announced, drawing from his deck and giving him a total of four cards in his hand. "And I've decided what I'm going to do—I'll destroy your little snake! Big Piece Golem, crush that reptile with Meteor Stamp Attack!" And Big Piece Golem promptly jumped high into the air again, then came crashing down on Venom Snake with such force of weight that the snake's insides were completely splattered over where it had once stood.

**LUKE: 8000; BUCK: 400**

"And don't think I've forgotten about the effect of your Damage = Reptile trap card, the way you described it before," Luke added, "but since you just took 900 points of damage, you'll only be able to Special Summon a Reptile-type monster from your deck whose ATK is less than or equal to 900! And the best you'll be able to do is to summon that monster in Defense Mode—but once I clear that one out of the way, your remaining life points will be easy pickings! I've got this one in the bag, mate—and my life points aren't even touched!"

"Say, partner, why don't you save that declaration for until _after_ you win the duel, eh?" Buck countered. "Now, as per Damage = Reptile's effect, I'll Special Summon a Reptile-type monster from my deck with ATK equal to or less than the battle damage I just took…and I've got the perfect one in mind!" He immediately pulled his deck out of its slot and thumbed through it. "Now let's see here, where is that little bugger…ah, here he is! All right, come on out here in Attack Mode…Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

All at once, a whole slew of snakes burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around each other. Then the snakes made a humanoid shape even while a purple cape wrapped itself onto the new form and a golden snake-headed crown appeared on the head of the biggest snake in the bunch. Thus fully summoned, Vennominon let out a loud hiss—while his ATK suddenly rose to 4000!

"Huh?" The monster's ATK increase only then registered in Luke's brain. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the—what the HELL, mate?" he demanded, shaking his head incredulously.

"That there's Vennominon's effect, partner," Buck announced. "His ATK increases by 500 for every Reptile-type monster in my Graveyard. Here, I'll show you." He then touched a button on his Duel-Disk, and a moment later his Graveyard information popped up. "So, here's the list of monsters in my Graveyard," Buck continued. "One Venom Boa (ATK 1600, DEF 1200)—that's the card I discarded from my hand to activate my Snake Rain magic card earlier—hmm, what else…three Venom Cobras…one, two, three Venom Snakes…one Venom Serpent…yep, that's eight of my Reptile-type monsters right there, and eight times 500 equals…"

"4000," Luke finished. "Cripes…well, I've already attacked with Big Piece Golem, so not much I can do about that…I'll switch Gigantes, Medium Piece Golem and Small Piece Golem into Defense Mode." The three monsters then stooped down, arms crossed over their torsos in defensive postures. "That ends my turn."

"Then I'm up!" Buck drew another card; now he held two in hand. "And I do reckon it's about high time I put a big fat dent in your life points, Mr. Luke Jericho!" He held up the card he'd just drawn. "Allow me to introduce…the Field Magic card, Venom Swamp!"

All at once, the field around them changed into swamp-land. "Now here's how it works," Buck went on. "When Venom Swamp's in play, monsters that have Venom Counters on them lose 500 ATK points for each Venom Counter. So, I'd advise you to take a look at your Big Piece Golem…"

To Luke's utter astonishment, Big Piece Golem's rocky surface seemed to be bubbling, even while its ATK dropped to 1600. "Damn it…I forgot…he's got one of those Venom Counter things on him, thanks to your snake earlier…!" and he briefly recalled when Venom Snake had bitten his monster.

"Glad to see you remember!" Buck grinned. "Now, Vennominon, show his Big Piece Golem what battlin's really all about!" And, hissing loudly, Vennominon stretched out several smaller serpents from its arm, manipulating them into biting all over Big Piece Golem till the other monster's rocky surface was riddled with bite marks. Big Piece Golem then crumbled into dust, and Luke flinched.

**LUKE: 5600; BUCK: 400**

"And then I'll put this card facedown," and Buck slotted his last remaining card facedown, "and that's it for now. Oh—before I forget, at the end of each of our turns, as long as Venom Swamp's on the field, every monster on the field that's not a 'Venom' monster gets a Venom Counter placed on it. But Vennominon here," indicating the King of Poisonous Snakes, "doesn't count, since his effect protects him from Venom Swamp's effect. All right—now I'm completely done." Then—from the trees of Venom Swamp, several tiny snakes dropped down on Luke's three remaining monsters. Immediately, Gigantes' ATK dropped to 1400, Medium Piece Golem's ATK shrank to 1100, and Small Piece Golem's ATK decreased to 600.

"Grrr…" Luke scowled as he looked at his monsters' new stats. "Well, okay, fine. But it's my turn now, and this is the turn when I'll wipe out the rest of your life points for sure, mate! Watch this!" Then he drew his card, so now he held a total of five in hand. "Now, these cards in my hand…these are the cards that'll give me victory!"

"Oh, yeah?" Buck challenged.

"You got that right!" Luke held up one of his cards. "I summon Monk Fighter (ATK 1300, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Then he called out a yellow-robed warrior with leather gloves on his hands. "And that's just for starters…"

Buck cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, so…what's next?"

"What's next is this Magic card—Kaminote Blow!" Luke played the card from his hand—and almost immediately Monk Fighter began to glow with bright yellow energy. "Wondering what this is all about, are you, mate? Well, Kaminote Blow could only be activated if I had at least one of three monsters on my side of the field: Monk Fighter here, Master Monk (ATK 1900, DEF 1000), or Chu-Ske the Mouse Fighter (ATK 1200, DEF 0). During this turn in which I've activated Kaminote Blow, any monster that fights with any of these three specific monsters will be destroyed at the end of each Damage Step."

"…" Buck's eyes narrowed. "I get it…you plan to ram that Monk Fighter of yours into Vennominon and hope to destroy him with the effect of Kaminote Blow. Then, my life points will be wide open for you to take me down with any one of your other monsters. That's it, isn't it?"

Now Luke allowed himself a small smirk. "Guess you're not a pro-league duelist for nothing. Yeah, that's the basic idea…and the best part is, Monk Fighter's own effect reduces any battle damage I get from a battle involving him to zero. In other words, the only one who'll be losing out here is YOU. Now…I'll shift Small Piece Golem into Attack Mode…" Then Small Piece Golem stood up, readying its rocky fists. "His ATK might not be much right now thanks to your Venom Swamp and the Venom Counter that's on him, but it'll be more than enough to take out your life points once your snake over there is out of the way. So…Monk Fighter, attack his King of Poisonous Snakes!"

Letting out a battle yell, Monk Fighter leaped forward at Vennominon, one foot outstretched in a kick. Vennominon, however, retaliated by sending his snake-arm at the other monster; moments later Monk Fighter got bitten all over his body by numerous vipers. But even as poisonous marks popped out all over his body, still Monk Fighter lunged forward—and planted a solid fist into Vennominon's chest, causing green gore to splatter out. Both monsters then simultaneously broke apart into pixel dust. "First your monster—now you!" Luke declared.

But suddenly Buck smirked. "Afraid not, partner. Now that Vennominon's been destroyed, I get to activate this Trap card of mine…" He indicated his facedown card, which suddenly flipped face-up. "Rise of the Snake Deity! Now I can Special Summon a different kind of monster from my deck to the field, in Attack Mode…Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

"Say what?" Luke started—but from Buck's trap card there slithered the Poisonous Snake Deity, its two snake-arms hissing spitefully. As the monster emerged on the field, its ATK shot up to 4500! "No way…holy crud! What the hell kind of snake is THIS?"

"It's the ultimate monster in my deck, is what it is, partner," Buck answered smilingly. "It gets 500 ATK for each Reptile-type monster in my Graveyard, so that means the eight that are still there, plus Vennominon that you just sent there, are giving this beauty a real powerhouse strength level. Also, it can't be targeted for the effects of other cards, nor can it be affected by the effects of other cards, which means it's immune to my Venom Swamp. So…" He eyed Luke. "What're you going to do now, eh? This is the same monster I used to beat your brother David…are you going to do what he did and refuse to surrender, or are you going to be smart and back down now?"

Luke stared long and hard at Buck. Then he looked at Vennominaga with its high ATK. "You…you're kidding, right?" he demanded. "Like hell I'll throw in the towel like this!" He examined the three cards left in his hand. "All right, mate…I'll throw one card facedown, and end my turn."

Immediately more small snakes dropped down from Venom Swamp's trees and landed on Luke's three monsters. Gigantes' ATK dropped further to 900, Medium Piece Golem's ATK went down to 600, and Small Piece Golem's ATK descended to a dangerously low 100. Snakes fell on top of Vennominaga too, but it casually brushed the smaller reptiles off itself, and its ATK did not drop as a result. "I wonder how much longer your monsters will be able to hold out before they end up being killed by Venom Swamp—if my Deity of Poisonous Snakes doesn't do the job first, that is," Buck remarked. "Well, anyway…" He drew his card, replenishing his hand. "Vennominaga, chow down on his Small Piece Golem!"

Vennominaga thrust one of its snake-arms forward—but suddenly Luke countered, "I activate my Trap card, Rising Energy! By discarding a card from my hand, I can pick one face-up monster and increase its ATK by 1500 till the end of this turn…and I increase Small Piece Golem's ATK with this effect!"

A burst of energy exploded all around Small Piece Golem's body as its ATK abruptly rose to 1600…but still it got swallowed whole by Vennominaga's snake-arm.

**LUKE: 2700; BUCK: 400**

"Hmm…" Buck touched the brim of his hat thoughtfully. "You strengthened the little guy's ATK so the damage you'd take from the attack would be less than it would've been if you had let him be. But still…"

All at once, a small golden snake materialized out of nowhere, wrapping itself around the neck of one of Vennominaga's snake-arms. "Eh?" Luke blinked at this new development. "You mind explaining _that,_ mate? What're you up to now?"

"Oh, that?" Buck chuckled. "That's just another effect of Vennominaga's…each time it does battle damage to you, it gets a Hyper-Venom Counter placed on itself. And just to let you know, when it's sporting three of those, I automatically win the duel. Awesome, huh?"

"You automatically…" Luke grimaced at this information. "Great…so now I have to make sure you don't do any damage to me with that creepy snake from here on out. Fortunately, my Gigantes and Medium Piece Golem are still in Defense Mode, so I'm still safe."

"Whatever kind of thinking makes you comfy, I suppose," Buck shrugged. "Right, well…I guess I'll just throw this card facedown," and he placed the single card he'd just drawn facedown on the Duel-Disk, "and that ends my turn…oh, wait! Now that it's my End Phase, Venom Swamp hands out Venom Counters all around!" Then, as soon as he finished saying that, more small snakes dropped down from Venom Swamp's trees and landed on all the monsters on the field. Gigantes' ATK dropped even further to 400 and Medium Piece Golem's ATK decreased to 100; however, the snakes bounced off Vennominaga without causing it any harm.

"Uh-huh…and now that THAT's done, I can take my turn," Luke said stoutly, drawing another card from his deck as he said so. He then examined his cards closely. "Huh…guess I've got no choice…I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and…"

"And I'm taking a chance to activate my Trap card!" Buck interrupted, while his card that he'd set the previous turn flipped face-up. "This card is called Venom Burn! What it does is, it lets me choose one monster that's got Venom Counters on it…then, I can remove those Venom Counters from that monster and inflict 700 points of damage to you for each one that was removed!"

"What!" Luke looked at his two face-up monsters in a panic. "But…they've _both_ got three Venom Counters on them…!"

"Which means you're getting 2100 points of damage, just so!" Buck chuckled. "Now it's just a matter of choosing…aw, what the heck. I choose your Medium Piece Golem to remove the Venom Counters from!"

Suddenly, from Buck's flipped Trap card, a stream of bluish-green liquid in the form of a malevolent serpent snaked around Medium Piece Golem's form, swallowing up the three Venom Counters it was sporting. As Medium Piece Golem's ATK rose back to its original 1600 value, the liquid snake then shot at Luke, hitting him square in the chest and causing him to yell out in pain. "Oh, bugger!" he cringed, clutching his chest where the poisonous liquid stream had hit him.

**LUKE: 600; BUCK: 400**

"All right…now it's just a little more to go before I bring your life points down but good," said Buck. "Moral of story, partner: Never underestimate a pro-league duelist! We always have a few good cards left to play, even when it looks like we're backed up in a corner!"

"Grr…" Luke gritted his teeth. "As I was going to say before you activated your trap…I'm ending my turn." Then, as per Venom Swamp's effect, even more snakes jumped out onto the face-up monsters. Getting a fresh Venom Counter, Medium Piece Golem's ATK shrank to 1100, while Gigantes got a fourth Venom Counter—and immediately the four little snakes slithered all around the ogre's body and bit into it repeatedly, until nothing was left but bones!

Buck couldn't help but chuckle at the dumbfounded expression on Luke's face at this new development. "Guess I should've mentioned it earlier," he remarked. "Whenever a monster gets Venom Counters to the point that its ATK goes down to zero while Venom Swamp's in play, that monster gets destroyed. Tough break."

"Yeah, you're right—you should've mentioned it earlier," Luke said sourly. "Well, go ahead and make your move."

Nodding, Buck drew another card and again replenished his hand. But he was now frowning a little, too, as he eyed Luke's facedown monster. _Hmm…that monster…could it be a trump card? Or could it be a bluff?_ He cast a quick glance at Luke's face._ Well, he hasn't been eyeing that monster card since he set it on the field, far as I know…but maybe that's a deliberate tactic on his part, to keep me from focusing too much attention on it and thereby making a mistake that'll give him the edge…_

"Oi, mate. You gonna make a move, or what?" Luke's voice broke Buck's train of thought.

"Oh…right. Sorry, partner." Buck looked again at the field. "Okay, I guess I might as well…Vennominaga, eat up his Medium Piece Golem!" And immediately Vennominaga extended one of its snake-arms at the defending Medium Piece Golem, and the arm devoured the rock monster seconds later. "And…ah…" He looked at the card remaining in his hand. "I guess I may as well. I'll put this card facedown, just as an emergency measure in case of anything. And…I guess I'll end my turn, then. Not much else I can do right now."

Whereupon Luke drew another card and added it to his hand—then when he looked at the drawn card, he tensed. _This is…!_ He shot a quick look at Vennominaga. _Hmm…this is going to be a major gamble, but anything to get that creepy snake off the field!_ Aloud he announced, "I summon a new monster—Mormolith (ATK 1000, DEF 900) in Attack Mode!" Then on his side of the field there emerged a strange-looking rock creature with clawed bird-like feet and a broad tail. "Then I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster—Mine Golem (ATK 1000, DEF 1900)!" And then his facedown monster was revealed to be a stone-bodied golem with what appeared to be gun turrets on its back.

"Huh?" Buck eyed the two monsters with great interest. "And what're you planning to do with these two guys? Neither one of 'em can stand up to my Deity of Poisonous Snakes—you do know that, right?"

"Well, true…but it's like this, see," said Luke. "I saw you looking at Mine Golem while it was still facedown. And you were right to be suspicious of it—its effect says that when it's destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, my opponent will get 500 points of damage…that would've been enough to finish you off right then and there. But considering your status as a pro-leaguer, the odds of you avoiding battle with Mine Golem were too high, so I decided to do something different—take out Vennominaga directly, right here, right now, before it can definitely destroy me!"

"Take out Vennominaga?" Buck queried.

"Quite so." Luke nodded. "By using Mormolith's effect: I can tribute one Earth-attribute monster to destroy all face-up monsters on the field that have DEF equal to or less than the ATK of the tributed monster. And I choose to tribute my Mine Golem."

Mere seconds later both Mine Golem and Mormolith shattered into numerous tiny pieces…but Vennominaga was still there. "Uh, buddy, maybe the pressure finally got to you or something?" Buck scratched his head, quite puzzled. "In case you forgot what I said before, Vennominaga can't be affected by, or targeted by, any card effects—whether from Monster, Magic, or Trap cards. So what you did just now was really quite a waste, I'm sorry to say."

"Oh, really?" A twinkle appeared in Luke's eye. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to show you my ace in the hole…" He held up the last card left in his hand. "I now Special Summon from my hand—Megarock Dragon (ATK ? DEF ?) in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble violently, as in an earthquake…then from the ground on Luke's side of the field, there opened a gigantic chasm! And…from that chasm, a large rock dragon climbed out, growling ominously at Buck, with every step it took causing a slight tremor. "Intimidated?" Luke needled his opponent.

Buck blinked at Megarock Dragon's towering size…and then noticed something. "Uh, partner, his stats…aren't much to speak of…why'd you bother summoning him, and in Attack Mode, at that? My Vennominaga can take care of him, like, one-two-three."

"I wonder about that…" Now it was Luke's time to smirk. "Megarock Dragon could only be Special Summoned by removing any number of Rock-type monsters in my Graveyard from play. So, let's do a little check of which Rock-type monsters were in my Graveyard, eh?"

All at once, the ghostly silhouettes of seven monsters appeared on Luke's side of the field: Big Piece Golem, Medium Piece Golem, Small Piece Golem, Gigantes, Monk Fighter, Mormolith and Mine Golem. Then all seven turned into balls of energy and flew into Megarock Dragon's body—and the behemoth let out a frightful roar as its ATK and DEF both skyrocketed to 4900! "When I Special Summon my Megarock Dragon," explained Luke, "its original ATK and DEF points become equal to 700 times the number of Rock-type monsters I removed from my Graveyard to summon this monster. And there were seven Rock-types in my Graveyard, as you just saw for yourself…so 700 times seven equals 4900—that's just enough to defeat your snake creature _and_ you!"

"…it sure is, isn't it?" Buck tipped his hat respectfully. "Gotta hand it to you, partner, you really know how to play a good game and come right back around at the last moment."

"Thank you," said Luke. "Well, time for your Vennominaga to go! And I'd better do it now, or else if I wait, your Venom Swamp will put Venom Counters on my Megarock Dragon, and then he'll be too weak to do much of anything…Megarock Dragon, crush that snake and end this duel with Shattering Rock Hail!"

And then several rock shards broke off from Megarock Dragon's body, then flew toward Vennominaga at blinding speed…

----------

_**neomage:**_ CLIFFHANGER! MWA-HA-HA!…ahem. Review soon, please!


	56. Reuniting of Rivals

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: I'm really getting used to this new font size and type…and yet, as before, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 56 – Reuniting of Rivals**

KAIBA LAND

**LUKE: 600; BUCK: 400**

Several rock shards broke off from Megarock Dragon's body, then flew toward Vennominaga at blinding speed—but then all at once Buck shouted, "Time to activate my Trap card, Needlebug Nest! This'll force me to send the top five cards of my deck to the Graveyard!"

In one swift motion, Buck pulled out his deck's top five cards and sent them all to the Graveyard…and Vennominaga snapped into action. Moving at near-impossible speed, the snake deity slithered around and past Megarock Dragon's attack, then slid forward and stabbed both of its snake-arms straight into the rock monster's chest. Megarock Dragon let out a loud roar of pain, but Vennominaga didn't let up—instead, it just dug its snake-arms even deeper into its enemy's chest, with both arms even breaking out of Megarock Dragon's back.

Luke's jaw dropped. "How in the bloody _hell…?"_

"Whew." Buck rubbed the back of his hand across his brow. "Now I'm sure glad I decided to set my Needlebug Nest card as a backup plan. It looks like the cards that it made me send from my deck to the Graveyard included a couple that strengthened Vennominaga enough to survive this fight. Hmm…let's see…"

He pulled out the five cards that he'd sent to the Graveyard for Needlebug Nest's effect only a moment earlier. "Well, what do you know?" he marveled, and he held the cards up for Luke to see—a second Venom Boa, the Magic card Venom Shot, a second Venom Swamp, the Trap card Ambush Fangs, and a third Venom Boa, in that order. "Two more of my snakes went from my deck to the Graveyard…that means Vennominaga got a 1000 ATK boost…" and he now pointed out the Poisonous Snake Deity's ATK—5500.

"Ugh…" Luke groaned even as Megarock Dragon suddenly crumbled to dust. "Can't believe I lost…and right when I was about to win, too…" And as he spoke, his tournament point counter on his Duel-Disk dropped to 0 as well.

**LUKE: 0; BUCK: 400**

While Vennominaga disappeared from the field, Buck looked at his own tournament points—now up to 3000. "Whew…pretty troublesome to get this bunch of tournament points this time," he sighed. "But at least I could actually have some fun in this duel. It's clear you took your training seriously, to be able to push me this far, partner."

"Ungh…" Luke dropped to his knees. "Cripes…all that effort…this is not going to go down well with Malachi when he hears about this…"

Buck lifted an eyebrow. "Y'know, ever since I first learned about your little group, that's never made any sense to me. Why are you guys so afraid of Malachi Jordan anyway? What is he to you—God?"

Luke shook his head. "It's natural you'd say something like that. I wouldn't expect an outsider to understand."

In response, Buck shrugged. "Well, whatever. I guess I'll just have to find Malachi Jordan and ask him directly." He turned away. "In the meantime, Mr. Jericho, get yourself stronger. You had the potential to win this duel today…I just happened to have the better draw this time around. Well, catch you later." And with that, he walked away, with Luke looking on at his departure.

----------

"Heh." Gaston smiled. "So _Monsieur _Morgan was able to win, after all."

"Yeah, just barely." Alyx took another mouthful of her salad. "Morgan may be a strong duelist, but if he slacks off like that again, he'll be bound to lose."

"Or maybe it wasn't that he was slacking off…maybe it's that his opponent was that strong." Gaston gave Alyx a look and a grin. "You've consistently lost to _Mademoiselle _Chill often, but has anyone ever accused you of, ah, slacking off?"

Alyx gave him a withering look. "Oh, shut up."

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 2:45 p.m.

"Nuts…" Miriam Jordan was grumbling to herself as she walked along a path overlooking several of the amusement park's attractions. She cast a disdainful glance at her tournament point counter. "What's a girl got to do to find an opponent around here? If I don't hurry and beat some duelists, I'll be left behind!" Then she sighed and stopped where she was, her look becoming more thoughtful. _Malachi…Luke…David…I wonder how all of you are doing in this contest so far? Has our training been paying off for you? These duelists aren't regular opponents, after all…they're pro-league material, and beating them surely won't be the easiest thing in the world to do…_

"Miriam Jordan."

Miriam's eyes narrowed as she heard her name being called from behind. "And you are…?"

"The fortune-teller of the eight pro-league duelists invited to the Phoenix Herald Crown. Turn around, if you would be so kind."

Slowly, Miriam complied…and standing there was Usagi Saiou. "Oh, yeah, you…Usagi Saiou, right?" Miriam queried. "You wanna duel?"

"Straightforward and to the point…and indeed, we are fast running out of hours to compete in this tournament," Usagi acknowledged. "Certainly, I would wish to have a duel with you…but before that, may I have your permission to read your fortune?"

"Eh? Read my fortune?" Miriam blinked. "Why?"

"I feel moved to do so, that is all." Usagi nodded once. "But if you would prefer I not do so, I shall not impose upon you."

Miriam shrugged. "Eh, sure, why not? It's not like we _have_ to go right into the duel, anyway. Although…" Her eyes were slightly overshadowed. "My fortune in the past hasn't been all that nice. If you're going to read my fortune, I'd like it to be a good one."

Usagi gave a thin smile. "Indeed, you have been through much hardship in your life," she remarked. "But whether the fortune I read for you will be a pleasant one or not is not for me to decide…that shall be left up to fate." She then pulled out a deck of cards and shuffled them thoroughly. "So…grant me your full attention, if you would." She stooped down. "Come down here, beside me."

"Uh, sure," said Miriam, stooping down beside Usagi.

Nodding, the fortune-teller held out her deck to Miriam, the cards facing down. "Fate can be rigid…but it can also be flexible," she said softly. "Many times, humans are allowed to have a hand in deciding their own fate…and so it shall be for you today. I will allow you to pick three cards from the top of this deck…each time you pick a card, set it facedown on the ground, and I will flip it face-up. The face revealed on each card will be a portion of your fortune."

Nodding understanding, Miriam picked up the first card and set it facedown on the ground as instructed. Usagi then flipped it face-up. "Hmm…the trap card, Tragedy, right-side up," she announced.

"Huh?" Miriam was perplexed. "I thought it was going to be, you know, a tarot card like what regular fortune-tellers use…but it's just an ordinary Duel Monsters card."

"Yet I am no ordinary fortune-teller, as I'm sure you must be well aware," Usagi reminded her. "Now, as to the meaning of this card with regards to your fortune…hmm…" Her eyes narrowed. "Soon, Miriam Jordan, a figure from your distant past will return into your and your brother's lives. His appearance will shake your entire belief system to its very core…but how you two respond to it will be entirely up to you. As to his identity—that is not revealed…but in time you will know." She picked up the card and pocketed it, then held out the deck to Miriam again. "Pick another card from the top of the deck."

Eyes narrowed now, Miriam complied and set it facedown on the ground. Usagi then flipped it face-up. "The trap card, Gust…and it is upside down. Hmm…it seems that a great calamity will soon come, that will entrap you, your brother and your companions…but the card's being upside down indicates that there will be a way of escape for you. It is only for you to find and identify it."

"A calamity, huh?" Miriam wondered. "As if I'm a stranger to calamity in my life."

Instead of replying to this remark, Usagi simply picked up the card and pocketed it as she had done with the first; she then held out her deck to Miriam again. Understanding, Miriam picked the top card up and set it facedown on the ground. Usagi then flipped it face-up. "The trap card, World Suppression, right-side up," she revealed. "The peace of soul that you have personally sought all these years, Miriam Jordan, will come at last. All you need to do is be patient and bear with the trials to come." She picked up the card and pocketed it, then stood up and put the deck back into her pocket as well. "Do you believe my predictions?" she asked.

"Um…" Miriam considered the question. "I don't know. Ever since…the last couple of years…I'm a bit skeptical of predictions and that kind of thing, unless I see them fulfilled in front of my eyes."

"An honest answer." Usagi nodded. "Very well. Whether you wish to believe or not is entirely your choice." Then she reached into a separate pocket, pulled out another deck, and slotted it into her ready Duel-Disk. "And now, it is time for us to duel…but who shall fate smile upon—you or me?"

"You said it yourself, fate's flexible," Miriam answered as she readied her own Duel-Disk. "So let's just find out how flexible it'll be for both of us, shall we?"

"Well said." Usagi held up her Duel-Disk. "Then let us begin."

**MIRIAM: 8000; USAGI: 8000**

On TV screens everywhere, while Usagi and Miriam drew their opening hands and readied themselves to duel, their respective stats were displayed. First was Usagi's dueling information. _**Usagi Saiou. Age: 22. Nationality: Japanese-Romanian. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 3 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Arcana Force monsters.**_

Then followed Miriam's info. _**Miriam Jordan. Age: 16. Nationality: Great Britain. Professional dueling experience: Has participated in British Intercontinental Championships from 2016 onwards; participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Effect damage.**_

"Just a reassurance before we start—I will not utilize my fortune-telling skills for this duel," Usagi spoke up.

"Oh…thanks for that consideration, I guess," said Miriam. "Well, now I'm taking the first turn…now, my draw!" Swiftly she drew her sixth card, then paused to scrutinize her hand. "Hmm…not a bad hand I've got here…in fact, I'd say it's a winning hand!"

"Is that so?" Usagi asked.

"Let me show you," and Miriam held up one of her cards. "I activate the Magic card, Messenger of Peace!"

A moment later a white-robed monk with a red cloak on his shoulders appeared on Miriam's side of the field. "I see…as long as that card remains on the field, all monsters that have 1500 ATK or more cannot attack," Usagi noted. "That card also incurs a cost of 100 life points from you, the controller, during each of your Standby Phases…but that is a cost you can easily afford, yes?"

"You got it!" said Miriam. "But that's not all—next, I activate the Magic card, Wave Motion Cannon!"

The next thing Usagi knew, a huge green particle-energy cannon appeared on Miriam's side of the field, charging up with bright bluish-white energy. "Hmm…during your Main Phase, you can send that card to the Graveyard to inflict damage to my life points equal to 1000 times the number of your Standby Phases that have passed since your activation of that card," Usagi said thoughtfully. "Your plan is clear to me, Miriam Jordan. You intend to prevent me from attacking, while you bide your time and build up the Wave Motion Cannon's power enough to destroy my life points in one shot. A simple strategy."

"Simple AND effective," Miriam replied. "And now, I'll end my turn."

Nodding, Usagi drew her card. "I summon Arcana Force I – The Magician (ATK 1100, DEF 1100) to the field in Attack Mode." She then brought forth a chalk-skinned being that resembled a jester somewhat, clad in red, white and black clothing. "And now, his effect activates. When he is summoned, I toss a coin; if the result is heads, then when a Magic card is activated his ATK will become double its original amount till the end of that turn. However, if the result is tails, then when a Magic card is activated, you will gain 500 life points."

"Hmm…then toss a coin!" Miriam demanded.

Usagi nodded. "Coin toss, go!" Then a holographic coin appeared and was flipped…and it flipped around and around as it sailed into the air and then swiftly dropped back to earth. And then when it landed and stopped moving, the result was…tails. "I see…so now, when a Magic card is activated, the Magician's effect will increase your life points by 500 points."

"That works to my advantage, then!" Miriam exulted. "Because there are plenty of Magic cards in my deck! Sorry, love, but you've just set yourself up to lose, and the duel hasn't even started yet!"

Usagi's eyes flashed. "Actually, the duel has already begun," she declared. "Arcana Force I – The Magician's ATK is 1100—low enough for him to bypass the restrictions of your Messenger of Peace."

"Oh…" The smile vanished from Miriam's face. "Whoops."

"Attack directly, my Magician! Arcana Force Illusion!" Usagi commanded. In turn, the Magician seemed to dance about the field, leaving after-images of himself in his wake…and while Miriam was trying to follow his dizzying movements with her eyes, the next thing she knew she was doubling over as the monster's foot ended up in her midsection. The Magician then flipped back over to Usagi's side of the field, bowing in a sort of mocking manner to Miriam as he did so.

**MIRIAM: 6900; USAGI: 8000**

"Next, I shall place two cards facedown…and that will be all," Usagi finished, even as the images of two facedown cards appeared on her side of the field. "Now, consider this, Miriam Jordan. Arcana Force I – The Magician's effect remains as long as he is on the field, and it is his tails-result effect that is in force. Will you really use that to your advantage?"

"Hello—does the sun shine?" Miriam retorted. "Anyway, it's my turn—I draw!" She promptly drew another card—and all at once a small green token appeared on the Wave Motion Cannon, glowing quite brightly even as the Cannon itself began to pulse with energy. "Hmm…all right…just a couple more turns to go…but in the meantime, I activate another Magic card—Toll! Now as long as this card remains on the field, we both have to pay 500 life points to attack with a monster!"

At once a stern-looking soldier appeared from the Toll card and onto Miriam's side of the field—and as this happened, Arcana Force I – The Magician's body glowed brightly, increasing Miriam's life points.

**MIRIAM: 7400; USAGI: 8000**

Then Miriam held up another card. "Next, I activate the Magic card, Dark Room of Nightmare!" And almost instantly a stone-constructed passageway sprung up around the duelists, and again the Magician's effect increased her life points.

**MIRIAM: 7900; USAGI: 8000**

"While this card remains face-up, each time I inflict damage other than battle damage to your life points, this card will inflict 300 additional points of damage to you…but of course, this effect isn't applied to the effect of the Dark Room of Nightmare itself. Well, I'll end my turn now."

"Very well. My draw, now." Usagi drew her next card, so now she held four in hand. "Now, I summon Arcana Force III – The Empress (ATK 1300, DEF 1300) in Attack Mode." Then moments later she brought out her Empress onto the field. "And now, I toss a coin; if the result is heads, then from here on out, each time you Normal Summon or Set a monster, I can Special Summon one 'Arcana Force' monster from my hand. However, if the result is tails, then whenever you Normal Summon or Set a monster, I must send one card from my hand to the Graveyard."

Miriam frowned at this information. _Not good…if she gets the heads result, she'll be able to summon monsters if I summon monsters—even high-level monsters! I'd better hope, then, that it's the tails result that comes up…_

The Empress's coin was swiftly tossed; Miriam eyed it with worried eyes. Then the coin landed…and its result was heads. "Bollocks!" Miriam cried out.

Usagi's eyes narrowed. "I activate my Trap card, Reversal of Fate!" And at once one of her facedown cards flipped face-up, and from it there emerged a large creature with a roulette table surface for a head. "This card lets me select one of my 'Arcana Force' monsters, and that monster's effect will now be treated as the coin toss result opposite of what it was previously. So…I select Arcana Force III – The Empress, and change her heads result to the tails result."

As the Reversal of Fate's roulette table spun, the Empress's body glowed slightly, then returned to normal. But on Miriam's face was a dumbfounded look. "Wha…? Okay, wait a minute, love—why on earth would you give yourself such a bad disadvantage willingly?"

In response, Usagi shrugged. "Why are you complaining, when you basically have quite a clear advantage already?" she asked. "And I think I'll give you an extra advantage now, too…Magician, Empress, your ATK points are low enough to bypass the restriction of her Messenger of Peace card—attack her directly!"

As the Magician prepared to attack, instantly the Toll magic card's representative soldier leaped forward and jabbed at Usagi with his javelin, reducing her life points to 7500. Then, almost as though on cue, a dark shadow arose from Dark Room of Nightmare and passed right through Usagi, causing her to wince while her life points dropped a little further to 7200. Nonetheless, the Magician shifted toward Miriam with illusory super-speed and hit her directly with one outstretched fist, bringing her life points down to 6800. Next, the Empress prepared to attack—but again Toll's soldier stabbed at Usagi, bringing her life points down a little more to 6700; then Dark Room of Nightmare's shadow hit Usagi again, reducing her score further to 6400. Notwithstanding, the Empress leaped forward and slashed at Miriam with clawed hands, bringing her life points down to 5500.

**MIRIAM: 5500; USAGI: 7200**

"Ungh…" Usagi straightened up from enduring the effects of Toll and Dark Room of Nightmare. "All right…I'll end my turn for now."

Miriam promptly drew a card and added it to her hand. At once a second token appeared on her Wave Motion Cannon. "Good, two turns gone so far and a few more to go before I'll use the Wave Motion Cannon's full power," she mused. "And as for you, fortune-teller, since you decided to give me the advantage for whatever reason, I'll take full advantage of that by summoning a monster—Destroyer Golem (ATK 1500, DEF 1000)!"

A moment later there appeared on Miriam's side of the field a rocky creature with an oddly muscular right arm. Usagi regarded it with an upraised eyebrow. "All right…since you have Normal Summoned, Arcana Force III – The Empress's effect will require me to send one card from my hand to the Graveyard now," and this she did, so she was left with two cards in hand. "However, since your monster's ATK is 1500, it will not be able to attack either of my monsters thanks to your Messenger of Peace's effect."

"I won't have to attack," Miriam countered. "Destroyer Golem will simply keep you from attacking my life points with your weaker monsters—and if you summon any monster with 1500 ATK or more, Messenger of Peace will keep _you_ from attacking, too."

"And then, once your Wave Motion Cannon has powered up enough, you'll simply use its effect to defeat me," Usagi added.

"Exactly," Miriam nodded. "And furthermore, thanks to your Arcana Force I – The Magician's current effect, each time a Magic card is activated, I'll increase my life points by 500 points. So…right now I'll just end my turn."

"All right…and now I take my turn." Usagi drew again. "And now…it's all set. Observe." She held up one of her cards. "I activate the Magic card, Premature Burial! At a cost of 800 life points, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode and equip it with this card. And the card I choose is…Arcana Force XXI – The World (ATK 3100, DEF 3100)!" And as her life points dropped to 5600, the huge Arcana Force creature emerged on her field, its claw-like arms twitching. However, the Magician's body glowed once again, and Miriam's life points increased to 6000.

**MIRIAM: 6000; USAGI: 5600**

"And now, the World's effect activates," Usagi continued. "I toss a coin…if the result is heads, then from here on out, during my End Phase, I can send two monsters I control to the Graveyard in order to force you to skip your next turn. However, if the result is tails, then during each of your Draw Phases, the top card of your Graveyard will be added to your hand."

Miriam gritted her teeth at this information. _Crud! This is bad! But— _Suddenly she relaxed a little. _I guess I shouldn't be too worried…after all, my Messenger of Peace is still active, and it's not like she'll be able to do me any real harm with any of her monsters as a result. And even if she gets the heads result for her World card, it'll be useless if she can't attack me…_

The World's coin was flipped…and it flew…and landed…and its result was tails. "Pfft! A bad coin toss result for you, but a good one for me!" Miriam chuckled.

"I wonder about that…" Usagi swiftly indicated her remaining facedown card. "Activate, Trap card—a second Reversal of Fate!"

"Say what?" Miriam's expression was dumbfounded—but a second roulette-table creature appeared on Usagi's side of the field, and the World's body shone brightly. "Damn it…now your World's effect will be the opposing result of the coin toss!" she sputtered.

"Indeed." Usagi nodded.

"Grr…but then again, what am I getting worked up for?" Miriam suddenly began to laugh. "Even if you've changed your monster's effect, it won't matter if you can't do anything to me!"

"Oh?" Usagi picked another of her hand-cards. "Then perhaps this will change your tune. I activate the Magic card, De-Spell, to destroy one Magic card on the field—and I select your Messenger of Peace!"

Just then, a large closed padlock with a key in its keyhole appeared around the Messenger of Peace. The key turned once—and the Messenger of Peace promptly disintegrated into nothingness! "Argh…!" Miriam hissed, even while the Magician's effect increased her life points further to 6500.

**MIRIAM: 6500; USAGI: 5600**

"Admittedly, this is going to hurt…" Usagi braced herself. "Arcana Force XXI – The World, destroy her Destroyer Golem!" Then—quite suddenly, Toll's soldier lunged his spear at her, piercing her shoulder and reducing her life points to 5100. Right after that, Dark Room of Nightmare's shadow flashed right through Usagi, reducing her life points further to 4800. Even so, the World reached one of its arms forward and caught Destroyer Golem in its claws, crushing it to pieces and reducing Miriam's life points to 4900.

**MIRIAM: 4900; USAGI: 4800**

"Now your life points are clear for me to strike at," said Usagi. "My Magician, my Empress, attack directly!" At once Toll's soldier struck at her with his spear again, reducing her life points to 4300; then Dark Room of Nightmare's shadow hit her again, bringing her down further to a flat 4000. In turn, the Magician cart-wheeled toward Miriam and struck her with his repeated spinning, lowering her life points to 3800. Then, as the Empress readied herself for attack, Toll's soldier once more struck at Usagi and lowered her life points to 3500. Seconds later Dark Room of Nightmare's shadow streaked through Usagi and lowered her life points even more to 3200. All the same, the Empress rushed at Miriam and struck out at her, knocking her back and bringing her life points to 2500.

**MIRIAM: 2500; USAGI: 3200**

Usagi didn't bat an eye. "I will end my turn…and as I do, I activate the World's effect, sacrificing both the Magician and the Empress to force you to skip your next turn." Then, the World turned and took up both the Empress and the Magician in its claws, and both of the two monsters promptly vanished while the World's body shone brightly.

"Grr…" Miriam growled. "Fine. I skip my next turn. Do what you're gonna do!"

Nodding, Usagi drew a card from her deck again. "Now…to your credit, Miriam Jordan, you did fairly well. The only drawback you had to face was that I was your opponent."

Miriam's eyes were overshadowed a moment. "Answer me one thing, fortune-teller. I don't know if you'll be telling the truth, but…" She looked up. "Are you sure you didn't predict you'd beat me before you even found me here?"

Usagi looked at her for a long moment. "Well…I only said I would not use my fortune-telling skills for this duel."

Miriam gave her a hard look. "Why didn't you tell me you'd already predicted the outcome of this duel? What was the point of us dueling, then?"

"As we both agreed, fate can be flexible," said Usagi quietly. "Although my predictions up to now have always been correct, in truth they are merely possibilities. It has always been possible for some twist of circumstance to change whatever prediction I've made. It is simply that that didn't happen at any point in the past, nor did it happen here."

"…I see." Miriam sighed. "Well…it's still your turn. Do what you're doing."

"Very well." Usagi looked at Arcana Force XXI – The World. "Attack directly." In turn, Toll's soldier once again thrust forward at Usagi with his spear, bringing her life points down to 2700. Then, Dark Room of Nightmare's shadow coursed through Usagi's body, reducing her life points even further to 2400. But in turn, the World stretched one of its clawed limbs toward Miriam, even as Miriam's life points dropped to 0…

**MIRIAM: 0; USAGI: 2400**

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake watched as the Usagi vs. Miriam duel reached its conclusion. "Pfft…and yet another one of Malachi Jordan's little hangers-on, and his sister at that, loses in my tournament," he scoffed. "Makes me sorry I invited that bunch of pathetic chumps to even come here. Jordan himself is the only one with _some_ kind of skill." He crossed his fingers underneath his chin, simultaneously crossing one leg over the other and propping his elbows on the higher leg. "So…one by one, the unfit fall by the wayside…and only the worthy will remain. And then when only one remains, I'll destroy that one…and show the world that I and I alone am the only one worthy of being the strongest duelist around."

Picking up the remote, he touched a button—and the screen's camera view changed, now showing Malachi Jordan walking along with a stoic expression on his face. "Ah, yes, Jordan," and here Drake chuckled. "Speak of the devil…how ARE you doing in holding up your end of our…agreement?"

As if in reply, a graphic appeared showing Malachi's current tournament point collection: 2000. "Hmph…not good enough, Jordan, not good enough," Drake frowned. He then checked his watch. "Just a minute after 3:00 here, now, and you've barely made any progress. I guess you don't really take your wish to duel Buck Morgan that seriously, now do you?"

----------

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, Malachi—unaware of what Drake was thinking of him—stalked along, his Duel-Disk still on his arm and his deck in his pocket, and he was paying little mind to the occasional whisper or glance that came his way each time he passed by a random park patron. _Took down one weakling already…Phoenix, you must not be taking me seriously if that kind of weak-ass talent is what you're pitting against me…_

Presently he glanced to his left and beheld a building with a huge sign above its entrance. The sign was shaped like a partially open book, and underneath that was the caption: _Valencia's Tome Collection._ "A book store…in an amusement park?" Malachi stopped and gave the building a once-over. "Pretty strange site for a book store…"

He glanced left and right, then up at the sky. "It's getting a little late…but I suppose I can stop in here for a few minutes and cool my heels," he muttered, and he walked toward the store's entrance.

Stepping inside, he at once observed that in front of him were several tall shelves, all lined with books of varying sizes and colors. Giving the shelves a sweeping glance, he noted that the books appeared to be separated by fiction and non-fiction, and in alphabetical order. Browsing around the shelves for a moment, Malachi saw that the non-fiction books were further categorized by subject matter—over here was a whole half-shelf dedicated to various types of history; over there was an entire section on different mathematics-related topics; just above his head was a collection of famous novelists, poets and essay-writers.

"…help you?"

"Eh?" Snapped out of his train of thought, Malachi whirled and found himself face-to-face with a woman. She had a deadpan expression on her face, and a half-burnt cigarette hanging from one corner of her mouth. In one hand she held the stick for a yellow lollipop, the candy end of which she proceeded to plop into her mouth without disturbing the cigarette. She had a few piercings here and there—two on each ear, one on her lower lip, and one above her right eyebrow.

"I said, can I help you?" the woman repeated, in a voice as deadpan as her expression.

Malachi's tone was brief. "No thanks. Just browsing around."

The woman shrugged. "Well, whatever. Do as you like." She turned and headed for a nearby desk, practically dropping down into the chair behind said desk, and then cocked up both feet on aforementioned desk. Rolling the lollipop around, she took hold of the stick and slurped the candy out of her mouth. With her free hand she picked up a paperback book she'd had under the desk and opened it to a random page. Almost automatically she took a quick puff of the still-lit cigarette that still stuck out from the corner of her mouth.

Malachi cocked an eyebrow as he studied the woman more closely. She appeared to be of Latin descent, but her hair—cut in a boyish style and dyed a shocking mix of orange and lime-green—made her appear a very far cry from the generic pictures of beautiful Latin women he'd seen in movies and some of David's magazines. On her feet were boots not unlike the kind Miriam often wore, but the toe-points of these boots looked as though they could stab an eye out if she ever decided to kick someone in the face. By Malachi's mental estimation, she didn't seem to be too much older than him…maybe early 20's, at the absolute most. On her right hand was a jagged scar, a bit faint with age but still noticeable. And though Malachi didn't really think much of it, he couldn't help but notice anyway that her bust was rather small, covered very modestly by the dark blue T-shirt she wore.

He cleared his throat to catch her attention. "You own this place?"

She didn't even look over at him. "Yeah, I own this place. Got a contract from Kaiba Corporation to have some semblance of an 'educational institute'," and here she put down the book, stuffed the lollipop into her mouth again, and made air-quotes with her fingers, "so that people who want to go to the nearest library don't have to leave the park." Then, without missing a beat, she pulled the cigarette out of her mouth with one hand and stubbed it out on the desktop; then, with her other hand, she picked up the book and opened it to a random page again.

"So they pay you good?" Malachi inquired.

Still she didn't look at him. "Who are you, the C.I.A.? Or the I.R.S.? I pay my taxes on time, you know."

His eyes narrowed. "Judging from the way you act, I doubt you'd care _who_ I am."

Now she looked at him. "Actually, yeah, spiky, I do know who you are. Malachi Jordan, the psychotic duelist from England, who's got more rumors and speculation following him than crows on a corpse."

"If you're trying to insult me, forget it. I've heard them all before," Malachi told her.

"Who's insulting anybody? I'm just telling it the way it's been told before," the girl replied smoothly. "One thing about you that everybody respects, though. You duel one hell of a game."

"And how would you know that?" Malachi asked. "From what I can see, you don't leave this place at all, do you?"

"I don't have to leave here to know about how you duel." The girl lazily pointed toward a TV on a stand directly behind her chair. "I've been keeping up with the duels in Drake Phoenix's tournament all morning. Some were good, some not so good…although I have to say, I feel a little sorry for your sister and the two guys who hang around with you."

"Why?" Malachi wanted to know.

The girl shook her head. "Your sister—Miriam, right?—she was just dueling against the fortune-teller, Usagi Saiou…she didn't do too well there," she explained. "And those two guys…the snake guy, Buck Morgan, he beat them both like nobody's business. I suppose nobody who hangs around with you has any good luck, huh?"

Malachi's eyes narrowed at this information. _I see…so that Morgan guy must've defeated Luke, too…and Miriam lost to that fortune-teller? Just great…_ Then, aloud, he asked, "And my duel that I had earlier—how do you rank that?"

The girl shrugged. "In between good and bad, I guess. That eliminator that you faced was a joke…but you've had prestige in your time, you know? It's not like you're a newbie...so it wasn't completely boring."

"Hmm." Malachi leaned one elbow upon the girl's desk. "Valencia…that's your name, right? I'm judging based on the store's sign."

"Yeah, Valencia's my name. What's it to you, Malachi Jordan?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, but otherwise maintained her pokerfaced look.

"Just figured it wasn't fair for you to know who I am, while I know next to nothing about you," Malachi countered.

"I run this book store. I take an interest in watching duels. I smoke. I like lollipops. I'd hardly say that's 'next to nothing'," Valencia returned.

Malachi's eyes drifted to the book Valencia was reading. It was a book entitled _The Complete History of Stock-Car Tuning in the Global Village. _"You like cars?"

"Maybe." Valencia's eyes dropped down to the book again.

Malachi leaned forward on the desktop a bit. "Lamborghini, Mercedes or BMW?"

Valencia idly turned a page in the book, then with the same hand she held the lollipop stick and twirled it around in her mouth slowly. Then she responded. "Depends on the model, year, and color."

Malachi's eyes narrowed. "Ford Mustang?"

Valencia still didn't look up from her book. "The bulkiest car ever made. All glamour and no horsepower."

"Chevrolet Camaro?" Malachi pursued.

"Taxicab use only." Now she looked at him. "All right, Malachi Jordan, let's see if _you're_ worth your salt. Dodge Viper?"

Malachi smirked. "Red. No vinyls. CO2 nitros. Custom-built accessories."

"Aston Martin DB9?"

"Sin on wheels. Best suited for exhibitions or the garage, not the road."

"Cadillac CTS?"

"Shit-scrap."

"Lotus Elise?"

"Try not to get arrested while speeding in that."

Valencia lowered her book…and for the first time, a small smirk appeared on her lips. She pointed in the direction of one of the shelves to the extreme left of the store's entrance. "That shelf over there—there's a whole bunch of catalogs that list the fastest, best-performing, _and_ best-looking cars over the past 20 years. Pick any three you want—they're all on me."

----------

Just outside _Valencia's Tome Collection,_ Caleb Link was strolling along, his eyes obscured by his sunglasses. Presently he paused and looked at the store's sign. "Strange addition to this theme park," he mumbled. "Oh well…I don't have time to go browse any books. Better get going and find more chumps to take away tournament points and steal rare cards from…"

He turned to walk away—then stopped and sharply turned around, glancing toward the store's entrance. He stared hard inside…then shook his head. "No way…I must've been hearing things," he muttered, and turned to walk away again.

Then the sounds of voices from inside the store caught his ears—and he froze. _No…I really heard it…! That voice…it's HIM!_

Swinging around, Caleb rushed into the book store, braking to a stop just inside the entrance. His eyes widened behind his sunglasses, filling rapidly with rage. His hands trembled violently. "So…it WAS you…" his voice came out as a hiss.

To his right, there was the front desk with the odd-looking receptionist behind it, giving him a quizzical look. Standing in front of her desks, three large magazine catalogs in hand, was the figure he loathed most of all. "Malachi Jordan…who'd have thought I'd run into you this soon in this tournament!" Caleb shouted.

Malachi's back was to Caleb at this time…but now, he slowly turned around. "Oh…it's you," he said nonchalantly. "Been a while, hasn't it, loser?"

One of Caleb's eyes twitched. "Four years…it's been four years since you robbed me of my title as the English Intercontinental champion, Jordan," he snarled. "I've gotten a hell of a lot stronger since then, though. I'm not the same duelist you faced back then. And today I'm going to pay you back for the disgrace you handed me back then!"

Malachi cocked an eyebrow. "And why the hell should I even bother with crap like you?"

"You don't have a choice! I'm challenging you to a duel, Jordan—and according to tournament rules, you _have_ to accept!" Caleb held up his Duel-Disk. "Or are you that much of a chicken-wuss that you'll run away from me?"

The girl twirled her lollipop around in her mouth, holding on to the end of the stick to do so. "Looks like you two know each other," she addressed Malachi. "I saw a duel with this guy on TV earlier. He beat one of the tournament eliminators and stole a bunch of cards from him at the end of it."

Malachi looked sharply at Caleb. "Stole cards? You played an ante-duel?"

"Why not? It's not like the rules said we can't do that," Caleb answered carelessly. "Besides, that punk didn't deserve to even be an eliminator, anyway…although the cards I took from him will go a long way in putting you in your place, you bastard. As a matter of fact, I'll even show you the cards right now so you'll have an idea what I've got in store for you."

Pulling out his deck, he thumbed through it rapidly and drew out five cards, then held them up for Malachi to see: the Destiny Board cards he'd stolen from Victor Greaves earlier. Malachi's eyes widened when he saw them. "Those cards…"

"Scared, are you? You've every right to be!" Caleb boasted.

Now Malachi glared at him. "All right…you want to duel? Let's go outside and duel, then," he said darkly. "Those cards aren't yours…I'll take them from you and take them back to their rightful owner. And I will _so_ enjoy beating the bloody hell out of you just for being a prick."

Caleb grinned. "Let's do it, then, Malachi Jordan! My revenge on you begins now!"

----------

_**neomage: **_Okay, Caleb, right, sure…anyway, review soon, everyone!


	57. Past Champion

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yet again, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 57 – Past Champion**

_Characters' First Appearance in Story_

_GABRIEL_

_NAME: Gabriel Roman_

_AGE: 28_

_HAIR: Red, with yellow highlights (think of __**Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's**__ Yusei Fudo with altered hair)_

_EYES: Green_

_CLOTHES: Red jacket with long blue sleeves, blue jeans, gray-and-orange high-top sneakers_

KAIBA LAND, 3:15 p.m.

A short moment later, Malachi and Caleb were standing outside the entrance to _Valencia's Tome Collection,_ shuffling their respective decks while giving each other the evil eye. At the door to the bookstore, Valencia herself continued to suck on her lollipop while watching the two. "Now this should be interesting at least…which of these two guys will win this bout?" she mused to herself.

Meanwhile, on TV screens everywhere, the duelists' stats were shown one after the other. First, Malachi's: _**Malachi Jordan. Age: 18. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2014 and remained champion until this year, 2018, when he was defeated by Yugo Muto for the title. Was a contender in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Gravekeepers.**_

Then, Caleb's: _**Caleb Link. Age: 23. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2012 and remained champion until 2014, when he was defeated by Malachi Jordan for the title. Consistently in the Top 10 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onwards. Deck strategy: Chaining.**_

**MALACHI: 8000; CALEB: 8000**

Both of them drew their first five cards while each player's life point score rose to 8000. Then Caleb announced, "After I destroy you, Jordan, I'll be 1000 tournament points closer to winning this whole competition!"

"That's my line," Malachi said dryly.

"Pfft…well, whatever! I call the first turn!" Caleb immediately drew his sixth card to start. "Okay, then…I summon Man Beast of Ares (ATK 500, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" Then on his side of the field there emerged a bipedal, horned, pig-like creature with massive fists. "Then I'll set three cards facedown…that's it for now."

"My turn." Malachi drew a card. "That Man Beast of Ares…are you still using that ridiculous Chaining deck? I trashed it once, and I'll trash it again."

"I dare you to try!" Caleb shouted.

"All right, then." Malachi examined his hand. "I summon Gravekeeper's Watcher (ATK 1000, DEF 1000)!" Then there appeared a turbaned man in black and white robes, clutching a stone tablet in one hand. "And…what? No activating of cards? Your style's full of that, as I recall."

"Oh, my facedown cards?" Caleb indicated the three facedown cards on his side of the field. "A time and place for everything, Jordan—a time and place for everything."

"Hn. Well, whatever. Gravekeeper's Watcher, destroy Man Beast of Ares! Use your Curse of Tablet!" Malachi ordered. In turn, Gravekeeper's Watcher held up his stone tablet—and the tablet began to shine with yellow energy, which soon fired out in a laser blast that ripped right through Man Beast of Ares.

**MALACHI: 8000; CALEB: 7500**

Then Malachi continued, "I place two cards facedown, and end my turn."

Caleb merely drew his next card. "So you want to know what my facedown cards are that badly, now do you, Jordan?" he sneered. "Well, I'll be glad to show you! First of all…" He pointed to one of his facedown cards. "I activate the Trap card, Chain Healing! This will increase my life points by 500!"

The card flipped face-up, and blue chains wrapped around Caleb's body. But then he added, "Next I activate another Trap card, Chain Detonation! This will inflict 500 points of damage to _you!"_

"Congrats to you," Malachi said dryly, even while orange chains wrapped around his own body.

"And then there's my last card to activate—the Quick-play Magic card, Chain Summoning!" Caleb's last facedown card flipped face-up. "This card's effect will allow me to Normal Summon or Set three times for this turn." Then—all at once there was a loud ripping sound as the very fabric of space itself seemed to rip right open behind Caleb.

"The end of your chaining, I take it?" Malachi didn't look one bit impressed.

"Maybe…unless you plan to activate one of your facedown cards or something," Caleb replied, eyeing Malachi's two cards.

"In that case, I think I will activate one of them…" Malachi looked at one of his facedown cards knowingly. "And you ought to be very familiar with this one, Link…the Trap card, Pyramid of Light!"

On hearing the name, Caleb turned white. _"What?"_ he croaked—but a second later the bright gold outlines of a pyramid shape branched out over the field, enclosing both duelists! "No…!"

Now Malachi smiled maliciously. "Brings back memories, doesn't it, Link?" he chuckled.

Terror was all over Caleb's face. "This card…this card…" Sweat broke out on his brow. "How can this be…HOW?"

"I'm not going to activate my other facedown card," said Malachi, "so this will be the end of the chain, I suppose. So, the Pyramid of Light's activation is the last thing to happen in this chain…and the cards' effects resolving works backwards, yeah? So…now that the Pyramid's activation is resolved, what's next?"

"Uh…" Caleb swiftly shook off his nervousness. "R-right. Chain Summoning's activation and effect resolve…" The dimensional rift behind him pulsed. "So I'll be able to Normal Summon or Set three times this turn…"

"Then…what was it, Chain Detonation? Now I lose 500 life points…" Instantly the chains around Malachi exploded—but he himself didn't budge an inch.

**MALACHI: 7500; CALEB: 7500**

"Chain Detonation was Chain Link 2…so I add the card to my deck and shuffle it," and here Caleb placed the Chain Detonation card into his deck mechanically, then shuffled the deck rather absently. "And now there's the Chain Healing card to resolve its effect…" And his own life points rose back to 8000.

**MALACHI: 7500; CALEB: 8000**

Malachi regarded Caleb. "Well? What are you going to? Aren't you going to summon three times this turn, or whatever? Or are you going to make all those card activations be for nothing?"

Caleb wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "Damn you, Jordan…" His voice was hoarse. "How dare you…how dare you bring THAT card into play?" and he pointed a condemning finger at the Pyramid of Light card.

"What? It's _my_ deck, isn't it?" Malachi countered. "The card's not illegal. And anyway, you don't hear me complaining about how you shouldn't be playing this card or that card or whichever card, do you? So put up or shut up."

"Grr…" Caleb looked at his hand. "I'll take advantage of Chain Summoning's effect now! First, I'll summon Blast Asmodian (ATK 1000, DEF 300) in Attack Mode!" Then, from the dimensional rift out jumped his red-skinned bomb-wielding monster. "Then, I'll tribute Blast Asmodian to summon Combo Master (ATK 2200, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!" In turn, Blast Asmodian vanished from the field—and out of the dimensional rift there jumped a martial artist with a body built like a tank, clad in brown pants and a green bandana, and sporting several scars on his chest. "And finally, my third Normal Summon—Combo Fighter (ATK 1600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" And out of the dimensional rift appeared Combo Fighter, standing up next to Combo Master moments later and appearing disproportionately skinny in comparison…and now the dimensional rift behind Caleb closed.

"All right…you've used up your three summoning opportunities that your Chain Summoning card allowed you," said Malachi. "And in all, you've managed to reverse the damage I inflicted on you before, and put damage on me in turn. Hip, hip, hooray." He shook his head. "Someone gag me."

"Oh, be quiet! Combo Fighter, dispose of his Gravekeeper's Watcher!" Caleb shouted. In response, Combo Fighter ran up to Gravekeeper's Watcher and pummeled him into pieces with a barrage of fists.

**MALACHI: 6900; CALEB: 8000**

Then: "Combo Master, attack directly!" And Combo Master jumped forward, one leg extended in a kick, and hit Malachi hard in the chest, knocking him backwards a little.

**MALACHI: 4700; CALEB: 8000**

All this Valencia watched, still with the same pokerfaced expression, even as she continued to suck on her lollipop. Her eyes drifted to Malachi as he was pushed back by Combo Master's kick. "This guy must honestly hate you, you know," she remarked to him.

"Ungh…" Malachi straightened up. "Yeah? Well, that's not sufficient to scare me." He then turned his attention back to Caleb. "You've had your chance…but trust me on this—from here on out, I won't show you any mercy. In fact…on my next turn I'm going to take out every last life point you own…in one turn."

"Like you can!" Caleb scoffed. "I know why you've activated this Pyramid of Light, but even with that, what good will it do you? Those monsters of yours that are associated with the Pyramid of Light can only do so much damage, even for them!"

"Then I suppose I'd better prove to you that I can and will defeat you in one turn." Malachi drew his next card; now he held four in his hand. Then he looked at them, and nodded. "Good, good…now it's all truly set."

Caleb glared at him. Valencia rolled the lollipop around in her mouth.

Malachi pointed to the Pyramid of Light. "Since this Pyramid is active, I can activate a couple of effects from my hand…by paying 500 life points for each of them, I can Special Summon them! Come to the field, Andro Sphinx (ATK 3000, DEF 2500) and Sphinx Teleia (ATK 2500, DEF 3000)!"

**MALACHI: 3700; CALEB: 8000**

As Malachi's life points dropped to 3700, two beams of light shot down from the top of the Pyramid of Light…then, coming from those beams were two frightful lion-like creatures: a bipedal lion with brown fur and a yellow mane, clad in spiked blue armor, and a creature with the head of a human redheaded female, its body covered in gray fur and bearing wings on its back and chains around its neck and forefeet. "Unfortunately, neither of these two can attack the same turn they're Normal Summoned or Special Summoned," said Malachi. "But that won't matter after I play my next card…" He picked out one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "The Magic card, Dark Hole!"

Caleb's face turned ashen. "No! That card…it destroys all monsters on the field! And if you destroy _those_ two…!" He pointed at the two Sphinx monsters.

"I see you remember." Again Malachi grinned sadistically.

A huge black hole opened up on the field, sucking all four monsters on the field into it. Combo Fighter and Combo Master tried to resist the black hole's gravitational pull, but eventually both ended up flying, screaming, into the hole. Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia, likewise, flew into the hole, irretrievable thereafter. "Now…it begins." Malachi's eyes narrowed—and suddenly his life points dropped further once again.

**MALACHI: 3200; CALEB: 8000**

"By paying 500 life points when both of my Sphinxes are destroyed at the same time, I can Special Summon an even stronger monster from my hand or deck…and this time he'll be coming from my deck." His gaze bore into Caleb's eyes. "Remember that monster, Link? Oh, I'm sure you do…and he's missed you, very, very terribly."

"…no…!" Caleb's eyes were wide with ever-growing fear.

Malachi's hand flashed to his deck and whipped out a card. "The conditions for your summoning are complete!" he cried. "Come to the field and unleash destruction, my great monster…Theinen the Great Sphinx (ATK 3500, DEF 3000)!"

All at once, there came into existence a frightening sight: a huge monster with Andro Sphinx's upper half and Sphinx Teleia's lower body, giant wings on its back and humongous spikes protruding from its armor. As it settled onto the field, it let out a deafening roar that shook everything in the vicinity. Caleb stared up at the beast and felt like he'd be ill. "Lord have mercy…it's…just like that time…" he whispered.

"Theinen the Great Sphinx has been Special Summoned successfully, so…I can use his effect and pay 500 life points to increase his ATK by 3000 points till the end of this turn," Malachi announced—and his life points decreased yet again.

**MALACHI: 2700; CALEB: 8000**

In turn, Theinen let out a bellow while its ATK shot up to a whopping 6500! "But even with his ATK where it is now, it won't be quite enough…so…" Malachi paused.

_ So…?_ Valencia mentally asked.

Malachi then held up the last card left in his hand. "I summon Gravekeeper's Curse (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then he called to the field another Gravekeeper, this one with mystic green energy coursing around his body. "And when Gravekeeper's Curse is summoned, he inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points!" And Gravekeeper's Curse gathered together some of his mystic energy into his hands and blasted it at Caleb; the duelist screamed out in pain as the energy hit him hard.

**MALACHI: 2700; CALEB: 7500**

"And now, to summon one more monster," and Malachi here looked at the facedown card he still had on his side. "I activate the Trap card, Rite of Spirit! This allows me to Special Summon a Gravekeeper from my Graveyard…so I'll call back the one you destroyed earlier—Gravekeeper's Watcher, in Attack Mode!" And mere seconds later Gravekeeper's Watcher reappeared next to Gravekeeper's Curse, a stern look on his face.

All the blood seemed to drain from Caleb's face. "Damn it…enough ATK points to wipe me out…this is so bad!"

"Hmph. Pathetic is as pathetic does." Malachi raised his hand. "Curse, Watcher, Theinen! Attack directly and finish this pathetic excuse for trash!"

Again Gravekeeper's Curse launched a ball of energy at Caleb, this time knocking him back and reducing his life points to 6700. Then Gravekeeper's Watcher blasted Caleb with a laser blast from his stone tablet, bringing him even further to 5700. Reeling from the onslaught, Caleb looked up just in time to see Theinen's gigantic body looming over him. "No! No, don't!" he screamed—but Theinen unleashed a thunderous roar, the shockwaves of which hit Caleb with such force that he was flung backwards and the remaining cards in his deck scattered everywhere, while his life points plummeted to 0.

**MALACHI: 2700; CALEB: 0**

Malachi glanced at his Duel-Disk at that moment, in time to see his life point counter being replaced by his tournament points—these were now climbing to 3000. "Pfft…and to think this idiot could be a pro-league duelist…they must've been desperate to have included him in their ranks," he said dryly, casting a scornful look over at the fallen Caleb.

Stunned by the force of the last attack that had sealed his defeat, Caleb presently struggled to sit up. "Argh…I can't…believe it…" he moaned, even as he shifted himself to hands and knees and began to gather together his cards that had gotten scattered. Presently he stretched his hand toward one card—but he wasn't prepared for a heavy foot to suddenly stamp down on his hand, pinning it to the ground. "Aaah!" he winced, then glared up at Malachi. "Why, you…!"

Malachi had a stony glare on him. "That card you were about to pick up. It. Is not. Your card." Then he bent down and picked up the card in question—the stolen Destiny Board. Glancing around the ground, he swiftly picked up four more cards—the Spirit Letters associated with the Destiny Board. "These cards are going back to the man you stole them from. Sad, isn't it? You stole them from him in the hope of defeating me and avenging your loss four years ago, and in the end you never even got to use them against me. But then again, even if you had been able to use them, the outcome would've still been the same. You'd still be a hack."

"Damn you…" Caleb seethed. "I won't forget this…"

"Tell it to somebody who cares, mate." Malachi stepped off of Caleb's hand. "Now take up your own cards and get out of my sight. You were a wanker back when you and I first dueled, and you're still a wanker now."

Scowling, Caleb resumed gathering his cards together. Malachi, meanwhile, walked up to Valencia, who'd been quietly watching the exchange. "Which way to the Dark Lord Castle from here, on a straight line?" he asked.

Valencia turned and pointed in a direction. "Fifteen minutes' worth of jogging, that way," she answered. "Castle sticks out like a pimple on the nose. You can't miss it. Oh, and don't forget the books you've picked."

"Thanks." Malachi nodded. "I'll be taking them now, then."

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 3:25 p.m.

"Shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping…" Honey hummed as she scanned through several shoes on a shelf. She and Jessica were currently in one of the many stores situated in Kaiba Land, and at present she was having a ball. "Thanks for bringing me here, Jessica. This store's one of the best I've ever seen when it comes on to clothes and shoes!"

A few feet away, Jessica was holding up two dresses, both on wire hangers, one in each hand, and looking from one to the next. "Think nothing of it," she answered. "It was the least I could do to pay you back for…well, subjecting you to my frogs. You really do hate frogs, don't you?"

"Let's not talk about frogs just now," Honey told her, shaking her head a little to show her disapproval. "Let's talk about how much money's on your credit card! Is it enough to pay for our few purchases?"

"It'll be enough," Jessica assured her. "I get a hefty sum for pocket money each month from Mom and Dad, and I always make sure it's well-spent. Plus, I put a little of it into a small savings account of my own—an agreement I made with Dad when he first started giving me my allowance. Now, then…" She shook the dresses in her hands a little. "Which do you think I should buy? This one?" She held up the one in her right hand, a bright pink affair with string-thick shoulder straps, lace over the bust region, and frills at the bottom of the skirt. "Or this one?" She held up the one in her left hand, a blue dress with a V-neck blouse and a skirt that was a little longer than knee-length.

"Hmm…" Honey frowned as she considered them both. "Easy answer: buy both!"

"Right answer!" Jessica grinned and put the two dresses together.

The girls went on with their shopping…unaware that amidst the clothing racks, a certain individual in a blue duffel hooded jacket, wearing a mask that concealed the lower half of her face, was watching them with close intensity…

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM

"Yawn…" Natasha stretched her limbs out as far as they would go, even as her torso tossed and turned here and there on the mattress. "Oh…hey, guys…has Janus dueled again yet?" she murmured sleepily.

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki turned to look at her. "Oh, you're awake now?" she asked, smiling. "No, Janus hasn't had another duel yet. You know, you really shouldn't have eaten so many of those sandwiches…the sandwiches from the cafeteria tend to make you lethargic, if you eat too many of them in one sitting…"

Sitting up, Natasha rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Mmm…how long have I been sleeping…?"

"Since just after 1:30," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki replied. She looked at her watch. "And it's now almost 3:30."

"Oh? That long?" Natasha wondered. Then she looked around. "Where's everybody else?"

"The guys went to go get more food. And the principal and I owe Cassara a considerable sum of money now." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki shook her head ruefully. "I swear, if that girl ever becomes manager of any sales-related job, she'll be pushing her hands too far deeply into people's pockets…"

"Hello—I _am_ still here, y'know!" Cassara's voice shot out from the bathroom. Then, seconds later, she emerged into the room, looking peevish. "I'm an entrepreneur in the making, thank you very much! I may as well get an early start!"

"I should've let my husband maul you…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki muttered.

Then Cassara noticed that Natasha was awake. "Oh—Natasha, you're up? Great! Now I can bring you up to speed on the duels that have already gone by!" she exclaimed. "Boy, you sure missed a lot while you were sleeping!"

"So tell me," Natasha offered.

Briefly Cassara brought Natasha up to speed on the tournament's status. "They'll probably soon show us a graph with all the tournament point standings up to now," she remarked.

Just at that moment the dorm room door burst open, and in came Principal Yuki, Jiro and Ricardo; Principal Yuki was carrying a large plastic bag with wrapped food items inside, and the boys were carrying cup-holders with drinks inside of them. "Let it be known that the only reason I'm allowing you to treat me like a slave THIS TIME is because my wife told me to go to the cafeteria and restock our food," Principal Yuki growled, shooting Cassara a glare that would've melted her on the spot were it so possible.

"Mmm-hmm," Cassara shrugged indifferently.

"You should've been with us—gossip's flying all across the cafeteria and the school grounds like it's going out of style," Ricardo informed the others. "Everybody's talking about Janus and how he was able to beat those two pro-league duelists back-to-back. He's a natural Boy Wonder now, our Janus is!"

"He wasn't the only one they were talking about," Jiro put in. "I overheard a bunch of Obelisk Blue students talking about Calhoun Vincente and Vasha Morrison, too."

"Oh, yeah…those two." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki frowned. "I'm surprised that they were instated as eliminators in the Phoenix Herald Crown. How they managed to pull that off, I intend to ask them when they come back here."

"That is, assuming they'll be able to survive the ridicule from the students here," said Principal Yuki. "I heard quite a few students making some not-so-savory comments about Calhoun in particular, while we were coming back here."

"Those two deserve nothing less—after what they did to me, I wish they could've been humiliated a lot more," Cassara muttered.

"Eh? What's that about, now?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki inquired.

"Oh…I forgot you didn't know about it," Cassara replied. "In a nutshell, Vasha and Calhoun took me hostage and forced Janus to duel for my freedom. Janus won, of course, but…those two are such sore losers, it isn't even funny."

"I have an idea what you mean," Principal Yuki told her. "In any case, now that they've both lost in an official tournament that's being broadcasted live on TV, they may want to chew on some humble pie for a little while."

"And maybe go outside wearing big, dark sunglasses like beleaguered celebrities?" Ricardo suggested, a grin on his face.

"Now _that's_ an image I could see on those two," Cassara smirked.

"Say, Cassara…have you been taking any notes about this tournament so far, to report in the _Duel Academy Revealer?"_ Natasha wondered.

"Of course—what do you take me for?" Cassara nodded toward the desk, where her pen and notepad sat. "Here, let me read you a little of what I've written so far." She crossed over to the desk and picked up the notepad. "Janus Yuki, second-year student of Osiris Red, soundly defeated Kent West and Diane Chill, both duelists from the pro-league circuit, one after the other in the first day of the Phoenix Herald Crown Duel Monsters tournament held this past weekend at Kaiba Corporation's Kaiba Land amusement park," she read. "That's the opening statement for the report. Of course, if anything else happens, I'll have to edit this accordingly."

"Don't forget the performances of Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba," Jiro pointed out.

"Ah—yes, that's right!" Cassara grabbed up the pen from the desk and hastily scribbled some extra notations on the pad. "Yugo Muto dueled French national champion Gaston Altair to a standstill during their match…and the duel between the two former World Champions, Seta Kaiba and Reno Dawkins, ended in only two turns with Seta delivering a one-turn kill technique on Dawkins! Oh, this is all juicy stuff so far!"

"Hmm…say, Cassara, which will take greater precedence in the _Revealer_—this tournament, or the siege on Duel Academy by Park Fletcher and his cronies?" Ricardo asked.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure…" Cassara tapped the tip of the pen against her lip thoughtfully. "Eh, I guess I'll figure it out soon."

"Well, anyway, who wants more sandwiches?" Principal Yuki announced, holding up the plastic bag.

"Not me…I think I've had enough for now," Natasha sighed.

----------

BACK AT KAIBA LAND, 3:45 p.m.

"We're back!" Clyde and D.J. called out as they and their mother entered their hotel room, all carrying souvenirs in hand.

"Gabriel, where are you? We've got quite a few things for you!" their mother added.

The hotel room was a very comfortable one—carpeted, with matching light-blue sheets and pillowcases on the twin beds in the middle of the room; light-green drapes on the windows and the balcony entrance; peach-colored tiles out on the balcony itself; and off to the side a door to the bathroom—which was currently shut. Then a voice sounded out from behind that door: "I'll be out in a little bit, Aunt Celina."

Then the sound of running water could be heard. Clyde, D.J. and their mother proceeded to pile the souvenirs they'd gotten onto the two beds. A short while later, the bathroom door opened, and out stepped Gabriel himself. He was a handsome young man, with a rather unique hairstyle—his was red hair, in a fiery style, with yellow highlights standing out closer to the back. "How'd you guys fare out there?" he addressed Clyde and D.J. "Did you give your mom any trouble?"

"No way, Cousin Gabriel!" Clyde answered readily. "We had lots of fun out there!"

"And we even got to see Jillian Uriah duel…" D.J. said dreamily.

"Ha, ha! Did you, now?" Gabriel chuckled. "Still in love with _her,_ I take it?"

"Uh, well…it's not quite like that…" D.J. blushed furiously.

Aunt Celina stepped forward. "You know, Gabriel…Jillian herself said she would like to meet with you."

"Oh? She said that?" Gabriel wondered.

"Yeah, she did!" D.J. said eagerly. "She wants to meet you after dinnertime tonight!"

Aunt Celina eyed Gabriel. "Say, Clyde, D.J., why don't you two head downstairs and see if you can get some autographs from the pro-league duelists we passed back there, before it gets time for dinner?" she suggested to the boys. "I think I saw Kent West and Reno Dawkins hanging around in the dining area…do you suppose they could still be there?"

"Hey, yeah, let's do that! I wanna get Kent West's autograph!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Yeah! Let's go ask him!" D.J. agreed. "Reno Dawkins kinda scares me, though…"

"Well, just make sure you're on your best behavior when you ask them, all right? And come right back afterwards—we still need to go through all these souvenirs, and decide who gets what, before dinnertime, okay?" Aunt Celina reminded them.

"Okay, Mom!" the boys chorused, and with that they hurried out of the room and back downstairs.

Watching her sons' departure for a moment, Aunt Celina presently turned back to Gabriel. "I hope I wasn't too presumptuous, inviting Jillian to come see you," she said softly.

Gabriel shrugged. "What's done is done. Besides, those two," nodding his head toward the door to indicate his already-departed cousins, "they probably would've insisted that I meet her, wouldn't they? D.J. especially loves that girl to death, I can tell."

Aunt Celina smiled a little. "She wants to meet you tonight, after dinnertime. Is that fine?"

"Sure, why not?" Gabriel shrugged again. "At least I'll have a chance to meet the bodyguard of Seta Kaiba, and get a few questions of my own answered."

He turned and walked toward the balcony, stopping at the railing and looking out over the landscape below. "You know, Aunt Celina…I can't help but wonder…has it really been ten years? So much has changed between then and now…a whole new generation of duelists has taken up the legend I used to shoulder…"

"Do you miss it?" Aunt Celina asked quietly.

Gabriel didn't turn around. "To be honest…sometimes I don't even know, myself. I mean, I'm glad that this new generation has a chance to enjoy the dueling…but…"

He hung his head a little, so that a few bangs from the front part of his hair hung down and overshadowed his eyes. "At the same time, I find myself wondering if any of this new breed is aware of just how much dueling can cost them…"

Sighing a little, Aunt Celina walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Gabriel…at the risk of sounding like a broken record, or a scratched CD, or whatever it is the kids listen to these days…you need to stop punishing yourself for _that._ There's no way you could have foreseen it."

"Tell that to the people who still hold it against me," Gabriel mumbled. "And frankly, I can't blame them…"

Aunt Celina cocked an eyebrow. "Then suppose you explain why you haven't thrown away that deck of yours?"

"…" Gabriel didn't say anything for a moment. "…I don't even know for sure, really."

"Well, when you figure it out, you let me know, all right?" Aunt Celina patted his shoulder. "Now, enough of the gloom for a little bit—you don't want Clyde and D.J. to come back and see a sour expression on your face, now do you?" and here she placed her fingers at the corners of Gabriel's mouth and pulled the flesh upward so that his expression was given the semblance of a smile.

"Okay, okay, Aunt Celina, I get it," Gabriel grunted, swatting her hands aside while putting on a small, but genuine, smile of his own. "So…let's have a look at those souvenirs you guys got, huh?"

----------

_**Neomage:**_ And once again, for the second time, in re-submitting this story, I present the Expy of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Yusei Fudo. And still his deck style of old hasn't been introduced…what will it be, you ask? More to come, so review soon and continue reading!


	58. Libra's Gamble

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Yet again, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hmm, déjà vu, methinks?)

**CHAPTER 58 – Libra's Gamble**

KAIBA LAND, 3:50 p.m.

Reno Dawkins sat at the dining hall's bar, seven empty beer bottles on the counter in front of him and an eighth one, as yet un-emptied, in his hand. With one fluid movement, he tilted the mouth of the bottle toward his mouth, simultaneously tilting his head backwards slightly, and his Adam's apple jumped a couple of times as the coarse liquid flowed down his throat. "Ahhhh!" he exhaled sharply, banging the now-empty bottle down hard on the counter to join its cousins. "Hey, bartender, gimme another round over here!" he ordered.

The bartender, an older man with a grave air about him, sniffed disapprovingly at Reno. "Sir, I think you've had more than enough now," he said flatly.

"You're not gonna be the judge of that!" Reno snapped. "I'm the customer here, and I'm the one that's paying your salary for you! So if I say gimme another beer, then you better damn well gimme another beer!"

The bartender crossed his arms over his chest, a stony expression coming over his face. "You might be a guest here, but I'm the one in charge of what gets served and to whom at this bar. And you are drunk. So I suggest you get yourself a cup of coffee and sober your drunk ass up, or else I'm tossing you out of this place with my own two hands. And don't think I won't do it just because Drake Phoenix invited you to compete in his little card tournament, either."

Reno jumped up and slammed his palms down on the counter; the noise carried far enough that the few other guests in the dining hall at that moment looked up as one in his direction. "Are my eyes bloodshot?" Reno demanded. "Am I slurring my words? Was the stuff I've been drinking heavy stuff? I'm as sober as sober can be, you old fool! So give me another friggin' beer NOW!"

"You've already drank eight," the bartender replied icily. "The booze is on your breath—anybody smelling for it can tell you that. And you're making more noise than a two-year-old. That's enough for me. Now…" His own voice dropped a notch, dripping with warning. "Settle down, or I'll personally settle you down."

Sitting at a nearby table, Kent West—his nose still covered with bandages—shook his head even as he drank lemonade from a glass. "Don't tempt the man, Dawkins," he chuckled. "You don't want to bring any more disgrace upon yourself than you have already."

"What'd you say, West?" Reno swiveled on his stool to fire a glare at the other duelist. "You want a piece of me or something?"

"I'm just telling it as it is," Kent said smoothly. "They've been carrying brief recaps of the duels that have already gone past in this competition up to now…and your duel against Seta Kaiba has been pretty popular. It's not every day that a duelist gets in a one-turn-kill, you know."

"You're really pushing your luck, _West…"_ Reno snarled. "You know what—nuts to all of this! I'm outta here! I don't have to put up with this crap!" And with that, he stormed out of the dining hall and toward the elevator—and nearly barreled over two kids in the process. "Outta my way, brats!" he growled at them as he went on his way.

Kent observed the two kids' fearful reactions to Reno's temper. "He definitely needs to work on his social skills…"

Then the kids looked up at that moment and saw him. "Hey, look—it's Kent West! Let's go get his autograph!" one of them exclaimed, and then the two of them hurried over to where Kent was sitting. "Excuse us, Mr. West, could we please have your autograph?"

"An autograph?" Kent's eyebrows lifted. "Hey, sure! Let's see…does either of you have a pen and paper?"

In response, one of them held out a pen and a notepad to Kent. "Sign it to Clyde and D.J.!" he said importantly.

"Clyde and D.J., huh? Will do!" Kent accepted the writing material and scribbled quickly. "To two of my young fans, Clyde and D.J….signed, Kent West. Okay, here you go!"

"Cool!" Clyde gushed. "Thanks a million!"

"Yeah, thanks, really!" D.J. nodded in agreement. "That makes two duelists' signatures we've gotten today, Clyde—first Jillian Uriah's, now Kent West's! Maybe if we keep this up, we can get all the duelists' signatures!"

"Hmm? You said Jillian Uriah, just now?" Kent asked. "That's Seta Kaiba's bodyguard, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah!" D.J. replied emphatically. "And she's the best-looking girl duelist around, for real!"

"Ha, ha, ha! Better not let any of the other girl duelists hear you, now!" Kent laughed. "Well, guys, good luck getting more autographs. Just make sure to stay out of Reno Dawkins' way for now—he's in a pretty bad mood."

"Oh…oh, yeah, that was him that just went past us, wasn't it?" Clyde asked. "He sure looked scary…" Then he looked at Kent. "Uh, by the way, what happened to your nose? Did you have an accident or something?"

"Heh…you could say that…" Kent looked a little sheepish.

"Well, we can't stick around here much longer—remember we promised Mom we'd get back quickly after we got the autograph," D.J. reminded his brother. "Well, we'd better be going, Mr. West. And thanks again for the autograph!"

At the Dark Lord Castle, in the meantime…Drake reclined in his seat, shaking his head. "All right, now I'm getting a little bored," he mumbled. "I wonder if there's anything of worth going on out there in Kaiba Land…let's see…"

Picking up the remote beside him, he pointed it toward the TV and pressed a button. _Click. _The screen, at that moment showing an aerial view of one section of the amusement park, abruptly shifted to another camera view—this one showing Jessica paying for an assortment of clothes and shoes at the cashier's desk inside one of the park's boutiques, with a gleeful Honey Pegasus by her side. "Hmph…well, there goes Jessica's allowance for this month," Drake mumbled as he touched the remote's button again. _Click. _The view then changed to show a random section of the park, where Caleb Link was slowly walking along. On seeing Caleb, Drake sucked in air through his teeth in disgust. "Dumb bastard…right back where you started, after losing to Malachi Jordan in that last match-up of yours," he grumbled.

Again the camera view changed with a touch of the remote. _Click_—and now the view showed a front shot of the hotel. "Hmm…come to think of it, there are cameras installed in and around the hotel, too, aren't there?" Drake recalled. "Well, I guess it won't hurt to see what some of the guests are up to…"

_ Click. _An empty room. _Click. _Reno Dawkins was just storming back into his room, obviously not in good humor. _Click._ A view from the balcony of this room showed that Alyx was in the process of getting her things packed, most likely to leave. _Click._ A man and a woman in their room were in the process of making out. "Ugh—no thank you!" Drake hurriedly switched to another camera.

_ Click. Click. Click._ Nothing fruitful…then, on the next _click,_ Drake paused. "Hmm…?" He leaned forward as though to see the screen better. "Is that…?"

Right there on the screen was a full camera shot of a young man with some very familiar-looking features. Drake stared, his eyes wide with a measure of disbelief. "No way…_he_ was here all along?" he asked aloud. "Hmm…I guess I'd better check this out…"

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a cell-phone and speed-dialed a number. He waited as the other end of the line rang; then a cheerful-sounding voice picked up: "Good afternoon, Kaiba Land hotel front desk. May I help you?"

"Yes, this is Drake Phoenix here," Drake announced. "I wonder if it's possible you could help me to verify the identity of one of the guests staying at the hotel for the duration of the Phoenix Herald Crown…?"

"One of the invited participants, sir?" the receptionist queried.

"No, not a participant; just one of the regular guests. I saw him on one of the security cameras just now, but I'd like to verify his identity if it's possible."

"Yes, sir; if that's the case, I'll help you as best I can," the receptionist replied. "What is the name of the person, sir?"

Drake allowed himself a tiny smirk. "Gabriel Roman."

"One moment, please; I'll check the hotel's guest list." A few minutes' pause; then the receptionist came back on. "Yes, Mr. Phoenix, we do have a Gabriel Roman listed in our guest database."

"Did he register alone? Or did anybody accompany him?" Drake inquired.

"Well, sir, he registered on the hotel's guest list together with his aunt, Celina Carlington, and her two children, Clyde and Devon-Jack," the receptionist told him.

Drake thought for a moment. "What is the room number?"

"They're in Room 116, sir," said the receptionist. "Shall I put a phone call through to their room for you?"

"Ah, no, no—that's not necessary," said Drake. "However…could you put a call through to Reno Dawkins, in Room 266, for me, please?"

The telephone on the side-table rang loudly and sharply, and Reno scowled at it. Walking over, he grabbed up the receiver. "What?" he barked.

"Well, now, someone's not in a good mood," Drake spoke up, a hint of a smirk in his tone. "But then again, if I had lost pitifully to another duelist without even tapping his life points a bit, I'd be pretty miffed, too."

"Spare me the taunting, Phoenix," Reno said darkly. "Isn't it enough that I had to suffer that kind of defeat on live television—and in my only duel in this damn tournament, too?"

"Well, see, that's why I'm phoning you now," Drake replied smoothly. "After the way Seta Kaiba humiliated you in your duel with him, I was seriously considering kicking you out of the House of Cards. However, there's a new little development that's popped up that'll give you an opportunity to redeem yourself…_and_ earn a little extra in what I'll be paying you, too."

Reno's eyes narrowed at this. Tightly gripping the phone receiver in his hand, he sat down on his bed. "Go on."

"Right." Drake paused for a moment. "You know that famous former World Champion duelist, Gabriel Roman?"

"Who doesn't?" Reno grunted. "Any duelist worth his salt should have heard that name at least once. But so what?"

"Well, I'm wondering…" Drake paused again. "Would you like a chance to face him—to see what he's capable of?"

"What?" Reno cocked an eyebrow. "He's here? At the tournament?"

"With relatives, yes," Drake replied. "This is probably the first time he's made any sort of appearance in public in the last ten years…and I gather that his dueling talent will go a long way to strengthening the House of Cards. What I need you to do is…persuade him."

"Interesting." Reno rubbed his chin with the thumb and index finger of his free hand. "And now that I think about it, I can remember ten years ago…when Gabriel Roman had his last public appearance as a duelist… I'll never forget that day…"

TEN YEARS EARLIER, A.D. 2008

_ "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" the announcer cried into his microphone. "The winner of the Duel Monsters World Championships—and still the reigning champion—let's hear it for Gabriel Roman!"_

_ In response, thunderous applause and cheers rocked the stadium. Seated in the crowd, 10-year-old Reno Dawkins looked on with a grin on his face. "Way to rock 'em, Gabriel!" he yelled out, even as all around him other spectators screamed their own congratulations to the champion._

_ Down in the arena, reporters were converging on the scene. "Gabriel! Smile for the camera!" one shouted, his camera shutter clicking repeatedly._

_ "Gabriel, is there anything you'd like to say now that you've defended your title successfully?" another asked, thrusting her microphone toward the duelist._

_ Accolades were cast toward Gabriel, congratulations flowed his way, fans screamed his name…and yet Reno, seated where he was, couldn't help but notice that on the giant TV screens overlooking the arena, Gabriel's face was set…set harder than concrete, it appeared. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw-line taut, his shoulders rigid…as though the celebration around him wasn't reaching him at all. Seeing this, Reno frowned a little. _What's up with Gabriel all of a sudden? He could at least put on a fake smile or something…

_ Then Gabriel moved for the first time since the end of the duel—he motioned for the announcer to give up his microphone. The announcer quickly complied, and soon the reporters' attention was on Gabriel fully. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," he spoke up, "might I have everyone's attention for a minute? There's something I'd like to say, please."_

_ A hush fell over the stadium as the champion's words carried to every ear. Evidently satisfied that he now had the attention of all, Gabriel spoke on. "First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for coming out to see this match, for all the support you've given me, for your continued loyalty up to now…thank you all very much for that." He paused. "To all the tournament sponsors, I'd like to give a big shout-out to you as well…if it weren't for you, this tournament wouldn't have happened. And…to my family…special thanks for your support towards me up to now, and for the last two years that I've been World Champion, including now. Without you standing behind me all this time, I probably wouldn't have come this far or lasted this long in the championship circuit…" Here he hung his head a little. "Which is why what I'm about to say next isn't going to be the easiest thing to say…"_

_ There was now some light murmuring from the crowd, as all watched Gabriel with some curiosity._

_ "Including my victory today in this year's World Championships," Gabriel went on, "I've been defending this title for two years. But…that's going to come to an end as of today." He held up his head, steely resolve in his eyes. "Before I stepped into this arena today, I'd already made up my mind…no matter what the outcome of this duel would be, whether I won or lost…as of today, I'm calling it quits."_

KAIBA LAND, BACK IN THE PRESENT

"…and then, just like that, he turned and walked out of the arena and kept on walking," Reno continued, a faraway look in his eyes. "He didn't pay any further mind to the reporters, to the crowds, to the cameras, to any of it…he walked away and never looked back. He never showed up in any Duel Monster tournaments anywhere after that…not even the minor-league ones. It was like he'd vanished from the face of the planet. I was a kid back then, of course, and he was a star to me…I had no clue why he did what he did, although a lot of theories existed."

"Mmm-hmm," Drake broke in. "Well, I guess you can consider this a reunion moment, if you want. Long and short of it, Dawkins—get me an audience with Gabriel Roman. Get him here, to the Dark Lord Castle—I don't care how you do it, or what kind of sneaky tactics you have to use. But I want him, you hear? I WANT HIM."

"Uh-huh, got it." Reno nodded. "And the reward for this is good?"

"As good as it's going to get, Dawkins."

"All right. Got it."

"Good. He and his relatives are staying in Room 116 at the hotel. Get it done."

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, in the meantime, Victor Greaves was leaning against a tree, his face still looking a little sore from the beating he'd gotten from Caleb Link earlier. Gingerly putting his fingertips to his bruised eye, he winced as the feeling of tenderness seemed to spread right across his entire face. "Damn that Caleb Link…" he muttered. "Just wait till I find him…rules or no rules, I'll cut his fu—"

"Ah, Victor! Is that you? What happened to you—did you fall down a cliff?"

Looking up at the sound of the voice, Victor caught sight of a familiar face. "Oi, Felix…where've you been hiding?"

Indeed, it was the Spanish duelist, Felix Sanchez. He now hurried over to where Victor sat. "I was only doing what was expected of me according to _Señor _Phoenix's instructions, _mi amigo—_searching throughout this park to find duelists to eliminate from the tournament. But enough about me—what about you? Weren't you doing the same thing?"

"I _was,"_ Victor admitted ruefully. "But then I happened to run right into one of those pro-league bastards—Caleb Link. He beat me in a duel, then beat the shit out of me—look for yourself."

Felix looked Victor over, making soft clicking noises with his tongue as he did. "But why would he want to do such a thing?" he asked.

Victor's expression was utterly bitter. "Oh, I don't know…maybe because I wouldn't give him my rarest cards after losing. So he took them from me by force."

At that Felix's head shot up. "What? He stole your cards?"

"Yeah." Victor shook his head. "My Destiny Board set…he stole the whole lot of them from me. And the worst part of it is, at this point he could be anywhere in this amusement park…he's probably advanced high enough in the tournament now, and I'm at rock bottom since I've been eliminated."

Felix shook his head sympathetically. "A real shame, _amigo…_a real shame indeed…" Suddenly he paused. "Eh?" He turned his head and looked around behind him. "Is someone there?"

A little distance away, Malachi was stalking along with determination on his face. _Zombie-boy was selected as an eliminator by Phoenix, along with Sanchez and Gear…if my guess is right, the eliminators will probably have to go back to where Phoenix himself is, like the regular participants have to go back to the hotel to be in the "safe zone" where they'll be free from having to duel…_

Then suddenly his eyes narrowed and he shot a hard glance to his right. At once he shot up behind the nearest tree, and peered out. "Well, well, well…what are the odds?" he whispered softly.

Not more than fifty yards away from Victor and Felix, there stood Caleb Link. He appraised the duo with an upturned eyebrow. "What's this, now?" he asked.

Victor's eyes widened, and he jumped up. "That's him!" he yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Caleb. "He beat me up and stole my cards! He's the one that did it!"

"Oh…you again, wuss?" Caleb turned up his nose. "I thought you'd have at least taken the hint and buried yourself six feet under after I dealt with you back at that lame excuse for a haunted house."

"Give me back my cards, you son-of-a-bitch!" Victor raged.

"Why should I?" Caleb countered. "I won those cards from you in a fair ante-duel. I'm not obligated to return them to you, no matter how much you beg. Besides, even if I wanted to return them, I can't…seeing as they were stolen from me and all."

"…what…?" The color drained from Victor's face at this information.

"Yeah, punk. You heard me. The cards got stolen from me." Caleb spat to one side with utter distaste. "I'm going to assume you've heard of that crazy nutcase, Malachi Jordan? He's the one who has them now. He beat me in a duel not too long ago, but…at least I'm still in this tournament, unlike YOU, loser."

"You…!" Victor flared up.

_ "Un momento, _Victor." Felix lifted an arm to halt Victor's movement. _"Señor,_ you say Malachi Jordan has my friend's cards now?"

"That's right, Latin boy. Or are you hard of hearing or something?" Caleb asked in an ugly undertone.

"Heh." Felix smiled a little as he turned back to Victor. "You realize what this means, don't you? If Malachi won your cards from this man, then they are in good hands. You'll get them back very soon, of that I am confident."

"…yeah. I guess there's no denying that, at least. Malachi might be a slave-driver when it comes to training, but this much I'll say about him—he's honest." Victor nodded decisively.

"Then there's only one thing left to do." Felix turned back to Caleb; the brim of his hat overshadowed the top half of his face. "Caleb Link, was it not? How would you like to have a duel with me—an eliminator appointed by _Señor_ Drake Phoenix for this tournament?"

"Huh?" Incredulity appeared on Caleb's face. "An eliminator? You?"

_ "Sí, señor."_ Felix touched his hat brim slightly. "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Felix Sanchez, known as the national Duel Monsters champion of Spain…formerly known as the Zodiacs' Libra the Blackjack. Would you do me the honor of accepting my challenge to a duel, pro-league duelist Caleb Link?" and here he bowed slightly from the waist.

"Hmm…" Caleb's eyes narrowed. "I see…so you're a former member of the Zodiacs, huh? Well…so's your wussy friend behind you, but he turned out to be worth about as much as dirt. You won't be any different against me." He held up his Duel-Disk. "Challenge accepted, _bitch."_

_ "Sí."_ Then the cordial tone was gone from Felix's voice and his tone was like a death knoll. "And for assaulting my comrade, and injuring him, and stealing his cards from him…I shall return the favor with banker's interest, as they say. You may not have his cards now, but as I said, they are in capable hands—away from you." Now he lifted his head so his hat brim was no longer shadowing his face—and his eyes' irises were white with fury. "That only means that now I can focus all my power on beating _la mierda_ out of you for what you did to _mi amigo."_

Caleb didn't flinch at the threat. "Just try, you Spanish punk."

Watching from his hiding place behind the tree, Malachi narrowed his eyes. _All right…Sanchez or that idiot Link…only one of them can stay in this tournament, since Sanchez is an eliminator…either he'll go, or Link will go…_ He watched with growing interest as, unaware of his presence, Felix and Caleb readied their dueling equipment while Victor got out of their way. _Well…I guess I'll stick around to see how this plays out…_

On TV screens worldwide, the two duelists' information appeared. First was Caleb's: _**Caleb Link. Age: 23. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2012 and remained champion until 2014, when he was defeated by Malachi Jordan for the title. Consistently in the Top 10 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onwards. Deck strategy: Chaining.**_

Then a moment later, Felix's information appeared: _**Felix Sanchez, appointed Eliminator. Age: 23. Nationality: Spain. Professional dueling experience: National Duel Monsters champion of Spain since 2012; also, participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. Deck strategy: Gambling.**_

"Now, then, _amigo!_ Since I am the challenger, I shall call the first turn of this duel!" Felix announced, while his and Caleb's life points each rose to 8000.

"Whatever," Caleb grunted. "After I beat you, I'll be able to get myself back into the tournament, no problem! So bring it on!"

**FELIX: 8000; CALEB: 8000**

Nodding, Felix drew his opening hand, including a sixth card, to begin. "It appears that luck is on my side in this duel," he declared. "I activate the Magic card, Second Coin Toss! Now, as long as this card remains on the field, once per turn I can negate the effect of a card that requires a coin toss and redo that coin toss. As well…" He scanned the five cards left in his hand. "I'll put two more cards facedown, set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

"For all the good that'll do you," Caleb scoffed as he drew his card. "I activate the Magic card, Spell-Shattering Arrow! This will destroy all face-up Magic cards you control, and inflict 500 points of damage to your life points for each destroyed Magic card you control!"

Victor grimaced. "Damn…that's the same card he used to defeat me in our duel…!"

"I will not be outdone by you!" Felix snapped angrily. "In response to your Magic card, I activate a Trap card—Blind Destruction! Now…during each of my Standby Phases, I roll a six-sided die once, and then I destroy all monsters on the field whose Level stars are equal to the number rolled—but if the result is 6, all Level 6 or higher monsters will be destroyed!"

"Pfft! Like that will stop me!" Caleb shot back. "I activate a Quick-play Magic card from my hand in answer to your Trap card—my Mystical Wind Typhoon! This will destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field—and the one I select is your Blind Destruction trap card!"

Felix's eyes widened in astonishment. "No…!"

But in a swift movement, Caleb plucked one of his four remaining hand-cards out and played it. "While I'm at it, I activate this next Quick-play Magic card from my hand—Chain Summoning! This card will permit me to Normal Summon or Set up to three times for this turn!"

"Say what? There's a card that can let him do _that?"_ Victor asked in disbelief.

Immediately Caleb picked one of his three remaining cards and played it, too. "And lastly, I activate this Quick-play Magic card, Chain Strike! This card will inflict damage to you equal to 400 times the chain link number of this card!"

Then—from out of nowhere, there materialized on the field a long chain with five cards intermingled in the links: the Spell-Shattering Arrow, Blind Destruction, Mystical Wind Typhoon, Chain Summoning, and Chain Strike, in that order. "Permit me to explain, in case you're wondering," said Caleb, now looking pleased as punch. "My deck works on the principle of chaining card effects together. Each time a card is played from the hand, or a card that's already on the field activates its effect, another card can be activated in response to that first card. You see it happen every time a duelist activates a Quick-play Magic card or a Trap card in response to another card…well, in the case of extensive chaining, like what's just happened here, the card effects in the chain are resolved in reverse order, with the effect of the last card to be played resolving first, and going backwards to the effect of the first card that was played. Now, allow me to illustrate…" He indicated the chain with a hand gesture. "Five cards have been activated in response to each other. I played the first card, then you played your trap, then I played three more cards in rapid succession. So…resolving the effects in reverse order…"

He indicated the Chain Strike card. "Chain Strike is the fifth card in this chain, and it could only be activated as Chain Link 2 or higher…and as I said, it inflicts damage to your life points equal to 400 times the number it is in the chain…and 400 times 5 equals…2000!" Instantly flaming chains shot out from the Chain Strike card and hit Felix, causing him to grimace.

**FELIX: 6000; CALEB: 8000**

"Next, there's the effect of my Chain Summoning card," Caleb went on. "It could only be activated as Chain Link 3 or higher…and since it was the fourth card in the chain, I will be able to use its effect this turn." Then, right behind him a huge hole in dimensional space tore open. "But my using this particular effect can wait…right now, there's the rest of this chain to resolve…"

Felix looked grim. "Now what?"

"The third card in the chain resolves its effect," Caleb went on. "Mystical Wind Typhoon, which could only be activated as Chain Link 3 or higher…it now destroys your Blind Destruction." And hardly had he finished saying that when suddenly, a typhoon sprung up out of nowhere and tore the Blind Destruction card asunder. "Which reminds me," Caleb went on, "Blind Destruction _was_ the second card in the chain, but since it's now been destroyed, its effect no longer exists, so we skip right to the first card that started this chain in the first place—my Spell-Shattering Arrow. And its effect resolves…now!"

At once a huge shining arrow emerged on Caleb's side of the field and flew right into Felix's Second Coin Toss card, ripping right through it. Felix flinched as he watched this, his life points reduced by Spell-Shattering Arrow's effect in the process. "Damn…" he whispered.

**FELIX: 5500; CALEB: 8000**

"Now, to take advantage of my temporary ability to do multiple summoning thanks to Chain Summoning," Caleb went on. "First, I summon Man Beast of Ares (ATK 500, DEF 500)!" Then his pig-like monster appeared from the dimensional rip behind him, beating its fists on its chest as it readied for battle. "Then, I'll offer Man Beast of Ares as a tribute to call forth a stronger monster…Iris, the Earth Mother (ATK 2400, DEF 1200)!" And at once Man Beast of Ares vanished in a flurry of shining light, and in its place Earth Mother Iris sprouted from the ground just as a flower would. "Now, attack and destroy his facedown monster!"

Complying, Iris held her hands out toward Felix's facedown monster card—and without warning, vines sprouted from the ground beneath the monster and forcefully flipped it face-up, revealing it to be a mechanical cannon, Roulette Barrel (ATK 1000, DEF 2000). The vines slowly crushed the cannon into pieces, till all that was left was useless scrap. "And with that, since I've no more cards in hand to play, I'll conclude this turn," Caleb finished, and the dimensional rip created by Chain Summoning sealed itself up. "Only question is, Zodiac bastard…what'll you do now?"

"Hmph." Felix touched his hat brim with one finger. "What will I do, indeed…" Then he put his hand to his Duel-Disk, readying himself to draw. "Permit me to show you."

Malachi was still watching the duel from his hiding place behind his tree. _Link's trying to bring the duel to a quick end by chaining his card effects together,_ he mused. _But that's the real weakness behind his technique—his strategy requires that cards be strung together in order for him to use his desired card effects, so he's prone to using up a whole bunch of them all at once. Sanchez, on the other hand…even though his card effects revolve around dice throwing and coin flipping, they're at least more stable when it comes to activation…_ His eyes narrowed. _It's your move now, Sanchez…let's all see what you've got to show for your training with us at Pegasus's place!_

Meanwhile, Felix drew his card, so he now held three in hand. Not far away, Victor called to him, "Yo, Felix, tell me you've got something useful, huh?"

Caleb glared at him. "If you're going to stand there being a waste of space, the least you can do is keep your mouth shut! Losers don't have the right to talk!" he shouted.

Felix's expression was grim. "I hope, _señor,_ that you do not complain when I say those same words to you at the end of this duel," he declared flatly. "And as for Victor, he is my comrade. I will not permit you to abuse him one second longer."

"And what're YOU going to do about it?" Caleb challenged him.

"This!" Felix held a hand toward his facedown card. "I activate the Trap card, Level Conversion Lab! This card requires me to show you one monster that is in my hand; then, I roll a six-sided die, and if the result is 1, the monster is sent to the Graveyard…but if the result is between 2 and 6, the monster's level becomes equal to the result till the end of the turn."

"What!" Caleb reared up in alarm. "But—you wouldn't use such a card…unless…unless you had a high-level monster in your hand!" he croaked.

"Good observation…allow me to reward you for it!" Felix selected a card in his hand and held it up. "Behold—my powerful monster, Barrel Dragon (ATK 2600, DEF 2200)!"

"2600 ATK…that'll be enough to cut down Iris, if he can summon that creature…" Caleb looked worried, and so did Iris the Earth Mother.

"Now, for Level Conversion Lab's effect, I roll a die!" Felix declared—and a six-sided die materialized out of thin air. The die then began to bounce about the field, rolling along, while all eyes were now on it. Then…gradually the die came to a stop. And the result on its face was—4!

"All right!" Victor pumped a fist into the air triumphantly. "You got a 4! Now Barrel Dragon will be a Level 4 monster!"

"Very much so!" Felix held up the card. "Now, be summoned in Attack Mode, Barrel Dragon!"

The next thing Caleb knew, on the opposite side of the field there emerged Felix's hulking mechanical monstrosity, its three plasma cannons charging up and ready to fire. "As you said just now, Barrel Dragon's ATK strength is more than enough to cut down your _señorita_ over there," Felix commented. "But I believe luck is on my side today, so instead of simply attacking outright, I shall activate Barrel Dragon's effect. Once per turn, I can toss a coin three times…and if two out of the three results are heads, then one monster on your side of the field will be destroyed."

Caleb paled. _Shit…if that happens…!_

Three holographic coins showed up before Barrel Dragon and were quickly flipped. The three coins flashed in the air before gradually beginning their descent to earth. The first result: heads. The second result…heads. And the third result—also heads! "Three heads!" Felix grinned. "No need to guess what happens next—Iris the Earth Mother leaves this world!"

"NO!" Caleb screamed—but there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as Barrel Dragon's particle cannons blasted Iris into dust, the shockwave of the blast violently pushing him back. "Damn you…you'll PAY for that!"

"A card thief has no right to tell _me_ what I will or will not pay for," Felix said icily. "Barrel Dragon, put him in his place! Direct attack!" And again Barrel Dragon's cannons fired up, unleashing a blast so powerful that this time Caleb got knocked flat onto his back.

**FELIX: 5500; CALEB: 5400**

"Ha! Take that, you bastard, Link!" Victor taunted from the sidelines. "Good shot, Felix! Now it's just a difference of 100 life points between the two of you!"

"Not for much longer, that I know," Felix responded dryly. "As well, he has no cards on the field or in his hand any longer…any card he draws from now on will have to be granted to him by Heaven itself for him to stand a chance from here on out. As for me, I shall end my turn."

Caleb, meantime, was struggling to his feet; his sunglasses had been knocked off by the impact of Barrel Dragon's attack moments earlier. "Bas…tard…" he sputtered, his voice choked up by his rage. "Wait'll I…get my bearings back…! I'll make you suffer!"

With a vengeful flourish, Caleb drew his next card, replenishing his hand—and suddenly paled again. "…crap…" he whispered softly. "Argh…I end my turn."

"Nothing to play?" Felix asked as he took his turn and drew another card. "Evidently, Heaven has decided that you need judgment for your crimes, _amigo._ So, to assist in that endeavor, I summon Kryuel (ATK 1000, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!" Then, right next to Barrel Dragon there emerged a winged, red-skinned, muscular fiend with ram-like horns and clutching a double-bladed weapon. "Now, both of my monsters, attack directly!"

Kryuel flew toward Caleb and slashed horizontally, knocking Caleb backwards and lowering his life points to 4400. Then, as Kryuel flew out of harm's way, Barrel Dragon's cannons fired yet another blast, knocking Caleb off his feet once more and causing him, this time, to fall down face-first while his life points dropped further to 1800. "Ungh…!" he grimaced as dust flew up from the attack and got into his mouth and eyes.

**FELIX: 5500; CALEB: 1800**

"Not so cocky now, are you?" Victor sneered, giving Caleb the finger. "At this rate Felix will slaughter you!"

"A fitting end for an honor-less man," Felix agreed. "To end my turn, I'll put two more cards facedown." And then the two facedown card images emerged on his side of the field, behind Kryuel and Barrel Dragon. "Handing over to you, now…"

"Rrrgh…" Caleb growled in his throat even as he pushed himself up and back onto his feet. "My…draw…!" Shakily, he drew his next card, so now he held two in hand. "Huh…I'll set one card facedown…"

"And while you do that, I activate one of my facedown cards!" Felix spoke up. "The Trap card, Fire Darts! I could only activate it while I had no cards in my hand…but now, I roll a six-sided die three times, and then I inflict damage to your life points equal to the total of the die rolls times 100 points!"

Caleb bristled at that—but then three dice emerged on Felix's side of the field and were rolled. They rolled around each other for several seconds; then presently they began to slow down, one by one. The first die eventually stopped…and its result was 3. Then the second—its result was also 3. And then the third—its result was 6. "Heh…" Felix smiled as he looked at the three results. "3 plus 3 plus 6 equals 12…which means that now, 1200 points of damage will be done to your life points!" And—at once the three dice inexplicably transformed into bizarre eyeballs with stems, at the center of which were skulls with sinister wings! The three new creations then flew toward Caleb, eyeballs first, and exploded on impact, with him screaming and being thrown backwards.

**FELIX: 5500; CALEB: 600**

Groaning, Caleb shakily got back up. _Not good…at this rate, even his Kryuel will be able to take me down next turn!_ He eyed the card he'd just set. _I'll have to depend on that card now…_ "I end my turn."

Caleb's action of eyeing his just-set facedown card had not missed Felix's gaze, however. _Hmm…_ The former Zodiac puckered his brow. _That facedown card…is it a bluff? Or…could it help him somehow?_ His frown deepened. _An enormous risk, if that card is in fact one that will aid him…_

With this thought, he drew his next card. _It might be a risk to attack, but perhaps not so much to use card effects. So… "Señor,_ since I do not know whether your facedown card might stop any attack I'll make or not, I will use the effect of my remaining facedown card…The Paths of Destiny!"

"Eh?" Caleb cocked an eyebrow. "And what's THAT supposed to do?"

"Listen and I will explain," answered Felix. "Both of us will toss a coin once. If a player's result is heads, they will gain 2000 life points, and if their result is tails, they will lose 2000 life points. Simple, isn't it?"

But Malachi, still watching from his hiding place, wasn't smiling. _That card Sanchez just used is very powerful, but it's also a double-edged sword…it's got just as much potential to help the opponent and harm Sanchez as it does to do the reverse…_ He took a deep breath, then exhaled softly. _Still, I don't suppose I could blame Sanchez for making such a move…the cornered mouse will attack the cat, after all, and right now Link is the mouse…that facedown card of his could be a bluff, but at the same time it could just as easily be something deadly._

For the Paths of Destiny's effect, two holographic coins appeared, one on either side of the field. "We'll flip our coins at the same time," Felix announced, "and see how luck favors us from that. Are you ready?"

"Whatever," Caleb grunted. "I toss my coin now!"

Both coins flipped into the air…then moments later both came back down to the ground. Felix grimaced when he saw his result. "Tails," he sighed.

**FELIX: 3500; CALEB: 600**

"Now, how about you—" Then suddenly his eyes widened in shock. _"Imposiblé!"_

**FELIX: 3500; CALEB: 2600**

For now Caleb's life points were rising to 2600—his coin toss result had been heads! "I guess my luck's gotten a little better, huh?" he chuckled.

"Grr…all right, _a la mierda con esto!"_ Felix snapped. "Let me do what I should have done in the first place—Barrel Dragon, destroy him now!"

Barrel Dragon's three cannons charged up with energy once again—but then Caleb answered, "And I counter that with my Trap card, Defense Draw!"—seconds before Barrel Dragon's attack exploded out toward him. As the beams of light energy approached him, however…they harmlessly dissipated, leaving him unharmed. "Heh…gotta love that card."

"Huh?" Question marks popped out all over Felix's face.

"I could only activate Defense Draw during damage calculation during your turn, after you'd declared an attack against me," Caleb clarified. "Then, any battle damage I would have suffered during that damage calculation becomes zero…and also, I get to draw a card." And this he did, so now he held two in his hand.

"Pfft…fine, so you managed to avert that damage," Felix grudgingly conceded. "But I can still attack with Kryuel!" And in response, Kryuel flew forward and slashed at Caleb with its weapon, causing him to stagger backwards.

**FELIX: 3500; CALEB: 1600**

"Then," continued Felix, "with that, I shall end my turn."

"Heh." Caleb drew his next card. "I don't know if you realize it, but you could've actually won back then, you know? If you'd simply attacked me head-on without having activated your Trap card, you'd have finished me off right there and then…instead, you over-thought the situation, and in the end gave me extra time to keep dueling. Don't you think you should be ashamed of yourself?"

Felix lifted his hand to his hat and adjusted it slightly on his head. "Perhaps so…but it still will not change the eventual outcome. I will still grind you into powder for what you have done."

"I wonder about that…" Caleb then held up one of his cards. "I activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive my Iris, the Earth Mother in Attack Mode!" Then, a flower sprouted from the ground in front of Caleb…and then Iris herself emerged from the flower, looking grim as she set her gaze on Felix's monsters. "But I won't be content with just that, no…" Caleb continued slowly. "Your Barrel Dragon will be the first to go! And it'll be done with this card of mine—the Magic card, Offerings to the Doomed, which will destroy one face-up monster at the cost of me skipping my next Draw Phase!"

The next thing Felix knew, Barrel Dragon exploded in a shower of sparks and flaming scrap metal. "And since your Kryuel is weaker than Iris the Earth Mother, one battle will be enough to finish him off!" Caleb gloated. "Iris, wrap up that fiend with your Venus Flytrap!" And then seconds later, a huge carnivorous plant enclosed around Kryuel, chomping the other monster to pieces while Iris herself looked on in amusement.

**FELIX: 2100; CALEB: 1600**

"Hn…and you've activated Kryuel's effect!" Felix countered. "When he is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard through a battle, I can toss a coin and call it…and if I call it right, one monster on your side of the field will be destroyed!" Moments later, as if to reinforce his statement, a large holographic coin appeared on the field. "Now…I call tails!"

Caleb scowled as the coin was tossed. _This is troublesome…if he gets this coin toss right, Iris the Earth Mother will be destroyed…! Ah, but even if that's the case, he no longer has any monsters on the field to defend himself… _His eyes narrowed. _If it turns out that I'll lose my monster, then it'll simply come down to that whichever one of us can summon a monster will win! So…what will the result be…?_

At length the coin came back down to earth, landed, and gradually stayed still. And—the result was heads! "No!" Felix cried.

"Ha! Looks like luck's on my side yet again!" Caleb grinned. "Next turn, I'll have my Iris knock out what's left of your life points, and then that'll be curtains for you, so-called eliminator! I end my turn—now let's see what else you've got!"

Glowering, Felix drew his next card…and then just as suddenly cocked an eyebrow. _This is…but can I really trust in it now, here?_ Then he looked up at Caleb. _Well, they say nothing beats a trial but a failure…here goes!_

"I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon (ATK 1700, DEF 200) in Attack Mode!" Felix announced aloud, as on his side of the field there appeared a mechanical creature shaped like a dinosaur, with a double-gun barrel for a head. "And don't look down on this one, for even though his ATK may be lower than your monster's, his effect will certainly win me this duel! When he is summoned, I select a card you control, then I toss a coin twice…and if both results are heads, then your card will be destroyed!"

On hearing this, Caleb burst out laughing. "Oh, give me a break! Do you even know the odds of getting two heads results from two simultaneous coin tosses?" he demanded. "There's no way you'll get both results to be heads!"

"Why don't we let Lady Luck be the judge of that?" Felix countered. "Now…I select your Iris, the Earth Mother…and now, I toss both coins!"

Two coins appeared just then, and both were flipped. As they went skyward, Caleb looked at both of them with a confident smirk, while on the sidelines Victor looked on anxiously, and in the background Malachi looked on with a poker-faced expression. Felix's own expression was grim.

Now…the coins began to fall. Both landed. Both spun a little…then both stopped. And…one showed heads as its result. And the other's result was—also heads!

The confident smirk slipped off Caleb's face. "What…the…!" he croaked.

_ "Adios,_ Iris!" Felix touched the brim of his hat significantly—in the same moment that Twin-Barrel Dragon's gun barrels blasted Iris to pieces. "And now…_adios, hijo de puta!_ Twin-Barrel Dragon, end this with Twin Shotgun!" And again both of the monster's barrels fired, with the projectiles hitting Caleb with such force that he flew backwards and flipped once on the ground while his life points swiftly dropped to 0.

**FELIX: 2100; CALEB: 0**

_ "Olé!"_ Victor cheered, grinning broadly. "The bullfighter's bagged the bull!"

Felix ran a hand over his face in exasperation, even as on his Duel-Disk, his life point counter was exchanged with his tournament point counter, the latter rising to 2000. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that story about my bad career start as a bullfighter," he groaned.

Caleb twitched on the ground in pain, even as his tournament point counter now registered at 0. "Argh…unbelievable…to think I lost…me…a pro-leaguer…" he snarled under his breath.

Felix shook his head. "But you DID lose. Deal with it."

"Don't bother wasting words on him. Only death can cure an idiot of his stupidity."

Both Felix and Victor turned on hearing the voice—and were astonished to see Malachi emerging from behind the tree where he'd concealed himself. "Malachi? You were here?" Victor asked.

"I saw the whole thing," Malachi answered. He nodded at Felix. "Good job, knocking this piece of shit," indicating the fallen Caleb, "out of this tournament."

Caleb, seeing Malachi, slowly rose to his feet, rage masking his features. "You…you saw the whole thing?" he glowered. "Let me guess…you're going to mock me now?"

Malachi shook his head. "I don't see why I should spare the breath to waste words on you. Just do us a favor and clear out of here."

Teeth bared and gritted and eyes narrowed, Caleb turned and stomped away. "I will NEVER forget this insult!" he barked over his shoulder. "I'll be avenged on the whole lot of you yet!"

Victor looked at Malachi out of shifty eyes. "Can I go kick him in the nuts or something? He deserves it after the way he beat me up and stole my cards," he whispered.

"Forget it," Malachi grunted. "The energy you'd use to do that, you could use to do better things. And as for your cards…" Here he reached into his pocket and pulled out Victor's Destiny Board cards. "Take better care of your stuff next time."

Victor's eyes threatened to get teary, but putting on a manly face, he accepted the cards from Malachi. "Gosh…thanks…"

"Just get stronger for next time, is all you should do." Malachi then turned to Felix. "As for you…you up for another duel?"

"Eh?" Felix looked Malachi straight in the eye. "Against you, I take it?"

"Who else? There aren't any other duelists nearby that are still in this bloody tournament, are there?" Malachi held up his Duel-Disk, displaying his 3000 tournament points. "Whichever one of us wins will have a whole lot more tournament points at the end of it, and will be able to freely bet with other tournament players who've got 5000 or more points on them. And the sooner the points are collected, the sooner this tournament will be over."

"Whoa…Malachi doesn't waste any time…" Victor sweat-dropped.

"Still, he _is_ right. This tournament's duration will soon end." Felix nodded. _"Sí, _Malachi. I accept your challenge. I have been hoping to test myself against you sometime, to see how far my training with you has come." With a flourish, he pulled his cards out of the deck and Graveyard slots of his Duel-Disk, shuffled them together, and then slotted the reassembled deck back into the deck slot. "The winner goes forward in the tournament."

"Good." Malachi held up his Duel-Disk. "Let's go, then."

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Us older folk know how this will turn out, don't we? But let's keep it hush-hush for the newer people…and to one and all, please continue reading!


	59. 5000 Points

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Boy, this arc is moving along pretty slowly compared to past arcs in this story alone, huh? Well, in any case, I'm not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh, like I've said time and time again.)

**CHAPTER 59 – 5000 Points**

KAIBA LAND

**MALACHI: 8000; FELIX: 8000**

Although Malachi and Felix were unaware of it, their dueling information was currently being flashed across TVs everywhere. First, Felix's: _**Felix Sanchez, appointed Eliminator. Age: 23. Nationality: Spain. Professional dueling experience: National Duel Monsters champion of Spain since 2012; also, participated in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship tournament. Deck strategy: Gambling.**_

Then, Malachi's: _**Malachi Jordan. Age: 18. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2014 and remained champion until this year, 2018, when he was defeated by Yugo Muto for the title. Was a contender in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Gravekeepers.**_

Both drew their opening hands of five cards each. "Since I'm the challenger, I will go first," said Malachi, drawing his sixth card. "Now, I summon Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (ATK 1400, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode." He then brought out a robed man with an intricately-carved wooden bazooka hoisted on one shoulder. "That's all for the time being."

"My turn!" Felix drew his card. "And I summon Goddess of Whim (ATK 950, DEF 700) in Attack Mode!" He then summoned a green-robed woman with emerald-green leaves for hair and a devil-may-care expression on her face. "And she has a special effect—I can toss a coin and call it, and if I call it right, her ATK will be doubled for this turn. However…if I call it wrong, her ATK will be halved for this turn."

"So you're hoping you'll call the coin toss correctly and have her increase her ATK so she can destroy my monster?" Malachi queried. "If that's the case, then this duel will be over more quickly than I thought."

"Don't make such a claim before the duel is actually over," Felix warned. "Now, I activate Goddess of Whim's effect! I'll flip a coin—and call heads!"

A coin appeared on Felix's side of the field and was tossed. It flew into the air, flipping as it went…then came back down to the ground…but the result that appeared was tails. Instantly, to Felix's consternation, the leaves on Goddess of Whim's head appeared to wilt somewhat as her ATK dropped to 475. "Ugh…" Felix looked at the cards in his hand. "Uh, ha-ha-ha…I'll simply set two cards facedown, and end my turn for now." And then Goddess of Whim's ATK rose back to 950, even as the leaves on her head regained their former greenery.

"Hmph." Malachi drew his next card—then he examined it more closely. "Your deck revolves around gambling…but perhaps I can do a little gambling of my own, what do you think?"

"Eh? What's he mean by that?" Victor, watching the duel, blinked as question marks popped up over his head.

Malachi then held up the card he'd drawn. "I activate the Magic card, Reasoning!" he declared. "This is how it works: First, you declare a Monster level. Then, I pick up cards from the top of my deck until I pick up a Monster card that can be Normal Summoned. If that monster's level is the same as what you declared, all the cards I picked up will be sent to the Graveyard. If it's a different level, however, I get to Special Summon that monster and all the other cards I picked up will be sent to the Graveyard." He smirked a little. "I've had this card for some time, but I never thought it might be useful…until I decided, for the hell of it, to give it a go. And now, here it is. So…" He eyed Felix keenly. "What Monster level will you choose, Mr. Gambler?"

Felix, in turn, narrowed his eyes. "Level 4." To himself he added, _The most common Monster level that players include in their decks is Level 4…the odds of him getting a Monster card with a Level higher or lower than that are small, so it shouldn't be a problem…_

"Level 4 it is." Malachi proceeded to pick up a card from the top of his deck; he then held it up for Felix to see. "Theinen the Great Sphinx (ATK 3500, DEF 3000)…a Level 10 monster…but it can't be Normal Summoned, so it doesn't count. Moving along…" He picked up another card and held it up—it was the Trap card, Nightmare Wheel. "Not a Monster card." Then he picked up another card. "Hmm…Gravekeeper's Vassal (ATK 700, DEF 500)…it is a Level 3 monster, and it can be Normal Summoned. So—it'll be Special Summoned by the effect of Reasoning, now." Then moments later, there appeared a hook-nosed, crafty-looking old woman on Malachi's side of the field, and Malachi himself discarded the other two cards he'd picked up to the Graveyard.

"All right, so my guess was off," Felix acknowledged.

"But I'm not done yet," Malachi continued. "I'll offer Gravekeeper's Vassal as a tribute to summon a stronger monster: Gravekeeper's Chief (ATK 1900, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" And moments later, the Vassal disappeared from the field, and in her place stood the Chief, wielding his golden serpent-headed staff menacingly. "And when the Chief is Tribute Summoned, his power allows me to resurrect one Gravekeeper from the Graveyard…and naturally, I select Gravekeeper's Vassal!" And seconds later, the Vassal returned to stand next to the Chief and Cannonholder, cackling as she re-emerged.

Felix scowled. "My Goddess of Whim is outnumbered…!"

"And it's about to get worse," Malachi added, "for next I activate the Field Magic card, Necrovalley!"

Suddenly, their natural surroundings vanished from before their eyes, replaced moments later by Malachi's signature ominous valley. "You should remember from our training sessions what this card does," Malachi continued. "It negates the effects of all cards that target any cards in the Graveyard, and neither of us can remove cards in the Graveyard from play. As well, all Gravekeeper monsters will receive a boost of 500 ATK and DEF." And as if to prove, Gravekeeper's Cannonholder's ATK suddenly shot up to 1900 and his DEF rose to 1700; Gravekeeper's Chief's stats rose to 2400 ATK and 1700 DEF; and Gravekeeper's Vassal's stats increased to 1200 ATK and 1000 DEF. "And furthermore, Gravekeeper's Chief's effect protects my Graveyard from the effect of Necrovalley…so your Graveyard is the only one that'll be affected now."

"Not holding back an inch, are you?" Felix chuckled and adjusted his hat a little. "Well…neither will I."

"If you did, I'd be disappointed." Malachi's eyes narrowed. "Now, battle! Gravekeeper's Vassal, attack his Goddess of Whim!"

The Vassal formed a mystic ball of energy in her palm and prepared to fire it at the suddenly-serious Goddess of Whim—but all at once Felix countered, "I activate my Trap card, Skull Dice! This will allow me to roll a six-sided die, then multiply the result by 100 and subtract that total from the ATK and DEF of all your monsters! Go, die roll!"

A red die immediately appeared and was cast, rolling all around the field even as the Vassal paused in her attack. Moments later, the die stopped rolling, and its result was…3. "Aha! Now all your monsters will lose 300 ATK and DEF till the end of this turn!" Felix exulted—and true enough, the Vassal's stats promptly plummeted to 900 ATK and 700 DEF, the Chief's went down to 2100 ATK and 1400 DEF, and the Cannonholder's went down to 1600 ATK and 1400 DEF. Then, in retaliation, the Goddess of Whim fired numerous leaves from her hair—leaves that cut through the Vassal's body.

**MALACHI: 7950; FELIX: 8000**

"Hmph." Malachi sucked on his lower lip for all of three seconds. "So you managed to defeat my Vassal…but you've still got my other two monsters to contend with. Cannonholder, blast away his monster!" In response, the Cannonholder took aim with his bazooka and fired a shot that exploded on Felix's side of the field, obliterating the Goddess of Whim

**MALACHI: 7950; FELIX: 7350**

"Now your turn, Gravekeeper's Chief! Attack directly!" And Gravekeeper's Chief's staff glowed with sinister energy, sapping Felix of strength. "And that will conclude my turn. Your move." And then the stats of the Chief and the Cannonholder returned to normal.

**MALACHI: 7950; FELIX: 5250**

Undaunted by the assault he'd just experienced, Felix drew another card. "…I see…" he whispered. "Very well, then. _Mi amigo, _I shall summon Abare Ushioni (ATK 1200, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" Then he summoned a giant and angry red bull with peculiar white markings all over its body. "Then, I will set a card facedown…and then I shall activate the Magic card, Dangerous Machine Type-6!"

All at once, a peculiar machine with what appeared to be six poker slots emerged on Felix's side of the field. "Permit me to explain what this card does," he announced. "From now on, during each of my Standby Phases, I will roll a six-sided die, and what happens next depends on the result. If the result is 1, I discard one card from my hand. 2—you discard a card. 3—I draw one card from my deck. 4—you draw one card. 5—I destroy one monster you control. 6—this card will be destroyed."

"Hmm." Malachi looked thoughtfully at the cards Felix had just played. "Let me guess…gifts from Drake Phoenix?"

_ "Sí, señor,"_ Felix affirmed. "And while I am at it, let me point out that Abare Ushioni also has an effect. Once per turn, I can toss a coin and call it. If I call it right, 1000 points of damage will be done to you. If I call it wrong, I take 1000 points of damage. So…another coin toss is on the way! And for this one, I call tails!"

Another coin appeared on Felix's side of the field and was flipped. It flew and spun as it went along…then landed on the ground. And the result—was tails! Immediately, Abare Ushioni snorted and pawed the ground angrily, then charged full-force at Malachi…and he calmly sidestepped as the bull rushed past, narrowly missing him by scant inches.

**MALACHI: 6950; FELIX: 5250**

"And with that, I will hand over to you," Felix finished, as the red bull trotted back to his side of the field.

"…" Malachi studied the field for a long moment. "I'll say this, Sanchez. Even though your gambling strategy is unpredictable and can potentially hurt you as much as your opponent, you're at least able to handle yourself. It's not hard to see why you were a member of the Zodiacs before…and why Drake Phoenix would bother to have you as an eliminator in this tournament."

Felix nodded. _"Muchas gracias."_

Still watching from the sidelines, Victor looked from one to the other of them. _Malachi Jordan…giving a compliment? Well, THAT'S rare…_

"Understand, however," Malachi went on, "that this does not mean I will simply roll over to you. You might have done damage to me now, but in the end I will be the one who's left standing. I do have matters to attend to beyond this duel, you know."

"Understood. Yet I will not surrender to you either." Felix's eyes narrowed. "Come."

"I shall." And Malachi prepared to draw.

Victor shook his head in marvel. _Gotta admit, with the new cards he got from Phoenix, Felix is really doing pretty well against Malachi…and considering that Malachi's nearly slaughtered us in training so many times, that's saying a lot! Still…Malachi's not the kind of guy who'll accept defeat just like that. He'll fight tooth and nail before he'll ever stand down to an opponent…I guess, right now, there's no definitive way to say which of these guys will win…especially since Felix's deck strategy is such an unpredictable one…_

"I draw!" Malachi announced, and he did just that so now he held four cards in hand. "And—"

_ "Lo siento,_ but before you do anything else, allow me to activate my Trap card," Felix interrupted. "Activate—Fairy Box!"

Suddenly a huge box with several holes in the top emerged and appeared to enclose his Abare Ushioni. "Behold now, a dangerous card for you to face," Felix explained. "As long as this card is active, each time you declare an attack with a monster, I toss a coin and call it. If I call it right, the attacking monster's ATK is reduced to zero for that Battle Phase. So, if one of your monsters attacks my monster and has his ATK reduced to zero by Fairy Box's effect, Abare Ushioni will obliterate him and you will receive damage, not me."

Malachi nodded once. "I sort of figured that much out after you explained your card's effect," he stated. "But if I don't take the chance and attack, it's more than likely you'll later sacrifice your red bull to summon a stronger monster. And as a duelist, I won't allow that. So…Gravekeeper's Cannonholder, go! Take a shot and blast his bull out of that box!"

The Cannonholder readied his bazooka again, firing a round at the hidden Abare Ushioni—but then a coin appeared on Felix's side of the field and got flipped. "I call heads!" Felix shouted, and the coin quickly spun three times in the air and then descended to earth—and its result was indeed heads. Almost immediately, the Cannonholder's ATK rapidly dropped to 0, his shot exploding on the edge of the Fairy Box but otherwise doing no damage whatsoever…and then the raging Abare Ushioni jumped out of one of the holes and stampeded toward the Cannonholder, goring him with its horns.

**MALACHI: 5750; FELIX: 5250**

Malachi, however, was undaunted. "Gravekeeper's Chief, take a chance! Attack!"

In return, the Chief's staff glowed with bright orange energy that then shot out at Abare Ushioni, who was again safely hidden inside the Fairy Box—and again a coin appeared on Felix's side. "This time I call tails!" Felix announced, and again the coin was flipped…and again Felix's call proved to be correct, as the coin toss result was tails. As with his fallen companion before him, Gravekeeper's Chief found his ATK dropping to 0, even as Felix's angry red bull jumped out of the Fairy Box and madly rushed at him…

…but then Malachi made an announcement of his own. "I activate the effect of a card from my hand—Charm of Shabti (ATK 100, DEF 100)!"

"Huh?" Felix's eyes widened as a huge Egyptian sarcophagus's outline covered Gravekeeper's Chief's body—split seconds before Abare Ushioni slammed into him. The Chief would not be outdone, however, and forcefully braced his legs against the ground, at the same time pressing one palm against the bull's head, slowing the latter's attack somewhat. Snorting, Abare Ushioni relented on its attack and backed off, and the Chief jumped back as well…but Malachi's life points still dropped.

**MALACHI: 4550; FELIX: 5250**

"I'll explain," said Malachi. "The card that was in my hand, the one whose effect I activated just now…it's called the Charm of Shabti. By discarding it from my hand to the Graveyard, I was able to reduce the damage inflicted to all of my 'Gravekeeper' monsters in battle to zero till the end of this turn. However, the damage calculation against me, their controller, was still carried out normally. In other words, even though I took battle damage, my Gravekeeper's Chief was spared from being destroyed in battle."

"…heh. I would expect nothing less from you. I salute you for your good play just now." Felix tipped his hat slightly.

"All right, then." Malachi examined his hand. "Well, since I haven't summoned any monsters yet, I'll do so now…I'll set a monster facedown in Defense Mode, and end my turn." And then his Gravekeeper's Chief's ATK rose back to 2400.

"Very well," said Felix. "Then I draw." This he did, so now he held two cards—and suddenly the poker slots on the Dangerous Machine Type-6 began to move. "All right…technically, I should roll a die, but this machine will roll it for me," Felix continued. "So…what will the result be…?"

Malachi did not answer, but watched the machine intently. Presently, the slot at the bottom right of the machine slowed…then stopped…and the result was 5. "Ah! _Cinco!"_ Felix remarked. "This means that now I can destroy one monster you control…and I choose your facedown monster!"

At once Malachi's facedown monster card spontaneously combusted…but Malachi himself didn't even flinch. "You made a mistake there…you should have destroyed my Gravekeeper's Chief, if you wanted a chance to defeat me."

"Have I really made a mistake?" Felix countered. "Well, perhaps we will be able to resolve that shortly…"

Suddenly, Felix flinched and his face twisted into a painful grimace as a strange red energy field surrounded his body momentarily.

**MALACHI: 4550; FELIX: 4750**

"Heh…almost forgot…this is Fairy Box's drawback taking effect," Felix explained, letting loose a loud sigh as he straightened himself back up. "During each of my Standby Phases, I must pay 500 life points to maintain the trap…if I do not, the Fairy Box is destroyed."

"You've got enough life points to maintain the Fairy Box for as long as you need to, so that shouldn't trouble you too much," Malachi observed.

"True," Felix agreed. "Now, I activate Abare Ushioni's effect again! And for his coin toss, I call heads!" Then the bull's holographic coin was flipped—but when it landed back on the ground, the result was tails. Immediately, Abare Ushioni jumped out of the Fairy Box where it had been safely secured, lifted its hind legs and sent a solid kick to Felix's chest that had the Spaniard tumbling head-over-heels on the ground. "Ow…"

**MALACHI: 4550; FELIX: 3750**

Now Victor scratched his head as he witnessed this latest spectacle. "Oi, Felix, question, just out of curiosity," he said. "You said you tried out to be a bullfighter back in the day, yeah? And that bull back then nearly made mincemeat out of you…so why do you have a bull in your deck? You DO realize that that's what your monster is, right?"

Felix, meanwhile, was picking himself back up after Abare Ushioni had kicked him down. "To answer that question, _amigo,_ bullfighting is different from dueling," he replied. "In bullfighting, a defenseless bull is forced to fight for his life, but inevitably he is brutally slaughtered all in the name of sport. I did not support that then, but nonetheless I tried my hand at it to satisfy my family. The result…the scars on my body, which I have shown you before."

"Ah, yeah…kinda grisly…" Victor flinched a little at the memory.

"If you're done reminiscing, I'd like to get on with the duel before it gets too late," Malachi said impatiently.

"Ah—_si. Lo siento."_ Felix picked a card out of his hand. "Now, then—I sacrifice Abare Ushioni in order to summon a new monster: Maximum Six (ATK 1900, DEF 1600)!" Then his red bull vanished from the field, snorting as it did…and it was replaced by a hulking, muscular, purple-skinned man with a long blond ponytail sticking out of the top of his otherwise bald head, and six huge arms comparable to tree trunks. "Behold—my new favorite monster."

"New favorite monster?" Malachi cocked an eyebrow.

_ "Si._ When Maximum Six is Tribute Summoned, I roll a six-sided die…and then his ATK will increase by an amount equal to 200 times the die result," Felix explained. "So…go, die roll!"

A die emerged on the field and was rolled. Malachi watched its movements, his eyes shifting from side to side as it bounced about the field, but otherwise his body did not move. "You'll need to get at least 3 as your result if you intend for your monster to be on par with or superior to my Gravekeeper's Chief," he remarked. "But the odds of that happening aren't exactly completely in your favor, are they?"

"Again, true," said Felix. "If I get a 1 or 2, Maximum Six's ATK will, at the most, become 2300—not enough to defeat your Chief. If, however, I get 3, his ATK will be 2500, which will put him higher than your Chief. Still, there IS the chance I could roll less than 3, so…"

Presently the die stopped rolling…and its result was 2. Maximum Six promptly let out a thundering bellow as his ATK rose to 2300, slightly less than Gravekeeper's Chief's ATK. "A near-stalemate, indeed," Felix noted—and suddenly he directed his hand toward the facedown card that he still had on his side of the field. "So now I shall move the odds into my favor by activating my facedown Magic card, Graceful Dice! I will now roll a six-sided die, then increase Maximum Six's ATK and DEF by an amount equal to 100 times the die result, till the end of this turn!"

Malachi started—but then the die appeared on Felix's side of the field and was quickly rolled. It rolled about the field for a good few seconds, then stopped—and the result was a 6! "Very good! Now Maximum Six's ATK will rise by 600 points, until the end of this turn!" Felix grinned, even as his monster's DEF rose to 2200 and his ATK shot up to—2900. "Now attack, Maximum Six! Destroy Gravekeeper's Chief with Six-Arm Slaughter!" And then, in what seemed like split seconds, Maximum Six rushed up to Gravekeeper's Chief and bent slightly at the knees, grabbing the Chief' legs with his two lowest hands and the arms with his two middle hands. Then, hoisting the Chief into the air, the behemoth raised both of his top arms—and brought both hands together in a crushing clap, squashing the Chief's head in between them.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 3750**

"Grr…" Malachi growled at his Chief's brutal death. "I WILL avenge that, trust me."

"If you can," Felix countered. "Well, now, I believe I will end my turn." And as he said that, the effect of Graceful Dice wore off and Maximum Six's ATK dropped back to 2300, while his DEF returned to its original 1600. "Please, take your turn now."

Without missing a beat, Malachi drew his next card. "Your monster is certainly strong, Sanchez," he acknowledged. "However…as I already told you, I have other things to do. And losing to you is not on that list. So…I'll set another monster in Defense Mode, set one card facedown, and end my turn."

"All right—my draw!" Felix drew his next card, so now he held two in hand—and the poker slots on the Dangerous Machine Type-6 spun again. Moments later, the top right slot slowed to a stop…and the number displayed there was 4. "That means you draw one card," Felix pointed out, and so wordlessly Malachi drew a card—but then Felix flinched as red energy surrounded his body again.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 3250**

"Ungh…Fairy Box's cost to keep it active again," Felix explained. He then looked at the two cards he held. "Well…nothing in my hand to help out right now…but with Maximum Six on the field, I don't need anything else just now. So…Maximum Six, attack his facedown monster!" And in reply, Maximum Six jumped forward, swinging all six arms forward to smash the competition—

—but as Malachi's facedown monster was flipped face-up by the provocation, it was revealed to be Gravekeeper's Spy (ATK 1200, DEF 2000)! Necrovalley's power promptly increased the Spy's ATK to 1700 and his DEF to 2500, and accordingly he held up one hand to stop Maximum Six's assault—blasting the other monster back with a magic spell. "Ungh…!" Felix flinched as his life points went down slightly from the backlash.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 3050**

"Since Gravekeeper's Spy was flipped face-up, his effect activates," said Malachi coolly. "One Gravekeeper with 1500 ATK or less will now be Special Summoned from my deck…and the one I select is Gravekeeper's Curse (ATK 800, DEF 800), in Defense Mode!"

Gravekeeper's Spy began to chant, while his body glowed with weird energy…then a moment later, in a flash of light, Gravekeeper's Curse appeared next to him, his own body also glowing even as Necrovalley's influence increased both his ATK and DEF to 1300 each. "And when the Curse is summoned, he inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points," Malachi pointed out—moments before the Curse let loose with a ball of magic that slammed into Felix and sent him reeling.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 2550**

"Ungh…" Felix righted himself. "All right. Defense is all you can do at this point, anyway. I end my turn."

"Defense is all I can do? Is that what you said?" Malachi quipped as he drew his next card. "Actually, Sanchez…while you did fairly well, in the end, I'm the one who's won. And to add further insult to injury…" His eyes flashed. "It was your own lack of luck a moment earlier that clinched my victory for me."

"Eh? And what do you mean?" Felix asked, perplexed.

Malachi pointed at the Dangerous Machine Type-6. "On your last turn just now, when that thing's 'technical' die roll caused me to draw a card…it gave me the card that would win me this duel once and for all," he explained. "But before I show you what this particular card is, I'll activate another card—my Trap card, Dust Tornado! This will allow me to destroy one Magic or Trap card you control, after which I can set one Magic or Trap card from my hand!"

"Destroy one—" Felix turned white. "You can't mean…!"

"Indeed I do." Malachi pointed toward Felix's side of the field again. "I'm going to destroy your Fairy Box!"

An incredible tornado instantly appeared on the field, ripping the Fairy Box to shreds. "If I were to attack while that thing was still in the way, you'd likely use its effect to reduce my monsters' ATK points to zero, assuming you'd get your coin tosses right," Malachi explained. "And now, I have the option of setting a Magic or Trap card from my hand as per Dust Tornado's effect, but I don't need to. Instead, I feel confident enough showing you the card I was talking about a while ago…" He held it up from his hand for Felix to see. "The Magic card, Riryoku! This card will halve the ATK of one monster, and then allow me to increase the ATK of another by the same amount, till the end of the turn. And…I'll use it to halve the ATK of your Maximum Six!"

"NO!" Felix cried out—but much to his dismay, Maximum Six's ATK dropped sharply to 1150. "Shit…my monster…!"

"Now, half of Maximum Six's ATK was 1150, so that amount will be the amount by which my chosen monster's ATK will increase," said Malachi. "And I choose Gravekeeper's Spy to receive the ATK increase." And in turn, the Spy's ATK shot up to 2850. "Now, I'll shift both my Spy and my Curse to Attack Mode…" Both monsters promptly stood up. "And now…battle! Gravekeeper's Spy, crush Maximum Six!"

Gravekeeper's Spy promptly seemed to vanish—only to reappear right behind Maximum Six, one hand outstretched. Turning in confusion, Maximum Six swiftly found his body parts dropping off in tiny pieces.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 850**

Then Malachi went on, "Gravekeeper's Curse, end this duel now! Attack directly!" And the Curse blasted another ball of magic at Felix, dropping him flat on the spot.

**MALACHI: 4050; FELIX: 0**

"Aw, damn!" Victor sprinted over to where Felix lay. "Hey, man, you all right?"

Gingerly, Felix sat up. "I'll live, at least," he announced. "But now I'm out of the tournament…" and he looked ruefully at his life point counter, where just then his tournament point score was dropping fast to 0.

Malachi, meanwhile, looked at his own life point counter, where his tournament points were now displayed, and nodded in satisfaction as the tally rose to 5000. _Perfect…one part of my objective is over…now all I have to do is wait for the opportunity to present itself…_ Then he looked at Felix. "Sanchez."

"Ah—_Si?"_ Felix looked at him questioningly.

One of Malachi's eyes was overshadowed. "You're strong. And you're lucky. But you should get stronger. That's all." Malchi shifted his gaze to Victor. "And you, Greaves, remember what I said before." Then he turned and walked away.

"Hmph…that's Malachi for you, I guess," Victor sighed.

Felix stood up, fixing his hat on his head. "That he bothered to say anything of that sort tells me something, _amigo…_based on how the duel went just now, he wants to duel me again sometime."

"That's what you get from it?" Victor eyed him. "When he spoke to me just now, it was like he was scolding me…"

"Well, you DID have your cards stolen from you right after you lost your only duel in this tournament…" Felix pointed out.

"DON'T REMIND ME!" Victor snapped at him, fangs in his mouth.

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 4:45 p.m.

Seta Kaiba was currently walking through another section of the amusement park, this part designed with a medieval motif in mind. Several of the employees were dressed for the part—many of the men were clad in suits of armor and bore lances, swords and shields, and one or two were on horseback with the animals regally decorated; most of the women were dressed in fancy costumes and headdresses appropriate for the Middle Ages. Others wore the costumes of blacksmiths, merchants, fortune-tellers, and plain old peasants. Many of these latter individuals, on seeing Seta, stepped out of his path and bowed as they would have to royalty; he chuckled a little in embarrassment at this.

One "blacksmith," wielding an imitation sword and iron mallet, was sticking the sword into an oven full of hot coals, then promptly withdrawing the weapon and placing it flat against his obligatory anvil before striking it with the mallet. Presently he looked up and beheld Seta, standing a few meters away. "Ho! A traveler from yonder foreign lands has come to visit our fair kingdom! How may this humble blacksmith serve thee, noble sir?" he addressed the Kaiba heir, in the sort of Old English that the people of the period would have spoken. "Shall I furnish thee with one of my finest swords, that thou mayest slay the bandits thou shouldest encounter in thine travels?"

Turning when the "blacksmith" called to him, Seta chuckled at the form of speech and decided to emulate it. "I thank thee, but nay, good blacksmith—my own weapon is well-sharpened as it is," and he held up his Duel-Disk for the employee to see. "But, perchance, thou couldst furnish me with information?"

"Aye, and that I shall do, as best I can, good sir," the employee answered, twirling the mallet around in his hand as he spoke. "What wouldst thou desire to know?"

Seta tapped his Duel-Disk significantly. "Hast any warrior passed through this fair kingdom in recent times, bearing a weapon like mine? Surely thou, as a blacksmith, wouldst have serviced any of them?"

The "blacksmith" nodded. "Aye, noble traveler…there did pass by here a very sinister man," he reported. "Not much more than an hour ago, I do believe…and this man was not one to be easily forgotten. Had hair that was as blue and green as the sea…he had armor that was as the dried blood of men…"

"Eh?" Seta cocked an eyebrow. "I have not heard of any such warrior before…"

"Aye, and neither did anyone in our realm, my good man," the employee affirmed. "However…" Here his voice dropped to a whisper and he leaned toward Seta. "It is said that that man was brought into the employ of the overlord who reigns in yonder black castle…serves as one of the overlord's bodyguards."

"Black castle…do you mean the Dark Lord Castle?" Seta's eyes narrowed.

"The very same, noble sir," replied the employee.

"All hail our kingdom's fair Princess Kayla!"

The sudden shout caused both Seta and the "blacksmith" to look up in one direction—and both were transfixed. "Oh…wow…" Seta blinked.

Approaching them through the crowd of rapidly bowing civilians was a young woman of stunning beauty. She was dressed in a bright blue gown with a small tiara set into place in her dark brown hair. In one hand she carried a small rod, on the tip of which was positioned a beautiful diamond—a cleverly-made imitation stone, Seta mentally figured. The people around her whispered in respectful awe as she walked past them; she, in turn, looked in their direction briefly and nodded, giving a small, quiet smile as she did. Presently she came up to the blacksmith stand, and gave Seta a once-over. "So, a brave warrior has traveled a far distance to visit our fair kingdom," she remarked, also using Middle-Age speech.

Seta took her hand and bowed over it. "I am honored to be in thy presence, even for this fleeting moment, my lady. But alas, I cannot tarry here…my quest must continue."

"As do the quests of all brave souls," Princess Kayla answered, giggling a little. "Very well. Then I shall wish you God-speed on your quest, brave warrior." She gave a small curtsey, then went along on her way.

Watching Princess Kayla's departure, the "blacksmith" released a sigh. "Thou hast seen for thyself, noble traveler," he remarked. "Our Princess Kayla is the fairest maiden in all the land. 'Tis a shame that she has no prince to rule by her side."

Seta eyed the employee. "Are there no suitable suitors for the princess, blacksmith?"

Again the employee sighed. "Ah, good sir…if only I could be one such suitor…"

Now Seta smiled. "Ahh…Cupid has sent an arrow into thine heart for the princess, eh, humble blacksmith? But dost not her royal standing interfere with thine affection?"

"Aye, good sir, that it does…and 'tis not merely one arrow, but five, a hundred, a thousand, that Cupid hast so mischievously sent into my heart for our kingdom's princess," the "blacksmith" replied ruefully. Then, just as suddenly, he puffed his chest out. "But by the gods, I shall not give up yet! I shall pour forth all my love for Princess Kayla into the work I do here as a smith! Her army needs the finest weapons to protect her, and thus I shall be the man to provide them with my finest work!" He held up the "sword" he'd been working on. "If I, a man of humble birth, cannot express my true devotion for the princess directly, I shall do what I can from the shadow of obscurity! And…ahem…" Here he chuckled, suddenly appearing sheepish as he lowered the pseudo-weapon and began to talk in contemporary English. "After we wrap up our performance today, I'll work up my guts and ask her out—maybe even get her phone number if I'm lucky."

"Well, I wish thee all the best in that endeavor, good blacksmith," Seta assured the man. "Just…don't try the 'dinner and a movie' routine on the very first date. Too cliché, you know."

"Ha, ha!" the employee laughed. "Well, Godspeed to thee, traveler!" And then he went back to his role as blacksmith, hammering the "sword" into shape with his mallet, even as Seta went off.

But now Seta was frowning as he contemplated the "blacksmith's" description of the "other warrior" that had gone by earlier. _Hair as blue and green as the sea…hmm…I wonder…_ His eyes narrowed some more. _Could it be…THAT guy? Just like Dad had told me…_

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT THE KAIBA MANSION, TWO DAYS EARLIER

_ "Kyo's brother came to see you today? That's a surprise," Seta remarked, pausing to sip from his glass of milk._

_ "I know," the senior Kaiba answered. "What worries me, though, is that Drake Phoenix was actually able to spring him out of that prison in Egypt where they'd placed him. Where the hell did that kid get that kind of clearance or authority? Certainly couldn't have been from his old man…"_

_ "So what's to be done?" Seta inquired._

_ Kaiba eyed him. "Drake Phoenix has a chip on his shoulder, and he's just aching for one of you three—you, Yugo Muto, or that Janus Yuki kid—to knock it off. This tournament he's proposing…"_

_ "It's just a front for his own objective," Seta interjected. "And that objective is to show up the three of us and prove himself superior."_

_ Kaiba smirked. "You're definitely my son, all right, if you could've picked that up so quickly."_

_ "Rumors are their own language—it pays to translate the dialect," Seta chuckled wryly. "And that Drake Phoenix guy sure has a lot of rumors following him around alongside his pro-league championship status. Still…" Now his look became serious. "If he's got Jan on his side for this little operation of his, things could get sticky. Kyo told me how much of a difficult opponent that guy is in a duel."_

_ "At the same time, Jan might turn out to be a wild card," Kaiba pointed out. "I could tell from the way he was so willing to tell me what Drake Phoenix was up to."_

_ "Or, he could be playing you as a double-agent for Drake, to gauge your reaction on Drake's behalf," Seta said thoughtfully._

_ "That thought HAD crossed my mind—but he's got no real reason to stay loyal to that little snot," Kaiba answered._

_ "Then I guess there's only one way to know." Seta leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head._

_ Kaiba looked over at his son. "You're really going to go to this tournament this weekend, aren't you?"_

_ "Would you stop me if I did?" Seta cocked an eyebrow._

_ There was a momentary pause. Then Kaiba shrugged and turned away. "If you're going there, just watch yourself. We don't know yet just what else Phoenix might have up his sleeve for you guys."_

_ "Yeah. I got it." Seta leaned forward and picked up his glass of milk again._

----------

KAIBA LAND, 4:55 p.m., THE PRESENT DAY

"Hello once again, dueling fans everywhere! We hope you've been keeping a close watch on the Phoenix Herald Crown here at Kaiba Land, because things have been really heating up!"

Seta was jarred out of his reverie by the sound of Drake Phoenix's voice, amplified several times over loudspeakers. Looking in the direction of Drake's voice, he saw the tournament host's face plastered on a huge large-screen billboard TV some distance away from his current position, beaming brightly with a smile. "This morning, at 9:30, the Phoenix Herald Crown began with twenty-five participants," Drake was saying. "Our eight pro-league duelists, our three special guests—Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, and Janus Yuki—as well as the seven other duelists who were invited to participated, and of course the tournament eliminators—seven of those in all. Now, it's five minutes to 5:00, and let's have a look at just how many of our tournament participants in all are left…"

Drake's face disappeared from the screen, replaced moments later by portrait snapshots of each of the tournament's remaining competitors, one after the other, with accompanying tournament point statistics and records of victories and defeats. "First on our list, we have Diane Chill," Drake went on in voiceover, verbally pointing out the tournament information that was already there on the screen. "Her current tournament score total is 2000 points. She defeated her archrival and fellow pro-league duelist, Alyx Brodie, in the tournament's very first match, but later she lost a duel to Janus Yuki, losing 1000 of her points as a result. However, she was able to make up for that loss by defeating Jillian Uriah, eliminating that competitor from the tournament."

Diane Chill's face disappeared from the screen, replaced a moment later by Buck Morgan's. "Next we have Buck Morgan," Drake spoke up. "He also, at this current time, has 3000 tournament points, earning both extra sets of 1000 by defeating David and Luke Jericho, one after the other." Then Buck's face was replaced by Yugo's. "Now here we have Yugo Muto, the current World Champion. His current total is 2000 points, having defeated Gaston Altair earlier on."

_ Oh? You defeated Gaston?_ Seta smiled. _Just what I would expect from you, Yugo…_

Moments later, Usagi Saiou's face came up. "Here we have another pro-leaguer, Usagi Saiou, with 3000 tournament points. She earned two sets of 1000 by defeating the eliminator Vasha Morrison and fellow competitor Miriam Jordan, in that order." Then Usagi's face was replaced by that of Seta. "The former World Champion, Seta Kaiba, with 2000 points at the moment, having earned his set of 1000 by defeating Reno Dawkins…in a crushing one-turn-kill move, I must hasten to add."

Seta smirked at the memory, even as his face on the big-screen was quickly replaced by Malachi Jordan's. "Now, here is a really determined competitor, Malachi Jordan, with a whopping 5000 tournament points. He earned the extra 4000 by defeating eliminator Calhoun Vincente and pro-league duelist Caleb Link, and then later defeating another eliminator, Felix Sanchez, to claim the 2000 points that Sanchez was holding on to."

"5000 tournament points…you're truly on a roll, Malachi," Seta said softly, with a smirk.

"Next we have another eliminator—my very own sister, Jessica Phoenix, with 2000 tournament points after being victorious over Honey Pegasus," Drake went on, as Jessica's portrait was shown on the screen. "Incidentally, Honey's brother Raven was defeated by the next player still in the game—another eliminator, Jan Shimizu, who took the 2000 points Raven had on him, to give himself a total of 3000 tournament points." And then Jan Shimizu's picture came up with the illustrated information.

Now Seta's look changed to a frown. _Just as Dad said…_

"And finally, there's Janus Yuki, the current third-ranking duelist in the World Championships," and as Drake spoke off-screen, Janus's face came on-screen with accompanying information. "He's currently toting 3000 tournament points. In addition to his own starting 1000, he claimed the other 2000 by defeating Diane Chill—as stated earlier—and prior to that, he'd defeated another pro-league duelist, Kent West."

Then suddenly Drake Phoenix himself came back on the screen. "So, to recap, the duelists who remain at this point: Diane Chill, Seta Kaiba, Yugo Muto, and the eliminator and my sister Jessica Phoenix, each with 2000 tournament points; Buck Morgan, Usagi Saiou, Janus Yuki, and the eliminator Jan Shimizu, each with 3000 points; and Malachi Jordan with the highest score thus far, 5000 points. Now the question becomes—will any of the seven non-eliminator players be able to make it to the Dark Lord Castle for the final duel? Or will one or both of the two remaining eliminators find and wipe them out first? Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls—from here on out, the action gets grittier and the road to victory gets rockier!"

"Hmph…" Seta shook his head. "Well, anyway…" He looked at his tournament points on his Duel-Disk. "Only 2000 points so far…I need to hurry and get more…" And so saying, he walked on.

----------

_**neomage:**_ Six competitors left…who will stand? Keep reading to find out!


	60. Confrontation

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Seven and a half hours after the start of the Phoenix Herald Crown, and I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 60 - Confrontation**

KAIBA LAND, 5:00 p.m.

"I'm back!" Jessica sang out as she and Honey burst into the front door of the Dark Lord Castle. "And look at the mother-load we picked up!" she continued, grinning as she held up the shopping bags full of clothes and shoes that she was carrying.

Honey, herself swamped with shopping bags, looked around. "Guess there aren't that many people in this castle, huh?" she remarked. "It's got a really depressing feel to it."

"Can't argue with that…I was so glad to get out of this place," Jessica agreed. "Hey, Drake, where are you? Come on out and help us with these bags! They're heavy, you know!"

Footsteps resounded above them—and, turning, the girls saw Drake standing at the top of the nearby staircase. "If you're going to complain about the weight of shopping bags, just don't buy so much stuff next time," he grunted. "And speaking of which, who said you could fraternize with the competitors?" and he gave Honey a steely glance.

"Well, it's not written in your rules that competitors can't simply hang out together," Honey answered, returning the glance coolly.

Drake had to agree with that. "Point." Then he turned his gaze to his sister. "You know, Jessica, you _are_ still an eliminator in this tournament. The time you spent shopping, you could've used to wipe out more of the duelists on the roster."

"Come on, Drake—would you lighten up? The tournament's not ending till 8:30 tomorrow night, you know! There's plenty of time yet!" Jessica protested.

"Well, _some_ duelists wouldn't agree with you," returned Drake. "Or didn't you see the little telecast I just sent out? Of the twenty-five active duelists out there in Kaiba Land, only nine remain—including you, not counting myself. And of that number, Malachi Jordan has the highest number of tournament points up to this moment; he's got 5000 points now."

"Eh? Malachi has 5000 tournament points?" Jessica asked, astonished.

"I'm not surprised—he wouldn't stop to rest if he got the chance," Honey shrugged. "All he lives for is dueling, apparently."

"Well, he _does_ have the right motivation, dare I say," Drake commented. "He's been in three duels since the tournament started, and two of those duels were against eliminators."

"Oh, dear!" Jessica pouted a little. "I hope Janny-poo wasn't one of them?"

Drake sighed in disgust. "No, Jessica, Shimizu wasn't one of them. Incidentally, Ms. Pegasus, he defeated your brother earlier."

"What? Raven was defeated?" Honey looked crestfallen.

"All right!" Jessica cheered. "I knew Janny-poo wouldn't lose to anybody!...er, no offense to your brother, Honey."

"Don't be too crestfallen about your brother," Drake smirked. "He had defeated another of our eliminators before he met Shimizu, so he wasn't _too_ worthless."

Now Honey swiveled a frosty glare at him. "I do NOT like your implication. My brother isn't that bad a duelist."

"What implication? I never said anything of the sort, now did I?" Drake put up his hands in mock surrender. "Jessica, did you hear me say her brother was a bad duelist?"

"I am _so_ not involved," Jessica grumbled, and then walked off in another direction with her bags.

"Don't forget, you still need to go back out there and get more tournament points," Drake called after her.

"Yeah, yeah," Jessica flung over her shoulder. "C'mon, Honey, let's go check out the merchandise we got!"

"Coming." Honey shot another brief glare at Drake, then turned and followed after Jessica.

Drake watched the girls' departure for a moment, then turned away. "Well…I wonder what I should do now, myself?" he asked aloud. "It gets boring just sitting here watching the tournament on TV, even though I'm the host and all…"

All at once there was a slight _whoosh_ next to him—then immediately afterward the silhouetted form of Destiny Hero – Doom Lord emerged. _"Master Drake…"_

"Huh?" Drake swiveled his gaze to look at Doom Lord. "Oh, you. I haven't seen you in a while…I thought you'd gone back into my head where you belong. What do you want now?"

_ "Master Drake, we are not alone,"_ Doom Lord said warily.

Drake rolled his eyes. "Of course we're not alone," he rebuked the Duel Monster spirit. "My sister and Honey Pegasus were here just now, weren't they?"

_ "No…there is someone else here…"_ Doom Lord glanced about suspiciously.

"Ah, a Duel Monster spirit? Rather unexpected, Drake."

Drake was instantly on alert, even as Doom Lord vanished into thin air. "Who—! Come on out here! Show your face!"

"No need to get so riled up; I'm right here." Then, from behind one of the stone pillars near the front entrance, there emerged a mysterious figure clad in a hooded jacket and wearing a small mask that concealed the lower half of her face. "Glad to finally make your acquaintance," she went on. "I am the Jewel Duelist." And she took a small bow.

Drake frowned. "Hmm…so you show yourself. I assume you came in at the same time those two did?" and here he tilted his head in the direction Honey and Jessica had gone.

"That I did. In fact, I tailed them all the way from the store they were at." The Jewel Duelist seemed amused. "If being a shopaholic was a crime, those two would be serving life sentences now."

"I got your message from Jan Shimizu—that you weren't interested in my invitation," said Drake, and here he began to descend the staircase so he could be on equal ground with the intruder. "So why'd you bother to come before me, then?"

"Chasing after spineless criminals became a little boring, so for a change of pace I decided to come check out your borrowed playground," the Jewel Duelist answered. "But even Kaiba Land will never be big enough to mask your true reason for hosting your tournament. Oh, don't look at me like that—" for Drake's frown had deepened. "—anybody who knows your history with Janus Yuki would know that reason, too. Having Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba competing here as well is only a big convenience for you—ostensibly, by knocking out those two, you prove your dueling strength to the dueling world at large _and_ simultaneously make up for not being able to show off at Dueltropolis. Even the densest Duel Monsters fan who knows of you would be able to glean that much. But very, very few know of your deep, personal feud with Janus Yuki…and you've done a fair job keeping it hidden from all but those who're on a need-to-know basis."

Now Drake scoffed. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about, masked girl."

"Don't I?" the Jewel Duelist countered, narrowing her eyes. "Then perhaps one word will cause you to rethink that statement you've just made…one word that will clearly underline the root of this whole quarrel between you and Janus." She paused, then spoke again with forced emphasis. **"RACQUEL."**

Drake's eyes widened. "Where did _you_ hear that name?" he asked, his voice coming out in a hoarse and chilling whisper.

"I make it my business to know everything there is to be known about duelists of tournament-level skill," the Jewel Duelist replied coolly. "Even from a young age, you were considered a dueling prodigy, with Janus being your only rival. And _Racquel_ was the reason behind your rivalry in the first place…now, wasn't she?"

Drake saw red. "DOOM LORD!" he yelled.

The next thing the Jewel Duelist knew, the semi-solid form of Doom Lord emerged right in front of her, his clawed fingers pointing right at her throat. "Speak her name like that again and you can say goodbye to your life!" Drake raged.

The girl didn't flinch, however. "Threaten my life, and you can say goodbye to _yours."_ And she lifted one hand and pointed in Drake's direction.

Drake slowly turned his head to look behind him…and right there were the seven apparitions of the Crystal Beasts, all glaring at him. "Hn…so you've got ghosts of your own," he growled.

"Those are Duel Monster spirits, just as _this_ in front of me is one," said the Jewel Duelist, glancing at Doom Lord. "Only duelists with certain incredible power can see such spirits; those with even higher levels of power can command one special spirit. Me—I command SEVEN, as you can clearly see. Now…call back your little attack guard here, or those seven over there will take it upon themselves to shred you apart."

"Grr…" Drake scowled visibly. "Doom Lord, stand down."

Rather reluctantly, Doom Lord complied and disappeared. Then, at a gesture from the Jewel Duelists, the seven Crystal Beasts vanished from sight as well. "Are you calmer now?" the girl asked evenly.

"Why exactly are you here?" Drake snapped. "Did you come here just to mock my mission?"

"I came to give you a warning." Now the Jewel Duelist's tone was like sandpaper. "This bad blood you've got…let it go. It's extended far beyond your old quarrel with Janus by this point, poisoning your reason to the extent that you want to go take revenge on anyone who you perceive as having slighted you, including Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba—in those guys' case, simply because they, and Janus too, claimed the glory you were unable to get for yourself. It's even caused you to use some rather questionable links in order to gain the services of a former criminal for your own vengeful scheme, and caused you to hire a bunch of unscrupulous duelists who'll do anything for the right price. Oh, certainly, there are a few good folks inside your little club that you have participating here in your Phoenix Herald Crown, but if they stay with you for too much longer, even their shining sincerity will be irreversibly tainted."

"Well, congratulations—you can deliver a sermon," Drake said sarcastically. "Well, I wanted your dueling expertise on my side…but if you're going to oppose me, I'll treat you the same as I treat all opponents. I will bury you but good."

The Jewel Duelist turned away. "I'm not a hired assassin. I don't go around collecting blood money. And I'm not going to help you to stoke your ego. So…" She looked back at Drake over her shoulder. "Just remember the old proverb, Drake—if you're digging a hole for your enemy, dig a second one for yourself as well." And with that said, she went back behind the stone column where she'd emerged from minutes earlier.

His eyebrows knitting, Drake hurried around the same stone pillar—but saw nothing there. "Pfft…one of your famous disappearing acts, eh?" he mumbled.

Approaching footfalls behind him caused him to turn—and coming up were Jessica, her Duel-Disk on one arm, and Honey, clutching a few of the shopping bags they'd come in with earlier. "Lose your shadow, Drake?" Jessica quipped.

"Whatever," Drake snorted. "I take it you're finally going back out after sorting through the stuff you bought? Although it was a pretty short amount of time for you to sort through them, I'll imagine…"

"Actually, they're still in the bags—I just tossed everything on the bed in my room," Jessica informed him. "And you were right; the tournament's not going to wait. So I figure I may as well go out and get as much of the action as I can possibly get while there's still some to get!"

"Yeah, and I'd better head back to the hotel and to my own room," Honey spoke up. "I need to see my brother when I get back there…plus this castle's too depressing, anyway."

Shrugging, Drake watched as the two girls headed out. Then his eyes narrowed. _Well…I may not have the Jewel Duelist as an ally now, but I do still have a bit of leverage I can use to my own advantage…all it'll take now is for me to play my cards right, so to speak, and then…_

----------

Outside the entrance to the castle, Honey snorted loudly. "I'm not going to apologize for saying this, Jessica—but your brother is a pain in the ass!" she retorted. "How you can stand him, I can't help but wonder!"

Jessica chuckled. "I guess it's because I'm used to his antics by now…but he does still infuriate me at times, too, so I can understand what you mean."

"Yeah…but enough about him. What now?" Honey wanted to know.

"You want to go back to the hotel to put those down, right?" said Jessica, gesturing to Honey's shopping bags. "Why don't we make a beeline for it together, then? You'll get a walking companion, and I just might find a few duelists to take a few more tournament points from. It's a win-win situation for the two of us."

"Sold!" Honey nodded. "Let's get going, then!"

----------

Meanwhile, at the hotel…

"All done now!" D.J. cheered as the last of souvenirs was stowed away.

"Yeah," Clyde nodded. "But now what?"

"Well, there's still a whole bunch of things we could do before dinnertime," Gabriel noted. "We could go check out one of the rides in the park, or go to the arcade room they've got downstairs…"

"Oh, no!" Aunt Celina shook her head. "Next thing you know, the boys will pass one of the concession stands, and they'll spoil their appetites before dinner—and I won't go for that!"

"Aw, Mom!" Clyde and D.J. pouted.

"Well, I guess we could stay here and watch TV…the three of you have been out and about all over Kaiba Land today, I figure," Gabriel suggested.

"But YOU haven't, boy," Aunt Celina pointed out, poking Gabriel's chest with her forefinger. "Ever since we got here, you've been cooped up here in this room, only going downstairs for breakfast this morning! Come on, Gabriel—go out there and have a little fun for yourself, for once!"

Gabriel's face clouded. "Aunt Celina, you _know_ why I don't do that…" he began hesitantly.

"Uh-uh. No excuses. You've been in this room long enough for the corners to be well acquainted with you." Aunt Celina shook her head. "So what if other people see you here? You don't have to duel anybody—you don't even have to carry your deck with you. Just go out there and have some fun. You don't have to ask anybody's permission to do such a simple thing—just do it. That's all."

Gabriel sighed. "Well…I guess you're right." His face hardened with resolution. "One hour. That's it. Then I'm coming back here, and after that we're all going to have dinner together. Fine?"

"Fine." Aunt Celina nodded. "Just as long as you're going out there and getting some fresh air into you."

"Go on, Cousin Gabriel! Go enjoy yourself!" Clyde encouraged him.

"We'll be okay here, don't worry! We'll be waiting right here for you to come back!" D.J. added. "Just go check out some of the action we had today! It's no fair that we should have fun and you don't!"

Gabriel looked from one to the other of the two boys. "Well…all right, fine," he gave in. "Since you guys are asking so nicely, I'll do it."

"Good for you!" Aunt Celina beamed. "Now, get on out of here!"

Nodding, Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, headed for the door, and exited the room. Smiling in satisfaction as he left, Aunt Celina turned back to her sons. "So, boys, how about finding some cartoons to watch?" she suggested.

"Okay!" Clyde ran over to the bed and picked up the TV remote, flicking the set on and immediately cruising through the various channels.

Just then there was a knock at the door. All three looked up—and beheld a figure standing in the open doorway, a young man in a black leather jacket and full black clothing. "Uh—yes? Can we help you?" Aunt Celina asked, eyebrows raised.

"Sorry to intrude," the man replied, "but your door was unlocked, and I was just passing by and chanced to glance in, and—well, those two kids there, I figured I owed them an apology for downstairs." He gave a half-smile. "Reno Dawkins is the name."

Clyde and D.J. looked at each other, then back at him. "Reno Dawkins? The high-powered Dragon duelist? Really?" Clyde piped up.

"Yeah, it's him, all right." D.J. looked at Reno out of shifty eyes. "But he was kinda noisy and mean downstairs…"

"Which is why I came to apologize," Reno explained. "I wasn't on my best behavior downstairs in the dining hall." He looked at the boys' mother. "I had a few too many to drink all at once, and basically pushed right past your kids when I was leaving. But I've had a chance to sleep off what I was drinking, and when I saw them in here just now, I figured I'd better chance it and come say sorry. I realize a lot of kids take me as a role model worldwide, and what I did as anything but role model behavior. So…" He flashed a small salute to the boys. "I'd like to make it up to you, if it's possible."

"Hmm…well…" Aunt Celina cocked an eyebrow at the story. "That's…mature of you, at least, to own up. What do you think, guys?" she turned to Clyde and D.J.

"Hmm…" D.J. scratched his head. "Hey, Mr. Dawkins, if you could give us your autograph, maybe that could cover it, right?"

"Anything!" Reno said eagerly. "But, personally, just an autograph alone won't cut it, I think. I've got something even bigger in mind…all three of you can share it easily."

"Oh?" Aunt Celina seemed interested. "And what would that be, Mr. Dawkins?"

"Well…" Now Reno's smile grew a little bigger.

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 5:20 p.m.

"Geez…no more duelists anywhere? Have they all been wiped out already?" Janus complained as he walked past various food stands, small groups of park patrons, and one or two park attractions. He glanced to his left and then to his right, but saw no sign of anyone wearing a Duel-Disk or who otherwise stood out from the various people around. "Man, this sucks…" He glanced toward the sky; already the pale blue was mixing with bright orange, the first telltale sign of sunset. "Cripes…"

Presently his looking around rewarded him with the view of a small beaten path a little ways off, leading to a water fountain that sat all by itself away from the other nearby attractions. Curious, Janus headed over in that direction. _Hmm…maybe one of the other competitors is hiding over here somewhere, waiting to be challenged…maybe one of those eliminators or something…_

Less than a minute later he was standing before the water fountain, the design of which was smoothly carved out of limestone in the shape of—of all things—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The water was spewing vertically out of the dragon's mouth, falling back into the fountain in numerous tiny droplets. And…now that Janus was up close, he could see that, previously concealed from his sight behind the stone dragon's outspread wings when he'd been further away, two individuals were seated together. "Oh, excuse me…" he started.

The two individuals turned to look up at Janus—and he recognized them instantly. "Calhoun! Vasha! What're you two doing here?" he demanded.

Calhoun swiftly jumped up. "Funny you should ask, runt," he said gruffly. "And it's even funnier that we should run into you _now."_

"Indeed," Vasha added, smoothly standing up from where she'd been sitting. "See, brat, we got invited to this tournament by Drake Phoenix himself—and we even got membership into his little duelist club, just so we could get a shot at taking revenge on _you."_

Eyes narrowing, Janus swiftly recalled what Kent had earlier told him. "Duelist club…you mean the House of Cards?" he asked.

Both Calhoun and Vasha looked at him with some surprise. "You know about that?" Vasha exclaimed.

"Bah, it doesn't matter if he knows or not," Calhoun quickly regained his composure. "In any case, we became eliminators in this tournament so we'd have a chance to take you out, you little Osiris Red scumbag…but unfortunately, we both got eliminated earlier on, before we could ever get the chance to get you back for humiliating us. But now you're here, we're here…what riper opportunity can we ever have than this?"

"Just what do you think you're going to do?" Janus asked warily.

For answer Vasha swiftly walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Well, that's quite an appropriate question to ask," she answered, her voice dripping with spite. "Remember that beating Calhoun was going to give you the other day, before Coach Hassleberry saved your scrawny butt? Well, there's no Coach Hassleberry here to bail you out, now IS there? In fact, there's nobody close by to help you or even to pay attention…it's just you and us."

"That's right," and now Calhoun was up close to Janus too, tightly grabbing his shirt collar in one hand. "Those folks over there," nodding his head back to the patrons in the direction Janus had come from, "they're not even looking this way. We can just drag you further away where nobody will see, and then I can get started on ripping you a new one!"

Then the Shadow Charm Pendant that Janus was wearing caught Vasha's eye. "Well, now, what's _that?"_ she asked. "When did you get that, huh? All of a sudden I'm thinking that it would look _far_ better on me!" Impulsively she reached forward, intending to grab the Pendant…

…but just then, without warning, the Pendant's red gem flashed bright crimson! Instantly Vasha drew her hand back. "What the hell?" she exclaimed.

"Hey, what's up with that thing?" Calhoun demanded.

Janus smirked. "Maybe it doesn't like you guys any more than I do."

"Don't screw with us, you…!" Calhoun tightened his grip on Janus's collar and drew back his other hand into a fist.

"I'd strongly advise against you doing that."

Calhoun and Vasha turned simultaneously at the sound of the voice behind them, and beheld a figure clad in a dark brown motorcycle outfit and a maroon-colored helmet with a safety visor. "Huh? Who the hell are you?" Calhoun asked angrily.

"There's no need for me to tell my name to trash," the helmeted motorcyclist answered coldly. "Now let the kid go."

"YOU beat it!" Vasha snapped. "We don't take orders from motorcycle punks!"

The rider shook his head. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough. Either you let that boy go…or I'll drop both of you right here. Hard. And when I drop you two…you'll be in serious agony after you wake up."

Calhoun released Janus, then turned and stalked toward the stranger with both fists clenched. "Bastard! Don't look down on me!" he raged, flinging one fist forward—but he wasn't prepared for when the rider sidestepped and slipped right behind him, then a second later sent a hard hand-chop to the back of his neck. Mere seconds later, all the colors in Calhoun's line of vision exploded, then went black even as he himself dropped flat, face-first, onto the ground.

Vasha took all this in at a glance. "Calhoun!" she yelped, then set a hateful glare upon the rider. "Why, you little…!" With that she leaped at him, her fingernails aiming at his throat…but he easily slapped both her hands aside with one hand, then shifted right behind her and sent a hand-chop to the back of her neck, as well. Vasha's body went limp a second later, and she collapsed like a rag doll.

The rider shook his head. "Geez…I really didn't want to do that…I hate raising my hand to a woman that way." Then he looked at Janus. "Hey, kid. You all right?"

Janus had been watching the entire scene with wide eyes, mesmerized by the stranger's fluid movements in countering Vasha's and Calhoun's attacks. Now the question jarred him back to reality. "Uh—yeah, yeah, I'm good," he answered. "But what about them? Will they be okay?"

The rider glanced at the fallen Calhoun and Vasha. "Yeah, sure, I guess," he replied. "They'll just have a bit of a neck-ache when they come around. Although, I'm a little surprised you're concerned about their welfare, considering they were about to kick your ass."

Janus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I guess it _is_ a little weird…" Then his face took on a puzzled expression. "By the way, who are you?"

"Ah—yes, that's right. I guess you wouldn't know me while I'm wearing this helmet…although I am a bit surprised you haven't recognized my voice up to now." The rider then reached up with both hands and undid the clasps holding his helmet in place. These loosened, he carefully pulled the helmet off, revealing his head and face for the first time. "Surprise!"

On seeing the face behind the helmet, Janus's eyes widened. "No way…Adam?"

"That's me. Your very own cousin, Adam Rhodes, here in the flesh." Adam chuckled. "Wondering what I'm doing here at Kaiba Land, aren't you?"

"Well—yeah!" Janus admitted. "Did you come to see the tournament?"

"Oh, if only I were here for such a fun reason." Adam became serious. "Uncle Jaden called me up and asked me to keep an eye on you during the tournament. He said Drake will probably be up to no good, hosting this tournament. The way he told it to me, Drake will likely try to manipulate this set-up so as to turn things against you and in his own favor."

"Mmm…yeah, I already figured that much out for myself," Janus replied. "Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba think so, too. Drake's holding this competition to prove himself better than the three of us. Me, I'm just going to beat anybody who challenges me here—or try to, anyway."

"Working your way up to Drake, are you?" Adam inquired.

Janus nodded gravely. "Assuming I'm the one who makes it to him for the final duel…it'll be a chance to finally settle things between us."

"I only hope you don't plan to make a martyr out of yourself." Adam gave Janus a knowing look. "What happened back then wasn't your fault, Janus. There was no way you could've done anything to make that event turn out any differently than it did."

"That's what I tell myself a lot, but…try telling that to Drake…or to my own subconscious mind, for that matter." Janus sighed. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes, you know."

"I guess you would." Adam shrugged. "Still, Janus, you can only blame yourself for so long. There comes a time to let go of the pain and move on. Even Drake will have to acknowledge that for himself, sooner or later."

"I'll pay cash to see THAT happen." Janus snorted. "Anyway…you don't need to worry about me. I'm not going to lose just like that."

"I know that much. You're too stubborn that way." Adam nodded. "Oh—by the way, that reminds me of the other reason I came here. I wanted to ask you something…it's been on my mind ever since the other day when you and I dueled."

"Oh? Not sore about your loss, are you?" Janus chuckled.

"It's not that…" Adam frowned. "During the duel, I'm pretty sure I saw your Elemental Hero Neos appear out of thin air and talk to you—and then right after that, your luck in our duel began to turn around. Now, I'm sure you hadn't summoned Neos, yet there he was—and if it was a glitch in the holographic system, nobody else seemed to see it. I've been puzzling about it ever since…so I decided, since Uncle Jaden was asking me to come here anyway, I'd seek you out and find out what that was about."

Now Janus was a little surprised. "Oh, so you saw him? That's surprising…"

Adam cocked an eyebrow. "Explain."

"Well…I could tell you…but not here. Not now." Janus glanced around. "There're plenty of security cameras here and there in Kaiba Land…and there's no telling which of them at any time might transmit footage that'll be broadcast live. I don't want anything I say about that to reach the ears of others who'll then think I'm nuts. But…" He smiled a little. "Since you're supposed to be watching over me in this contest, just keep watching. I'll show you a lot more craziness than just Neos appearing out of thin air in due time."

Adam lifted an eyebrow. "Well, if you say so, then I guess I'll take you at your word…and by the way, what's up with that pendant of yours?" He nodded his head toward Janus's Shadow Charm Pendant. "A good-luck charm or something?"

"…in a sense." Janus chuckled. "That's another thing I'll show you in due time. Just keep watching me in this tournament, and if I ever find it necessary to show you just how much of a good-luck charm this Pendant is, you'll definitely get to see it."

"Hmm…well, okay, I understand. I'll keep my eye on you, then." Adam glanced around. "Although I hope I can do that while keeping under the radar. I didn't exactly come into Kaiba Land with an entry pass, you know—I wanted to keep my activity here incognito as much as possible. I'm taking a big risk right now just by talking to you while unmasked."

"I appreciate that." Janus nodded. "Well, I guess I'd better get going. Catch you later, cousin."

"Sure," and now Adam replaced his motorcycle helmet on his head, fastening it back into place. "Do your best, kid. I'll be watching your future matches here in this tournament as best I can." And with that said, he turned and walked away, Janus looking on as he made his exit through the nearby trees and bushes.

"All right…" Janus glanced down at the still-unconscious Calhoun and Vasha. "Better head on out of here before these two wake up…"

----------

_**neomage:**_ All right! The masked motorcycle rider's identity has finally been revealed—it's Adam Rhodes! Those of you who wanted him back, here he is! But…what exactly is Reno Dawkins' next move going to be? Who will Jessica face next in a duel—if anyone? What exactly does the Jewel Duelist plan to do? And how soon will we see Gabriel again? All these and more to come, in the next set of chapters! Keep an eye out, and review soon, please!


	61. Mystery Man

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: I feel like eating Chinese food…but no, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Chinese restaurants.)

**CHAPTER 61 – Mystery Man**

KAIBA LAND, 5:30 p.m.

"Excuse me, may I have a chili dog, please?" Jan Shimizu inquired of a food-stand vendor.

"Sure thing, my boy!" the vendor replied good-naturedly. "What'll you have on yours?"

"Whatever you've got," Jan answered.

"Mustard, ketchup, shredded cheese, relish, onions, pepper sauce, the whole nine yards," the vendor explained.

"Good." Jan nodded. "Give me everything. And make it a big one, would you?"

"Coming right up!" the vendor answered, and promptly set to work.

Turning away for a moment while the vendor got his order ready, Jan glanced around at the passersby. As it was now evening time, there weren't as many people around as there would have been had it been earlier in the day. As it was, the crowds were considerably thin now, but those who were still present were obviously having fun. Jan glanced around some more—and presently his gaze fell upon a security camera strategically set upon one of several lamp-posts, which were planted here and there and were only now beginning to shine their light as the distant sun drew away. The camera in question was pointing its lens straight down at him; he returned the look, cocking an eyebrow thoughtfully as he did. _I wonder…if the folks at home in Domino City are watching right now…_

----------

DOMINO CITY, AT MIKI TAYLOR'S HOUSE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Miki sat by herself in the living room, watching as on the TV, Jan was shown. "There he is again," she whispered to herself.

"Miki, honey? You're still out here?"

She looked up at her father. "Hi, Dad. Where's everybody?"

"Well, Aunt Mai and Uncle Joey went off to the convenience store with your mother to pick up a few more goodies," Mr. Taylor reported as he sat down beside her. "Jenna—well, she's likely upstairs napping. She did say to call her back down if Yugo or Seta got to duel again."

Then he noticed who was on the TV screen. "Oh? That's Jan again…" He turned and looked at his daughter. "Are you sure you're okay seeing him on the TV like this? After all, he did…well…"

"He broke in here and turned me into a punching bag. I know. I haven't forgotten." Miki looked up at him. "But after the whole adventure with JUDAS in Egypt was settled, he came and apologized. I'm still a bit scared of him, but him saying sorry surely counts for something, doesn't it?"

"I'm just a little surprised that you can forgive him just like that," Mr. Taylor remarked. "Even if he _is_ Kyo's brother, what he did to you was wrong. I don't know if I'll ever be able to let him off just like that."

"It was a different set of circumstances, Dad," said Miki. "Who knows, if we'd met him under a different state of affairs, he'd probably be our friend. As it is, Kyo's probably having enough of a tough time learning to live with the knowledge that his big brother's out there…why should I make it any harder for him by bearing a grudge against Jan? Besides, if I do hold a grudge, I'm not hurting Jan at all…I'm only hurting me."

Mr. Taylor placed his hand on Miki's head and rubbed it fondly. "Are you turning into a philosopher on me, young lady?" he asked in a mock-annoyed voice.

"Nope. I'm just speaking my mind." Miki smiled a little.

----------

KAIBA LAND

"Here you go!" the vendor announced, placing the finished chili dog onto a roll of paper and handing it to Jan.

"Thanks," Jan answered, and he immediately took a bite of the morsel—and suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Well, so another duelist comes my way."

Several meters ahead, in his line of sight was Diane Chill, a cool deportment about her as she slowly walked up to him. "Well, if it isn't the new boy," she declared. "How's the tournament treating you?"

"It's decent." Jan took another bite of the chili dog. "And for you?"

"Could've been way better." Diane scoffed. "I got my ass handed to me by a damn kid, and I've had to be picking up the slack ever since because of that one loss. I swear, come tomorrow, just let me find him—if he's still in the tournament by then—and I'll make him pay for humiliating me like he did!"

"And which 'kid' would you be referring to?" Jan wondered, biting the chili dog again.

"That brat from Duel Academy—Janus Yuki!" Diane grated.

"Hmm…seems there's quite a few people who have it out for that guy now…Phoenix, those two Obelisk Blue kids from Duel Academy, and now you…" Jan mused. "Oh, well, I guess that his being able to beat you is further proof that he's actually decent in a duel, huh?"

Diane shot him a look. "Say what? He just got lucky when he beat me, that's all!"

"Luck or muck, he still won." Jan shook his head. "And he _is_ the third-highest-ranked duelist in the world right now, if memory serves me right."

An ugly expression emerged on Diane's face. "Don't piss me off, you…!"

"What? I'm just stating the facts, aren't I?" Jan countered. "If the kid's among the world's top three duelists, it stands to reason that he'll at least be on par with the best of the best. Isn't that right…?" He smirked and looked to one side, nibbling a little more at his chili dog.

Diane's eyebrow twitched. "Know your place! You're talking to one of the elite pro duelists, you know!" she snapped, her voice carrying and catching the attention of the few patrons walking about. "You might be one of our bunch now thanks to Drake's say-so, but don't think that means I can't kick your ass if it's called for—whether you're an eliminator or not!"

Now Jan looked at her out of the corner of his eye, even as he finished the last of his chili dog. "I'd pick my battles a little less recklessly if I were you," he said quietly. "If you duel me, you'll have a slim chance of winning. A VERY slim chance."

But Diane defiantly held up her Duel-Disk. "Like hell I'm gonna walk away from this, now that you're acting like you're king of the hill over me! Being an eliminator, you've probably gotten a whole bunch of tournament points by now—well, I'll take every last one of them for myself and move one step closer to winning it all in this competition! So come on—get your ass in gear and let's do this!"

Jan sighed resignedly. "It doesn't look like I'll be able to ease my way out of this…all right, I accept your challenge. At least this way I'll be able to find out for myself if that Yuki kid's victory over you was really a fluke, or if maybe there was something to it after all."

"I'll make you swallow those words!" Diane vowed.

**DIANE: 8000; JAN: 8000**

The patrons around them, realizing that another duel was going to begin right there and then, quickly gathered closer, chattering excitedly as they did, and soon there was a fairly large ring of spectators surrounding Jan and Diane. Meantime, on TVs everywhere, their respective dueling information popped up. First there came Diane's information: _**Diane Chill. Age: 22. Nationality: Russia. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2014; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 5 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2016 onward. Deck strategy: Ice theme.**_

Then there came Jan's information. _**Jan Shimizu, appointed eliminator. Age: 25. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: No known prior tournament experience. Deck strategy: Archfiend.**_

Both duelists drew their first five cards. "I'll go first!" Diane announced, and she drew her sixth card. "I remember how you were able to defeat Brodie when you were just joining our group, Shimizu…but she was just a chumpette. I'm nothing like her—you'll soon see for yourself after I strip you of your tournament points and your big talk!"

"Let's see if that declaration can hold any water," said Jan. "Go."

Diane nodded, then examined the cards she held in hand. "Okay…I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, for a start. That's all. Your move."

"Very well," said Jan. "I draw!" Immediately he drew his card. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500) in Attack Mode!" Then in a moment his green-caped, sword-wielding Archfiend emerged. "Annihilate her facedown monster!"

Swinging his sword around stylishly for a moment, Archfiend Soldier presently jumped forward and sliced at Diane's facedown monster…but as the card was flipped face-up, the monster in question was revealed to be a large snowman with a red cone-shaped cap on its head. A huge sheet of ice immediately formed in front of the snowman, acting as a barrier that deflected Archfiend Soldier's sword and pushed him back. "This monster is my Snowman Eater (ATK 0, DEF 1900)," Diane revealed. "When it's flipped face-up, its effect destroys one face-up monster on the field—and since your Archfiend Soldier is the only other face-up monster right now, it's the one that will be eaten!"

Almost as Diane finished speaking, something burrowed under the ground and up to where Archfiend Soldier stood—then the earth seemed to cave in under him, even as a terrifying mass of teeth set into pink gums outlined by greenish-blue lips devoured him from below! Jan grimaced a little at the grisly display; then, the mystery monster burrowed back underground and went underneath the solitary snowman. "All right…" Jan examined the five cards left in his hand. "Shit…nothing else to do. I end my turn."

"Hmph!" Diane drew her next card. "Well, well, well…pretty grand that I've gotten this monster now! Well, I offer Snowman Eater as a tribute to summon Frostosaurus (ATK 2600, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!"

A blisteringly cold wind swept around the Snowman Eater, replacing it in a few seconds with Diane's ice-covered dinosaur. "By himself, he's very strong—but I think I'll make it so that you'll never get any monster that'll be strong enough to take him down!" Diane declared. "I equip him with this Magic card, Steel Shell! This will decrease his DEF by 200 points, but in exchange his ATK will rise by 400 points!"

A deep blue shell with spikes sticking out of it emerged onto Frostosaurus's back, decreasing its DEF to 1500—but in the next instant its ATK rose to 3000. "Hmm…well, why not? I'll take it up another notch," said Diane, and here she played another card. "I activate the Field Magic card, Umiiruka! Now, all Water monsters will increase their ATK by 500 points in exchange for lowering their DEF by 400 points!" And seconds later, water emerged on the field, astonishing the spectators as the cold waves splashed up to their knees—and while Frostosaurus's DEF dropped a little further to 1100, its ATK rose even higher to 3500. "Now, attack him directly! Sub-Zero Beam!"

Frostosaurus leaned its head forward a little and opened its mouth…and deep within its throat, a bluish-white beam charged up. Seconds later, that beam exploded outward, swarming Jan's side of the field and rendering his skin numb to the point of turning almost blue.

**DIANE: 8000; JAN: 4500**

"Down by almost half…just a little more to go, and then your tournament points are mine," Diane smirked with satisfaction. "But just to be even more on the safe side, I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn."

Shaking himself to warm his body up again after the freezing-cold attack he'd just been subjected to, Jan drew his next card. "Huh…this will be quite a gamble, but hopefully it'll be one that'll pay off," he muttered. "I summon Mist Archfiend (ATK 2400, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!"

A cloud of billowing mist swirled over Jan's side of the field, and then seconds later his giant skeletal monster appeared. "Mist Archfiend is a Level 5 monster, but I can Normal Summon him without offering a tribute," Jan explained. "In such a case, however, at the end of this turn he'll be destroyed and I will sustain 1000 points of damage. However…for what I intend to do next, it will be well worth it."

"And just what would that be?" Diane asked suspiciously.

For answer, Jan selected one of his five hand-cards. "I activate the Equip Magic card, Falling Down! Now, this card can't be active if I don't have an Archfiend card in play…but since Mist Archfiend is obviously an Archfiend, I can activate it," he explained. "And what it does is, it allows me to take control of one face-up monster you control!"

"Cripes!" Diane hissed. "And I've only got one monster…!" But hardly were the words out of her mouth when suddenly, and much to her dismay and anger, Frostosaurus vanished in a haze of blue light—only to reappear on Jan's side of the field. "Damn you…!"

Jan wasted no time. "Frostosaurus and Mist Archfiend, attack directly!" he commanded. In reply, Frostosaurus unleashed a barraging cold energy wave from its mouth, buffeting Diane and bringing her score to 4500…

**DIANE: 4500; JAN: 4500**

…then Mist Archfiend slithered forward on a smoke cloud and slashed at her.

**DIANE: 2100; JAN: 4500**

At once several individuals in the crowd began to make their voices heard. "Hey, Diane, come on! Don't let this guy get the better of you!" they shouted.

Looking at the spectators out of the corner of his eye, Jan chuckled. "Seems you have some fans watching us now, after all," he remarked. "Then let them watch _this."_ He selected another card from his hand. "I activate the effect of a card in my hand, Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800)…by discarding it from my hand, I can add one 'Pandemonium' Field Magic card from my deck to my hand…" He discarded the card, swiftly shuffled through his deck, and added the Pandemonium card to his hand. "…after which I'll activate Pandemonium!"

The icy waters of Umiiruka vanished—and rising up from the ground there were now several large sacrificial altars and eerie bone-like stone structures. Instantly Frostosaurus's ATK dropped down to 3000, while its DEF rose a little to 1500. "You're probably wondering what's the significance of depriving the ice dinosaur of his ATK boost," said Jan. "Well, you'll soon see. I end my turn…" And almost immediately Mist Archfiend vanished into thin air.

**DIANE: 2100; JAN: 3500**

In the same moment, the altars of Pandemonium began to glow with sinister energy. "Pandemonium's effect activates," Jan said. "Each time a player's Archfiend monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by any means except though battle, that player can add one Archfiend monster from their deck to their hand, so long as it's got a lower level than the Archfiend monster that was destroyed. And since Mist Archfiend was a Level 5 monster, I can add any Level 4 or lower Archfiend from my deck to my hand…" He began to thumb through his deck again. "And the one I'll go for is my Mad Archfiend (ATK 1800, DEF 0), a Level 4 monster."

"Very well," Diane conceded. "But since you currently don't have any Archfiend cards in play, your Falling Down card won't be sustained." And as if to prove her point, the Falling Down card abruptly shattered into pixilated pieces, while Frostosaurus evaporated from Jan's side and re-emerged whole on Diane's side again. "So, in the end, all you have succeeded in doing is depriving yourself of monsters, and giving me an opportunity to rake your life points on my coming turn."

"That'll have to be my burden, then," Jan said coolly. "I've already ended my turn—it's your move, now."

Diane promptly drew, so now she held three cards in her hand. "I might not have Umiiruka on the field anymore to pump up Frostosaurus's ATK and finish you in one strike," she stated, "but what I've got will be enough to cripple you! Go, Frostosaurus—attack him directly with Sub-Zero Beam!" And once again Frostosaurus fired a cold blast from its mouth, this time fairly knocking Jan down and sharply lowering his life points.

**DIANE: 2100; JAN: 500**

"All right, Lady Chill! Put the dude on ice!" Diane's fans in the crowd were now cheering her on.

"All in good time, folks, all in good time," Diane waved to them. "For now, though, I'm going to end my turn. Go ahead and make a move, you." This last comment she directed at Jan.

Wordlessly Jan stood up, then drew his next card. Immediately his eyes widened when he saw what it was. _This is…! Well, well…I suppose there's still a good degree of luck on my side, after all…_ Then, aloud, he announced, "I currently have three Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard—Archfiend Soldier, Mist Archfiend, and Archfiend General…so I'll remove all of them from play to Special Summon this monster, one of my key monsters: Dark Necrofear (ATK 2200, DEF 2800) in Defense Mode!"

The intangible spirits of the three aforementioned Archfiends arose from Jan's Graveyard and vanished from sight…then, mere seconds later, a black shadow emerged on his side of the field, and Dark Necrofear herself emerged from that shadow, kneeling down in a defensive posture with her arms protectively encircling her broken baby doll. But then Diane spoke up: "Well, since you've Special Summoned a monster, I'll do a little Special Summoning of my own! By discarding one card from my hand when you've Special Summoned a monster…" and here she discarded a card from her hand. "…I get to Special Summon this monster from either my hand or my Graveyard. So, come from my Graveyard…Dragon Ice (ATK 1800, DEF 2200) in Attack Mode!"

Suddenly, from the ground next to Diane's Frostosaurus, there burst a an icy-blue dragon creature with shredded black wings, a visible vertebrae on its back and a skull for a face, and what appeared to be a mechanical device of sorts on its left arm. Now Jan had a surprised look on his face. "What—but that wasn't in your Graveyard before!" he protested.

"True," said Diane, waving a reproving and taunting finger. "However, I can discard Dragon Ice itself from my hand in order to activate its effect. I don't have to discard a different card just to Special Summon Dragon Ice. At least if I do it this way, I conserve cards in my hand."

"Hmm…can't fault you there," Jan admitted. "Anyway, moving on…let's see here…"

He then looked down at the four cards left in his hand—but then glanced up again and frowned. _One question, though…even for a Special Summon, why'd she summon her Dragon Ice in Attack Mode? _His gaze shifted to the high-powered Frostosaurus. _Well, why not? If I get a monster strong enough to beat Dragon Ice, but not strong enough to withstand Frostosaurus, I'll be a goner…I've only got 500 life points left, after all…and…_ Then he looked past the two monsters and took stock of Diane's facedown card. _That card of hers…it's been there ever since she set it a couple of turns back…she could've activated it at any time after that, but so far she hasn't…not when I activated card effects, not when I took control of Frostosaurus from her, not when I attacked…it's likely to be a situational Trap card, but WHAT exactly is she waiting on to use it?_

"Come on, now." Diane's voice reached him. "Or are you frozen stiff from fear and trying to hide it, eh?"

"Not really." Jan looked at his hand again and nodded grimly. "I'll set another monster facedown in Defense Mode, and end my turn for now."

Now it was Diane's turn to frown, even as she took her turn and drew her next card to give her a total of three in hand. Her gaze shifted to Dark Necrofear. _That monster…its effect when it's destroyed allows it to be treated as an Equip Magic card and be equipped to one of my monsters, and then control of my selected monster will go to my opponent. However, that effect only activates during the End Phase of the turn Dark Necrofear was destroyed, so if it was the only monster in this guy's control, I'd have no problem getting rid of it and then obliterating the rest of his life points, but…now that he's got that other monster on the field, my way's blocked!_ Then she looked at her hand. _What to do…I don't know what sort of surprise his facedown monster's got…if I instruct Frostosaurus to destroy it, it might turn out to have a DEF that's low enough that Dragon Ice could've easily dealt with it…it could even turn out to be that Mad Archfiend he added to his hand a while ago with his Field Magic card's effect…on the other hand, if I have Dragon Ice attack first, that monster might turn out to be a different one after all, and it might even have a high-enough DEF that'll warrant me having to use Frostosaurus to destroy it anyway, and then that'll be two attacks wasted…and it's not like I've got a Monster card in my hand right now that I can just summon and use as attack fodder, so that I could just clear the field of both of his monsters in one go with two of my monsters and attack him directly with the third…_

Again she looked at her hand. _Then again, with THIS in my hand, maybe I won't have to do it that way…it'll take an extra turn longer, but if I can pull it off right, then I'll have this duel in the bag! And he doesn't dare attack me now, anyway, what with my facedown card that I've still got here…_ Here she flashed a look at her facedown card in her Magic/Trap slot, and a small smile crossed her face. Then, aloud, she announced, "I'll set a monster in Defense Mode as well, and that's all for now."

Jan's face was emotionless at this. "Hmph. My turn." He drew. "Now everything's in place for me to finish this duel."

"Eh? Finish this duel?" Diane asked testily.

"Yeah." Jan pointed to the monster he'd set on the field on his previous turn. "I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster—Mad Archfiend!"

To Diane's consternation, Jan's red-haired monster emerged into view a moment later. "He's got 0 DEF…either one of my monsters could've dealt with him…" she growled.

"Hmph." Now Jan gave a slight smirk. "I was banking on you not attacking him while he was facedown, in case he might either have a DEF high enough to repel your Dragon Ice or be a wasted target for your Frostosaurus…turns out he would've been one and not the other, right? But in any case, your not attacking him will be your undoing…" He picked out one of his four hand-cards. "For now that I have an Archfiend Monster card face-up on the field, I can Normal Summon this one—Terrorking Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1500)!"

A moment later his Archfiend king emerged on the field, tightly clutching his sword in hand. Jan then held up another card. "Next, I equip Terrorking Archfiend with the Axe of Despair—increasing his ATK by 1000 points!" And as he played the card, Terrorking Archfiend's sword got replaced in seconds with the fiendish axe, its blade grinning wickedly as his ATK rose to 3000.

Diane scowled when she saw this. _Damn him…his monster's ATK is equal to Frostosaurus', now…is he planning on ramming the two into each other to destroy both simultaneously? And he can even do the same thing with his Mad Archfiend and my Dragon Ice…!_ Then, as if for afterthought, she glanced over at her facedown monster. _Ah, but then he'd still have my facedown monster to contend with, and if he attacked it with his Dark Necrofear…!_

Then Jan held up one more card from his hand. "And lastly, I activate the Magic card, Checkmate! I offer one Archfiend monster on my side of the field as a tribute…" Mad Archfiend promptly vanished. "…and during the turn I activate this card, one Terrorking Archfiend I control gets to attack you directly!"

_ HUH?_ Diane's eyes widened in horror. _Crap! That bypasses all of my monsters—and my facedown card, too! And now, I'm about to…!_

"Attack directly now, Terrorking Archfiend! Deliver victory unto me!" Jan commanded. In response, the Archfiend king raised the Axe of Despair onto his shoulder, then dashed forward. Growling, both Frostosaurus and Dragon Ice fired beams of cold energy from their mouths, but Terrorking Archfiend skillfully dodged between the beams and headed straight for Diane—slashing at her horizontally and knocking her to the ground.

**DIANE: 0; JAN: 500**

"…no…" Diane hissed in dismay, even as the holographic images on her side of the field were instantly dispelled, and her tournament point counter dropped to 0 like her life points had. "It wasn't supposed to end…like this…"

"AUUUGH!" several of Diane's fans in the crowd could be heard collectively groaning in disapproval at her loss.

Shrugging, Jan glanced at his tournament points; they were now at 5000. "Well, now…these additional 2000 tournament points were _almost _worth it—you did give me a decent challenge. Incidentally, I'm curious…what were those two facedown cards you had on the field?"

Standing up by this point, Diane glared at him. "Well, if you MUST know…" She scooped the cards off her Duel-Disk and held them up for Jan to see: the Trap card Prideful Roar, and a second Snowman Eater. "Happy?"

Jan scrutinized the two cards. "I see…Prideful Roar is a Trap card that can only be activated during damage calculation when I declare an attack, and my attacking monster's ATK is higher than yours. You'd have been able to pay an amount of life points equal to the ATK difference, and your monster would've gotten ATK equal to that difference, plus an extra 300, for that damage calculation. So if I'd attacked either of your monsters with an even stronger monster, so long as you had enough life points to pay equal to the ATK difference, I'd have lost…and as for that Snowman Eater, I already know what it does from the first one you played earlier—you'd probably have been able to destroy my Dark Necrofear with it, if you'd had the chance."

"Indeed…except now, you've taken victory from me." Diane sniffed at him. "Oh, well, who am I to complain any further than I have already? You were appointed an eliminator in this tournament; I challenged you; I lost. Now I'm out, and you're advancing." Then she fixed a stern glare on Jan. "Just make sure YOU don't lose to that Janus Yuki kid, if you ever run into him, is all you do. If you do, I'll never forgive you."

"Uh-huh," Jan said off-handedly, waving a casual farewell even as he turned his back on Diane and began to stroll away…but in his mind, a very different line of thought was being processed. _This Janus Yuki…his name keeps popping up here, there and everywhere among different duelists…he certainly seems like an intriguing character. Maybe I should check him out and see for myself what it is about him that's managed to piss off this many duelists…_

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 5:55 p.m.

On one of the many big-screen billboard TVs scattered throughout the amusement park, Jan Shimizu's latest victory and tournament point acquisition was plainly shown: having just defeated Diane Chill and ousted her from the tournament, he now had her 2000 points, added to his own 3000, for a total of 5000 points. As the park's patrons nearest this particular billboard TV got wind of this latest update, a noisy debate began amongst those who'd been closest to hear and see.

"Nuts! Diane Chill lost to that guy? And I had a whole lot of money riding on her, too…"

"That eliminator seems to be pretty good…what was his name? Shimizu, or something like that?"

"Drake Phoenix must be real glad he hired that guy as an eliminator—he's well on par with pros!"

"Naw, man! That Shimizu guy just got lucky, is all! If he hadn't used such a cheap stunt, he'd never have beaten Diane!"

"Ha! What's cheap is that monkey-suit you're wearing!"

"You dissin' my shirt, punk? Come get some!"

"Bring it, bitch!"

A fight broke out between two of the more vocal fans, and moments later, several men had to rip in between them and pull them apart. "Lemme go! I can take him!" one of the fighters bellowed.

"Go take your mother!" the other shot back.

As some of the spectators laughed and jeered and others shouted their disapproval, none took much notice of a tall, dark-skinned, mustachioed man in a dark green business suit with a gray turban on his head. He smirked a little at the antics of the warring fans, sipping a little from a straw submerged in a red soda bottle. "How amusing," he chuckled a little to himself. "These people…always so quick to fight for their beliefs…ah, well, pleasure cannot last forever. Now, it is time to move on to business." He checked his wristwatch. "And it is time for me to keep my appointment."

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 6:00 p.m.

"Wheeeew-weee!" Buck Morgan exhaled loudly and sharply as, less than a few hundred meters ahead, the hotel loomed before his eyes. "Well, lookee here—it's the hotel! I guess Kaiba Land's expanse was really a lot smaller than I thought, after all…it didn't take me very long to come back here after being out all day, now did it?" He sighed and stretched upward. "Well, another hour to go till the hotel's scheduled dinnertime starts…maybe I should go get a shower and watch some TV before time to eat…"

Adjusting his hat on his head, he took a few paces forward—but suddenly a dark voice behind him spoke up. "Stop right there, Buck Morgan."

"Huh?" Spinning around, Buck beheld a shadow behind a tree. "Hey, now, who's that? You one of the competitors…or…" His tone became apprehensive. "Maybe you're one of my rabid fans or something?"

"Don't flatter yourself, mate—not everybody likes you." The speaker then emerged from behind the tree and revealed himself—Malachi Jordan. "I thought I'd drop back by the hotel for a small break before going back out and hitting the dueling field again…but I never thought I'd actually run into you this soon."

"Oh? Ah, yeah, you're Malachi Jordan, right?" Buck chuckled. "Pleasure to finally meet you out here on the dueling field, man!"

"Save it." Malachi's eyes shone with sinister intent. "You beat two of my mates earlier on in this tourney—David and Luke Jericho. Now, Luke, I don't mind so much about…but you broke David's dueling spirit bad. And I do not like that."

Buck looked at Malachi quizzically. "Hey, partner, this tournament's not going to be friendly to anybody—not even me or you. If you're a weaker duelist than your opponent, you're bound to get stomped. That's just how it is. And it's not like anybody cares whether I beat a lower-level duelist, anyway."

"I do. Because this particular one is someone I've had by my side a long time…but now, thanks to you, he's gone off to who knows where. Because he feels like the weakest of our bunch, because of you." Malachi's brow was tightly knitted with his growing rage. "And I intend to make you pay for that."

"Sheesh…" Buck ran a hand over his face. "You've got a weird reason to look for revenge, haven't you? Look, your buddy, David—he and I dueled, I won, he lost, I advanced, he got kicked out. It's all according to the rules, man. Now, I'm sorry he cut ties with you and all that, but if he's so afraid of losing every now and again, he shouldn't have been here to begin with. And YOU ought to understand what I'm saying—aren't you always striving for victory, no matter what?"

Malachi's hair overshadowed his eyes. "That's true. No denying that. But it's also true that I have a code of honor that says NOBODY messes with my mates, for whatever reason. And anybody who does, has to answer to me." Then he looked up again. "Well, you can consider yourself lucky—I'm not going to challenge you now. Now that I have 5000 tournament points," and he held up his Duel-Disk, showing off his points for Buck to see, "I just need to find and wipe out Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, or Janus Yuki from this tournament and claim their points, and _then_ I'll have a clear shot at dueling you. Just like Drake Phoenix and I agreed."

"Drake and you agreed…? Geez, what is my brother UP to now, dammit?"

Buck and Malachi turned as one and beheld two girls approaching them, bearing shopping bags. "Honey Pegasus…" Malachi identified one of them.

"Jessica!" Buck called to the other, who looked very clearly miffed.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Don't you just _hate_ it when you're watching a show, and just when it's getting to the good part, you see the three deadly words pop up on the screen, "To Be Continued"? Well…here's one for you! Nyaa! Jessica and Honey have encountered Malachi and Buck on the outskirts of the Kaiba Land hotel, just outside of the "safe zone!" How time is flying in the Phoenix Herald Crown!

Review soon, please, folks!


	62. Jessica's Mettle

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Still not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh.)

**CHAPTER 62 – Jessica's Mettle**

KAIBA LAND, 6:03 p.m.

Jessica eyed Malachi keenly. "You mind explaining a little more what kind of agreement you and my brother brokered, Malachi?" she asked.

"You explain first—where'd you come from?" Malachi demanded.

"We're just coming from the Dark Lord Castle," Honey spoke up. "We got a little sidetracked along the way, what with Jessica here keeping an eye out for duelists as we walked, but we've made good time in making it back, I think. But what's this about you making a deal with Drake Phoenix, Malachi?" She turned to Jessica. "Are you even allowed to do that in the tournament rules?"

Jessica shook her head. "There's nothing in Drake's stated rules that speak _against_ it," she admitted, "but it certainly is unusual—not to mention suspicious. Now, back to you…" She narrowed her eyes at Malachi.

"Hn. I don't have to explain anything to you," Malachi said disdainfully.

Buck adjusted his hat slightly. "No worries, ladies, I'll tell you what I'm garnering from what he's said to me just now," he said. "Malachi here's mad at me 'cause one of his buddies—who I beat in a duel earlier—broke off from his little group and went on his merry way. So, Malachi went and had a little chat with Drake—and evidently, the deal they made is that Malachi has to go knock one of the world's top three duelists out of this competition and then he can get a shot at me." He looked at Malachi. "I assume I've got it right?"

Honey blinked as this new information sank in. "But—that's not fair! Drake can't just allow that!" she cried.

"Unfortunately, Honey Pegasus, it's just as the Phoenix girl here just said—there aren't any rules in this tournament forbidding that kind of deal-making with the host," Malachi pointed out. "I'm just doing what I have to do. If a duelist or two get knocked out in the process, then it'll mean less competition to stand in my way at the end of it all."

Honey ran a hand over her face. "Malachi, honestly, sometimes you're so difficult to figure out…"

Jessica scoffed. "Enough of this crap. Drake's done plenty to aggravate me before, but this stops now." She stepped forward. "I'm an appointed eliminator in this tournament. If I knock one of you guys out of this contest now, this stupid-ness will end. So, which one of you wants to be first?" She held up her Duel-Disk.

"Huh." Buck sucked on his lower lip. "Hey, partner, I'll tell you right now," he said to Malachi, "it isn't a good idea to duel this little lady here."

"Don't try to worm your way out of this, Buck." Jessica's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'll tell you what the tournament rules DO say: If you are challenged, you _have_ to accept the challenge. The question is, which one of you will be first? Or maybe you'd like to make it easier on yourselves and take me on simultaneously? Hurry up and decide."

"Pfft." Malachi shook his head. "I never run from a challenge." He stepped forward. "For your own sake, girl, you had better be good enough to have been given an eliminator's post. Or maybe Phoenix decided to let you play with the big kids because you're his sister…?"

"Jest all you like. You'll soon regret it." Jessica's stern expression didn't change.

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle…Drake was back on his couch, watching as Malachi and Jessica prepared to face off while Buck and Honey went off to one side to get out of the duelists' way. On the screen the two competitors' respective dueling information came up. First was Malachi's: _**Malachi Jordan. Age: 18. Nationality: Britain. Professional dueling experience: Won the British Intercontinental Duel Monsters Championship tournament in 2014 and remained champion until this year, 2018, when he was defeated by Yugo Muto for the title. Was a contender in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Gravekeepers.**_

Then was Jessica's: _**Jessica Phoenix, appointed eliminator. Age: 15. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: None prior to this tournament. Deck strategy: Frog theme.**_

"Damn it, Jessica…you're upsetting the apple cart here…" Drake growled. "As long as Malachi Jordan stays in this tournament as my puppet, he'll be the best candidate to erase Janus, Yugo Muto or Seta Kaiba from the roster…but you just had to get yourself involved and wreck my arrangement with him. Well…if he defeats you here, it'll be all good…it'll just mean he'll have all of your tournament points, in which case it won't be a loss for him or for me."

He reclined into the couch. "Who'll win, sister? You, with your self-righteous self? Or Jordan, with his drive for vengeance?"

----------

**MALACHI: 8000; JESSICA: 8000**

Both players' life points rose to 8000, and they drew their first five cards. "I'll go first," Malachi announced, drawing his sixth card. "And I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (ATK 1500, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought out a robed Gravekeeper, this one armed with a large spear. "Then, one card facedown…and it's your turn."

Undaunted, Jessica drew her card. "A strong opening…as could be expected of you, Malachi," she remarked. "But I have an answer to that play of yours. I'll set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, one card facedown, and…that's it from—"

"Let me stop you right there," Malachi interrupted her. "It appears you're a defensive player, but right now, no defense will be able to stand up to me. As proof—I activate my facedown Trap card, Dust Tornado, to destroy your facedown card in your Magic/Trap zone!"

A massive dusty tornado suddenly sprung up on Jessica's side of the field, blowing her facedown card away. "Then, according to Dust Tornado's effect, I can set one Magic or Trap card from my hand," and Malachi did just that.

Jessica had shielded herself from the effect of Dust Tornado as it wreaked havoc in her Magic/Trap zone; now, as the wind and dust settled down, she looked up. "Clever…you took advantage of the End Phase of my turn, just when I was declaring my turn over, to activate that card," she commented. "Then, when you start your turn now, you can activate that card you just set without having to wait any length of time to do so. All right…I end my turn."

"Indeed." Malachi nodded. "I guess you do have some brains after all, and you weren't just added to the roster because of your brother's clout. But let's see if you have any _skill_ to back up his decision to include you. Now…my turn." And he drew. "All right—I activate the Trap card I just set, my Coffin Seller! Now, each time your monsters are sent to the Graveyard, 300 points of damage will be inflicted on you. And now…Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, attack!"

Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, hefting his spear into readiness, charged forward into battle, and a moment later the tip of his weapon struck home—but suddenly a gigantic backlash knocked him right back over to Malachi's side of the field, while Malachi himself lost 500 life points! "Ungh! What the hell?" he demanded.

**MALACHI: 7500; JESSICA: 8000**

Jessica smiled, while her monster's identity was revealed: a purplish-blue frog wearing a black scholar's cap on its head and a red question mark stamped out on its forehead, crouched as if preparing to leap. "Meet my Dupe Frog (ATK 100, DEF 2000)," she announced. "His DEF was high enough to ward off your Gravekeeper's attack."

Off to the side, Honey grimaced at the sight of Dupe Frog. "Ugh…froggy…ew…"

But Malachi was disdainful. "A frog? My monster's attack was stopped by a FROG?"

"Hey, man, I told you it wasn't a good idea to duel Jessica," Buck spoke up. "Her frogs might look harmless, but they pack some serious amphibian fighting power!"

"Whatever," Malachi grunted. "I'll soon put this annoyance out of my misery. For now, I'm ending my turn."

"Then I'm up again!" Jessica drew another card. "And I'll summon another Dupe Frog, this time in Attack Mode!" And sure enough, split seconds later a second scholarly frog appeared next to the first one.

"All right, now I wonder how daft you are," Malachi said sourly. "Having frogs as a theme is ridiculous enough, but summoning such a weak one in Attack Mode…?" His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Unless…perhaps these frogs have an effect that you haven't yet mentioned?"

Jessica nodded. "Right you are…my Dupe Frogs do have effects," she said. "More than one effect each, actually. But the one you should concern yourself with right now is this one: when Dupe Frog is face-up on the field, you cannot select another monster as an attack target…and since I have _two_ Dupe Frogs in play…"

"…that means he can't attack you at all!" Honey finished. "I have to admit, even if you're using a bunch of frogs to do it, that's certainly a strategy!"

"Thanks…coming from you, I appreciate it," Jessica smiled at her.

Malachi, however, wasn't impressed. "How ridiculous…even if I can't attack now, it'll only be a matter of time until I smash through your frog defenses. I can afford to wait."

"I'm sure you can," said Jessica. "To be safe, I'll set another card facedown, and end my turn."

His expression stony, Malachi took his turn and drew again. "I'll set a card facedown…and that is all."

Again Jessica drew. "I summon Poison Draw Frog (ATK 100, DEF 100) in Attack Mode!" Then there appeared on her side of the field a brown frog with what appeared to be an orange zigzag pattern on its forehead. "And…that's all for now."

"My draw, then." Malachi drew, so he now held five cards in hand. "And I activate my Trap card, Pyramid of Light!"

As Malachi's card flipped face-up, a beam of light shot upward...then the beam split into four separate beams that fired back down at the ground, making the outline of a pyramid as a result. "Huh…" Honey looked at the Pyramid of Light knowingly. "There's only one reason you'd have this card active…"

"Indeed," Malachi addressed her. "And now, by the power of the Pyramid of Light, I pay 500 life points…"

**MALACHI: 7000; JESSICA: 8000**

"…in order to Special Summon one of my fiercest beasts from my hand—Sphinx Teleia (ATK 2500, DEF 3000) in Attack Mode!"

A blast of blue light burst from the Pyramid of Light—then seconds later Sphinx Teleia appeared on the field, roaring as it made its entry. "Not that it makes any difference right now since I can't attack you anyway, due to your two Dupe Frogs' effects being cumulative, but Sphinx Teleia cannot attack in the same turn it was Normal or Special Summoned," Malachi told Jessica. "And now, I will use my Normal Summon, and bring forth Gravekeeper's Assailant (ATK 1500, DEF 1500)!" Then, moments later, the Assailant emerged on the field, her dagger in hand even as she narrowed her eyes behind her veil. "And now, I end my turn."

Buck looked from one to the other of the two duelists. "Say, little lady…which one of them do you think is going to win?" he asked Honey.

"Hard to say for sure, actually," Honey admitted. "Since I lost to Jessica earlier today, I can say with certainty that she's talented. But if it wasn't for her little locking technique with those two Dupe Frogs of hers, Malachi would've already squashed her. He's not the kind to be merciful to opponents, no matter what their skill level is." She looked at Buck. "What do you think?"

"Honestly?" said Buck. "Malachi here looks pretty strong, all right…but…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Next to Drake Phoenix, Jessica's got to be the strongest duelist I've ever seen up close. Her frogs might look harmless and even a little cuddly, but they pack a wallop in her hands."

"Cuddly?" Honey suffered him a stinging look.

"Ehhh…I take it you're really not a frog enthusiast, huh?" Buck chuckled. "Where I come from, they're a regular sight, so I guess I'm more used to them than you are…"

"To tell you the truth, the more I look at Jessica's frog monsters, the more used to them I'm getting," Honey admitted. "But frogs are still so…so…gross!"

Jessica heard the remark. "Aw, Honey, please don't say such things…you'll hurt their feelings," she pleaded, and both of her Dupe Frogs and her Poison Draw Frog all turned to look at Honey with seemingly sad expressions.

But Malachi would have none of it. "Turn your attention back to me!" he snarled through clenched teeth. "Your opponent is over HERE!"

"Hmph! Right to the point, aren't you?" Jessica asked disdainfully. "Well, all right, fine. You want my attention? You'll have all of it, and then some. My draw!"

She promptly drew her next card, so now she held four in hand. "I summon Substitoad (ATK 100, DEF 2000) in Attack Mode!" She then brought out her dual-colored frog-toad monster. "And I'll use its effect: by tributing one monster, I can Special Summon a 'Frog' monster to the field from my deck, as long as that monster isn't named Frog the Jam (ATK 700, DEF 500)…and so, first I'll tribute my Poison Draw Frog…" Then Substitoad promptly turned and lashed its tongue out at Poison Draw Frog, and the other amphibian vanished from the field.

"That triggers the effect of my Coffin Seller!" Malach interrupted. "Since your monster was sent to the Graveyard, you get 300 points of damage!" Then, a ghoulish ectoplasm hand burst out of the ground and grasped at Jessica, causing her to flinch.

**MALACHI: 7000; JESSICA: 7700**

"…moving right along, I'll finish the rest of Substitoad's effect," Jessica continued. "Now that I've tributed a monster, I Special Summon a 'Frog' monster that meets the requirement…and the one I pick is Des Frog (ATK 1900, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" Hurriedly she reached for her deck and pulled out a card, and seconds later she called forth her green-skinned frog. "And while I'm at it, I need to resolve Poison Draw Frog's effect…when it's sent from the field to the Graveyard, as long as it wasn't attacked while it was facedown and then destroyed in battle, I can draw a card from my deck." And this she did, so she held four once again.

Malachi eyed her. "Got anything worthwhile now, or will you continue stalling and wasting time?"

"Actually…the time for stalling is over. I've got quite a few things here now that will mark the end of this duel—and of your playing puppet to my brother's puppet-master," Jessica answered coolly.

"…what?" Malachi's eyes narrowed.

Jessica pointed toward her two Dupe Frogs. "I should point out another little fact about my Dupe Frogs," she went on. "When a Dupe Frog is on the field, its name is treated as 'Des Frog.' So, technically, that means I have three Des Frog monsters on my side of the field at the moment…which will allow me to use this Magic card…" Now she picked out a card from her hand. "Des Croaking! This card could only be activated once I had three Des Frogs face-up on my side of the field…and now that that requirement is fulfilled by my Des Frog and my two Dupe Frogs, I'll be able to…destroy every single card that you control on the field!"

Malachi's eyes widened in astonishment. "WHAT!"

"Go, my frogs! Use your Frog Annihilation!" Jessica ordered. In response, Des Frog and the two Due Frogs began a loud chorus of croaking…and the sound waves tore through all five of the cards on Malachi's side of the field, leaving his side totally empty.

"Whoa…who'd have thought frogs croaking could be so…devastating…" Honey blinked.

"Grr…" Malachi glared at Jessica. "Well, congratulations—you managed to wipe out everything on my field. But how's that going to help you? You've only got one monster that could do me any substantial damage with an attack; and the others are nothing but weaklings."

"You're quite slow, aren't you?" Jessica needled him. "I've still got Substitoad here, and I can activate his effect again! So, I'll tribute one of my Dupe Frogs…" Here Substitoad flicked its tongue at one Dupe Frog, and that frog disappeared immediately. "…and Special Summon a second Des Frog proper from my deck, in Attack Mode!" And a second green frog appeared next to the first Des Frog. "Oh, and another effect of Dupe Frog's—when it's sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one 'Frog' monster from my deck or Graveyard to my hand, as long as the frog in question isn't Frog the Jam or Dupe Frog…but this time I choose not to activate that effect. Now, I'll activate Substitoad's effect one more time, and tribute my remaining Dupe Frog…" The second Dupe Frog vanished after being flicked by Substitoad's tongue. "…to Special Summon my third Des Frog from my deck, again in Attack Mode!" And a third green frog appeared on the field. "And again, I choose not to activate my second Dupe Frog's effect now that it's in the Graveyard."

Malachi frowned. "All right, I'll amend my position…your three green frogs here might be able to do a degree of damage to me…but it won't be enough to wipe me out completely."

Jessica fingered her chin. "I wonder about that…seeing as I still have one more card to play."

"Huh?" Malachi stared at her.

Then Jessica picked out one of her three remaining hand-cards. "The Field Magic card, Wetlands…I activate it now!" A moment later, as she played the card, the entire field became nothing more than marshland with tall grass. "As long as Wetlands remains active, all Water-attribute, Aqua-type, Level 2 or lower monsters gain 1200 ATK…and my Substitoad happens to be a Water-attribute, Aqua-type, Level 1 monster!" And then—Substitoad's ATK rose sharply to 1300.

"Damn…enough to defeat me…!" Malachi gritted his teeth.

"Frogs, attack directly! Take him down!" Jessica commanded. In response, Substitoad and the three Des Frogs lashed their tongues out at Malachi, slapping him hard and simultaneously; flinching, he ended up getting knocked back while his life points flew down fast to 0.

**MALACHI: 0; JESSICA: 7700**

Buck sighed as he watched the duel's conclusion. "I tried to tell you, partner, but you didn't listen," he remarked to Malachi. "It really wasn't a good idea to duel Jessica."

"I do not need _your_ input, Morgan," Malachi said coldly, even as he cast a glance at his tournament points on his Duel-Disk—now down at 0, as his life points had been seconds earlier.

Jessica, meanwhile, looked at her own tournament points as they rose to 7000. "Sorry, Malachi, but your being Drake's lackey ends here," she said softly. "But not to worry—I won't let you lose your chance to duel Buck. That's what you wanted, right?"

"Eh? Come again?" Buck looked at Jessica with growing alarm.

"What exactly do you mean?" Malachi looked at her suspiciously.

"It's very simple." Jessica looked squarely at him. "You and Drake made a deal that you had to eliminate one of the world's top three ranked duelists before you could get a shot at Buck, right? In that case, since I've just beaten you, all I have to do is beat Buck now, and then the two of you can batter-bruise each other all you want—outside of the tournament, and by extension outside of Drake's manipulating fingers." Then she looked at Buck. "So? How about it?"

Buck made a slight face. "Just one little problem with your plan, missy—you actually have to BEAT me. And I do have my pride as a member of the pro league elite. I'm not about to lose my standing in this tournament just to let this guy," and here he flashed a look at Malachi, "fulfill some misguided obligation for revenge just because he can't handle that his buddy wasn't strong enough to endure the competition."

What happened next caught them all off-guard: Malachi strode up to Buck with swift strides and practically flung a fist into his face. Buck's hat flew off his head from the force of the assault, and he himself spun around and flew face-first to the ground. "Ack!" Honey yelped in fright, jumping backwards involuntarily.

Jessica stared from Buck to Malachi and back again. "Was that…was that really necessary?" she asked, once she found her voice again.

Malachi barely paid her any mind, though, instead keeping his gaze burning into Buck's back. "Go ahead, mate. Make a comment like that again. I dare you." He held up his fist menacingly.

Raising himself up on his hands, Buck winced and spat blood from his mouth. Turning, he looked up at the volatile Malachi, then wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of one hand as he slowly stood up. "No wonder they call you 'psycho'…you're really something else," he chuckled. "You're so one-track-minded, yet you fail to see any side of the big picture except that part that'll suit your own tastes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Malachi demanded, holding up his fist.

Buck calmly reached toward the ground and picked up his hat, dusted it off, and replaced it on his head. "You're mad at me because I defeated your pal David Jericho, right?" he asked. "But what if it'd been somebody else who'd beaten him—would you go hunting them down for revenge, too? Or how about this: what if it'd been YOU that defeated him and crushed his ego…what then?"

Malachi scowled. "I've beaten David plenty of times in practice duels. That's different."

"Different how?" Buck countered. "You honestly don't think he's never thought of himself as a hanger-on, or a groupie, always trailing behind you while you wallow in your success, however notorious it might be? Even the best duelists measure themselves according to the skill of others; there's no difference."

"And how would you know that's what was on David's mind? Are you a mind-reader?" Malachi snapped, thrusting his face right up into Buck's.

"Are YOU?" Buck snapped back, returning Malachi's glare evenly.

Honey looked from one to the other nervously. "Uh, guys…"

Jessica coolly stepped in between the two and shoved them apart. "If you two big strong men are done swapping testosterone now, can I just say my own two cents' worth on this little squabble?" she spoke up. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both right _and _wrong. You, Buck—out on the dueling field, duelists rely primarily on their own skills to see themselves through; but at the same time, without some support from others even once in a while, their victories will just be hollow facades. Without people to share those victories with, they're worth nothing. And you, Malachi—defending your friend's honor is important, but so is understanding the need to better oneself. Do you really think your friend would want to stay in your shadow forever? At least this way, separate from your influence now, he'll be able to do something he hasn't done in this tournament—he can win for himself for once."

Malachi looked at her for a long moment, the scowl still on his face—then abruptly he turned his back on the lot of them. "Pfft. Whatever." He held up his fist. "Screw dueling you, Morgan. I've already got my revenge for David." And having said that, he headed in the direction of the hotel.

Buck shook his head as he watched Malachi leave. "Weirdo…" He then turned to Jessica. "To be honest with you, Jessica, I'm not sure I can agree with what you said. I mean, how can having the support of others be of any help when you're the one fighting the fight on the battlefield—when it was your own effort that saw you through, while they didn't lift a finger to help?"

"Well, I didn't say what I said to try and change your philosophy, Buck; but I consider it true nonetheless." Jessica sighed and closed her eyes. "And I spoke from personal experience, too, so I'd like to think it has some merit."

Honey cocked an eyebrow at Jessica when she heard that. _Personal experience…?_

"Anyway…" Jessica opened her eyes and looked back at Buck. "There's still our duel to do. Up to it, Buck—or does your jaw hurt?"

"Oh, you mean from that guy's punch?" Buck shook his head. "Aches a little, but I'll manage. It's like you said…when a duelist is challenged in this tournament, the challenge HAS to be accepted. Besides, who am I to pass up the chance to take an eliminator's points this soon after they were just gotten?"

"Then it's a challenge." Jessica looked over at Honey. "Sorry, but I hope you don't mind waiting on me a little while longer. And, as a matter of fact, you sure you wanna stick around for this duel? I use frogs, and Buck uses snakes. Are you scared of snakes?"

"Uh…not really…but then again, I don't think I've ever had to deal with snakes up close before," Honey shrugged. "I guess I'll be able to figure out where snakes stand with me after I see this duel. Anyway, I'd like to see how skilled Buck is—for Malachi to want him that badly, he must be pretty good. Usually Malachi doesn't bother with weak duelists unless he thinks they've got potential."

"Little lady, I'm a pro league duelist—of course I'm worth seeing in action," Buck chuckled. "And as for you, Lady Jessica, I know I said you're strong, but don't think I'm going to give up to you without a fight. Snakes DO eat frogs, you know."

Jessica shook her head. "I think, Buck, that your snakes will find my frogs very unpalatable. Let's get ready, then."

----------

"Jessica, you meddling…" Drake fumed while, on the screen, Jessica and Buck's respective dueling information came up. First, Buck's: _**Buck Morgan. Age: 19. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2016; fourth place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2017. Deck strategy: Snake theme.**_

Then, Jessica's: _**Jessica Phoenix, appointed eliminator. Age: 15. Nationality: North America. Professional dueling experience: None prior to this tournament. Deck strategy: Frog theme.**_

Drake kneaded his fingers into the arm of the couch as his sister's face was plastered on the screen along with her biography. "All right…fine…so you've deprived me of an easy way of eliminating my three enemies quickly from the tournament…" His hair overshadowed one eye. "But still…all's not lost…I do still have an ace in the hole…" And suddenly he grinned. "All I need is to…convince…that ace in the hole…and then everything will be set. Let's see how you react to THAT at that time, _dear_ sister."

----------

**BUCK: 8000; JESSICA: 8000**

Buck and Jessica swiftly shuffled their decks and slotted the cards into their respective Duel-Disks' deck slots, while their life point counters each rose to 8000. "Ladies first," Buck offered.

"Thanks," and Jessica drew her first five cards, then a sixth to start. "I'll just set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, and that's it. Make your move."

Honey, watching again from the sidelines, looked curiously at Jessica's facedown card. _I wonder which frog that monster is this time…_

"My turn!" Buck drew his card. "But I'll have to disappoint you—seeing as you're an eliminator and all, I'm not gonna just play cards recklessly, so…I'll also set a monster facedown, and also I'll set one other card facedown. Your go."

Jessica promptly took her turn, drawing and giving herself a total of six in hand again. "Another monster in facedown Defense Mode for me…and that's it for my turn."

"Then it's my turn again!" Buck drew again. "Hmm…I'm setting another card facedown. That's all. Your move."

_He's really playing cautiously…but with everything that's at stake, how can he not?_ Jessica thought to herself as she drew her next card. "I set another monster in Defense Mode…that ends my turn."

And again Buck took his turn and drew his card. _Against THIS girl I can't afford to slip up, but…the way this duel's going now, any fans that are watching will get bored real quickly. So…_ "I activate the Trap card, Damage = Reptile! Now, from here on out, when I take damage from a battle that involved a Reptile-type monster, I can Special Summon one Reptile-type monster from my deck, as long as its ATK is equal to or less than the battle damage I took."

_He's made his move now…_ Honey eyed Buck intently, then turned her gaze to Jessica. _What'll she do about this?_

"Continuing," and here Buck picked a card from his hand, "I activate the Field Magic card, Venom Swamp!" Then, as he played the card, all around them transformed into his trademark swamp, complete with various creepy-crawlies slithering here and there.

"Huh?" Honey suddenly found herself standing knee-deep in swamp gunk, from where she stood. "Oh, gross! Ew! What IS this?"

"It's his Field Magic card at work," Jessica spoke up. "As long as Venom Swamp is in play, during each player's End Phase, one Venom Counter will be placed on each face-up monster, except those that have 'Venom' in their names; additionally, each affected monster loses 500 ATK per Venom Counter, and any monster whose ATK drops to 0 by this effect will be destroyed."

"Got that right." Buck tipped his hat. "And knowing that a lot of _your_ monsters have pretty low ATK, Miss Jessica, Venom Swamp's the perfect card to fight you with."

"I'm sure it is," said Jessica. "What else have you got?"

"For now, nothing. I'm thinking of staying safe, for the time being anyway." Buck nodded. "Your turn now."

Again Jessica drew. "Since you've revealed a move, I suppose I should as well," she said. "In that case, I'll activate the Field Magic card, Wetlands! Now, your Venom Swamp will disappear, and all Aqua-type, Water-attribute, Level 2 or lower monsters will gain 1200 ATK!"

The polluted Venom Swamp began to clear up under the influence of Wetlands—but then all at once Buck countered, "And I respond to that with my Trap card, Snake Deity's Command! I activate its power by showing you one 'Venom' monster in my hand…" Here he held up one of his hand-cards for Jessica to see, Venom Boa (ATK 1600, DEF 1200). "…and this then permits me to negate the activation and effect of your Magic card, and destroy it!"

Grimacing, Jessica swiftly shuttled her Wetlands card off to the Graveyard, while Venom Swamp regained its hold over the field. "I'll set another monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

_There you go, Jessica Phoenix…_ Buck's eyes narrowed. _If any of your monsters are flipped face-up, even if they avoid being destroyed in battle, Venom Swamp's power will do them in! I told you, snakes WILL eat frogs…and my snakes will devour your frogs whole, no matter what you do!_

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Jessica has defeated Malachi! Oh, horrors! Won't someone THINK OF THE CHILDREN? (pause) Eh, blah. Now Jessica's going up against Buck, in a game of snakes vs. frogs. Which side will win?


	63. Snakes vs Frogs

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Like a phoenix from the ashes, Neomage rises...and he still doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, though he wishes he does.)

**CHAPTER 63 – Snakes vs. Frogs**

KAIBA LAND

**BUCK: 8000; JESSICA: 8000**

Buck and Jessica's duel continued, with both of them having 8000 life points apiece, and each holding four cards in hand, including the recently-revealed Venom Boa in Buck's hand. However, on the field, Jessica had four monsters, all facedown in Defense Mode; on the other side, Buck had only one monster facedown in Defense Mode, but he also had his Venom Swamp field magic card active, and his Damage = Reptile trap card was still present, as well. And at this point, Buck was about to take his turn.

"My turn! Draw!" Buck swiftly drew another card and added it to his hand. "And...I'll set another monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn." He eyed her. "So, now what, Miss Jessica? How do you feel? It must feel real stifling, to not be able to make a move, huh? So long as my Venom Swamp's in play, you can't put any of your monsters face-up, lest they be destroyed by Venom Swamp's power. And even if you do summon something strong enough to withstand Venom Swamp for long enough, there's still the matter of my two facedown monsters here..."

Jessica nodded. "You definitely have an advantage over me right now, Buck," she admitted. "All the same, don't get too cocky too early. This duel's only just begun, and besides, I _am_ Drake Phoenix's sister, in case you forgot. Now...my draw."

Drawing another card so that she now had five in her hand, she studied what she had in hand and on the field. "Time to put a dent in your planned strategy, Buck," she declared. "I summon Unifrog (ATK 400, DEF 400) in Attack Mode!" Then, split seconds later, she called her horned frog to the field. "And next, I'll Flip Summon one of my facedown monsters...Flip Flop Frog (ATK 500, DEF 200)!" Then, as one of her facedown monster cards got flipped face-up, underneath it was revealed a green-skinned amphibian with yellow spots on its body.

_"Another_ frog..." Honey, still watching from the sidelines, sighed.

Buck, however, was frowning at Jessica's most recent combo. "Those two frogs..." He gritted his teeth as a sudden realization sank in. "Dang it...!"

"Mmm-hmm, it seems you've realized it," Jessica cut in. "With the number of Frog monsters I've got, and the number of monsters I've had facedown in this duel up to now, how could you predict which was which, hmm? And the fact that I've got these two here now makes it even worse..." Her eyes twinkled. "When Flip Flop Frog is flipped face-up, its effect lets me return monsters you control to your hand, up to the number of 'Frog' monsters I control, except for Frog the Jam (ATK 700, DEF 500)...and by my count, I have two frogs that fit the requirements under my control - Unifrog and Flip Flop Frog itself - and YOU have two monsters on your side of the field! So...bye-bye to your monsters!"

Flip Flop Frog lashed its tongue out at Buck's two facedown monsters in a flash; the two cards flipped out of place, without revealing their faces, and vanished; chagrined, Buck took the two cards back into his hand. "Well, fine, so now you've got a shot at my life points," he remarked. "But even so, your monsters aren't going to take out a lot of my life points, and Venom Swamp will do 'em in at the end of this turn. Did you forget that?"

Jessica shook her head. "No, Buck, I haven't forgotten about that," she answered, even as she began to pull out one of her hand-cards. "Which is why the next card I'm going to play is always a handy one to have, especially in a deck like mine. The Magic card - Terraforming!"

"What the...!" Buck's eyes bulged in shock.

"Familiar with this one, aren't you?" Jessica asked. "It lets me add one Field Magic card from my deck to my hand...and the one I intend to go for is a second copy of Wetlands." She cocked an eyebrow and gave him an impish grin while she searched her deck, found the named card, and added it to her hand. "What - did you think I'd be so foolish as to not walk around with more than one copy of my signature card? Well, pay the price for your arrogance! I activate Wetlands!"

At once the dank, foul Venom Swamp was replaced with the cool, damp grasslands of the second Wetlands card. "As you know, all Aqua-type, Water-attribute, Level 2 or lower monsters gain 1200 ATK points from Wetlands," Jessica reminded Buck, "and because both of my frogs fit the bill, their ATK will be increased accordingly." And to prove her point, Unifrog's ATK shot up to 1600, while Flip Flop Frog's ATK went up to 1700. "But they won't be the only ones benefiting from this...I'll Flip Summon one more of my facedown monsters - Frog the Jam, in Attack Mode!"

One of Jessica's three remaining facedown monsters was now revealed: a green gelatin-like amphibian. As it emerged into plain view, its ATK of 700 sharply rose to 1900! "Frog the Jam is a Level 2, Water-attribute, Aqua-type monster, so he fits the requirements for my Wetlands to affect him," Jessica pointed out. "Y'know, just because Frog the Jam is excluded from partaking in the effects of most of my other Frog monsters, that doesn't make him useless...in fact, when Wetlands is in play, his real power comes out! Now...my three monsters, attack directly!"

Unifrog was up first, bounding forward and piercing Buck with its unicorn horn.

**BUCK: 6400; JESSICA: 8000**

"When Unifrog attacks directly, if I control a 'Frog' monster aside from Frog the Jam or Unifrog itself, I can destroy one Magic or Trap card you control," Jessica informed Buck. "And you only have one: your Damage = Reptile trap card!" And right then, Unifrog turned and bounded horn-first at Buck's card, skewering it completely.

Then Flip Flop Frog attacked, flipping Buck right off his feet with its tongue…

**BUCK: 4700; JESSICA: 8000**

…which was immediately followed up by Frog the Jam beginning one noisy croaking - and the sound waves knocked Buck further backwards.

**BUCK: 2800; JESSICA: 8000**

"And now," Jessica finished, "I'll set a card facedown, just for safety, and hand over to you." She smiled a little.

Picking himself up from the ground, Buck dusted himself off with as much dignity as he could summon. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Lady Jessica...you know how to play your cards right," he said. "I'm assuming you saw through my strategy?"

"Knowing you, how could I not?" Jessica returned.

"Um...could you clarify for the bystander, please...?" Honey had a question mark over her head.

"Heh." Jessica's smile got a little bigger. "Well, without spoiling Buck's strategy, I'll just say I've put his ability to call on his more powerful monsters on the back-burner for the time being." To herself she added, _His Damage = Reptile card...he had it there so that he'd be able to summon his Reptile-type monsters using its effect in case he got damage from a battle involving a Reptile-type monster. And there's only one monster he'd need to summon with that effect...Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes _(ATK 0, DEF 0)._ As well, assuming he might've already had Vennominon in his hand, those two monsters he had on the field would've been tribute fodder to summon it. However...the only way to do damage to him without taking the risk of Damage = Reptile's effect activating, aside from effect damage, is if his side of the field's completely empty...and, of course, having that Trap card AND his Venom Swamp off the field and out of the way helped, too. But now...how will he respond?_

Meanwhile, as Buck readied himself to draw his next card, his thoughts were focused on the duel's recently-altered stats. _I can't deny it, I really wasn't expecting her to have that Terraforming card in her deck - although, with the way her strategy relies on her Wetlands card, I probably shouldn't have been surprised she'd have more than one copy of it to call on. As it is..._ He examined the cards in his hand. _Venom Boa...the two monsters that just got returned to my hand...and these two other cards...hmm...maybe if I play these cards right..._

"My turn. Draw!" He swiftly drew his card; now he held six in his hand. "All right...I summon Venom Serpent (ATK 1000, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" A moment later his two-headed green serpent emerged in view. "Just for the record, this was one of the monsters I had facedown earlier, which you returned to my hand via your Flip Flop Frog's effect, Jessica. But I won't use Venom Serpent's effect now, seeing as I don't have Venom Swamp on the field to work in coordination with it...so, instead, I'll just set two cards facedown, and call it a turn."

Jessica wasted no time drawing her card; however, her face was a study in seriousness. _Buck's Magic and Trap cards are just as worrisome as his Venom monsters...fortunately, I have my Frog monsters' effects to deal with this situation!_ She cast a glance at Flip Flop Frog. _Once per turn, Flip Flop Frog can be flipped facedown into Defense Mode...so after that, all I have to do is flip it back face-up by Flip Summoning it, return his Venom Serpent to his hand...and then his life points will be wide open to strike at!_

Aloud she announced, "I'll activate Flip Flop Frog's effect - once per turn, he can be flipped into facedown Defense Mode!" In response, Flip Flop Frog leaped up and then seemed to dive into its card, while the card flipped facedown, showing its reverse-face to everyone.

"Ha!" Buck suddenly shouted. "You fell into my trap, Jessica, because now I get to activate my Trap card: Offering to the Snake Deity! Now I can destroy one Reptile-type monster I control and two cards you control - and I choose your Unifrog and the Flip Flop Frog that you just flipped facedown!"

To Jessica's consternation, fire shot up from under Venom Serpent, Unifrog, and her now-facedown Flip Flop Frog, and consumed the three of them - but Buck wasn't done. "Next, I activate my other Trap card, Snake Whistle! It could only be activated when a Reptile-type monster controlled by me was destroyed...but now I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Reptile-type monster from my deck! And I choose..." He thumbed through his deck. "Venom Cobra (ATK 100, DEF 2000) in Defense Mode!"

A loud whistling noise could be heard coming from Buck's Snake Whistle card - then seconds later Venom Cobra slithered into a protective coil onto the field, hissing spitefully at Jessica's Frog the Jam as it made its entrance. "Damn…" Jessica whispered under her breath. "All right. I end my turn."

Buck took his turn and drew again; now he held four cards in his hand. _Still…all I've done for now is to postpone her attacks…if she gets anything strong enough to defeat Venom Cobra, I'm done for… _He examined his hand-cards. "I'll set another monster facedown in Defense Mode…one other card facedown…and that'll be all."

_Eh, it's all right,_ Jessica thought to herself as she drew her next card. _All I have to do is keep bolstering my forces, make sure his defenses are kept down…this duel will be in the bag in no time, along with his snakes!_ Aloud she announced, "I'll tribute one of my facedown monsters to summon Des Frog (ATK 1900, DEF 0) in Attack Mode!" Then, as one of her facedown monsters disappeared from the field, in its place appeared her big green frog. "Now, Frog the Jam! Attack the monster Buck just set!"

Frog the Jam croaked loudly, its sonic vibrations carrying right across the field to Buck's facedown monster card—but suddenly a loud, resistant hissing split the air as hard white scales coiled up in protective mode! "Argh…another Venom Cobra…I should've guessed," Jessica muttered.

**BUCK: 2800; JESSICA: 7900**

"You got it," Buck grinned, while his second Venom Cobra hissed menacingly. "This one happens to be the second of the two monsters I had on the field earlier, before your Flip Flop Frog sent them both back to my hand. But now, my defense line's nicely set up."

"Hmph," Jessica grumbled. "All right…my turn's over."

"And it's my turn again, little lady!" Buck drew with a flourish—then his eyes twinkled when he saw what he now held. "And now it's time to take this duel from you, Lady Jessica! I sacrifice both of my Venom Cobras to summon…Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes!"

All at once numerous green snakes burst from out of the ground and chewed both Venom Cobras to pieces! Then the ground exploded outward—and the numerous snakes proved to make up the arms of Vennominon, even as the creature's main body hissed loudly at Jessica. "And let's not forget, Vennominon gets 500 ATK for every Reptile-type monster in my Graveyard," Buck added—and just like that, Vennominon's ATK rose to 1500. "Of course, the only Reptile-type monsters in my Graveyard right now are the Venom Serpent that I destroyed earlier and the two Venom Cobras that I just tributed…but that'll soon change."

Watching the duel, Honey eyed Buck. _What's he up to?_

Buck held up one of his two remaining cards. "I activate the Magic card, Snake Rain! Now, by discarding one card from my hand…" and here he discarded the Venom Boa card he'd been holding in his hand, causing Vennominon's ATK to increase to 2000 in the process. "…I select four Reptile-type monsters in my deck and send them all to the Graveyard!"

Jessica scowled. "But that means Vennominon will get powered up…!"

"Bright girl!" Buck grinned, drawing his deck out of its slot. "Now, let's see here…two more Venom Serpents, one more Venom Cobra, one more Venom Boa…yep, that ought to do it!" He pulled out the named cards and shuttled them off to the Graveyard—and Vennominon's ATK shot up further to 4000! "Now go, Vennominon! Eat Des Frog!"

Vennominon's numerous arm-snakes slithered forward, intent on devouring Des Frog…but then Jessica snapped, "I activate my Trap card, Froggy Forcefield! This could only be activated when one of my face-up 'Frog' monsters, aside from Frog the Jam, was selected as an attack target—and now, all Attack Position monsters you control will be destroyed! And as far as I can see, you only have one!"

Des Frog unleashed a noisy croaking—and the sonic vibration instantaneously obliterated Vennominon and his mini-snakes. "Whew! Talk about frog-power!" Honey exclaimed as she witnessed this.

But…on Buck's face was a smirk. "And now, I can activate my own Trap card." He pointed to his facedown card, which suddenly flipped face-up. "Rise of the Snake Deity! When Vennominon is destroyed, I can activate this card…and it'll allow me to Special Summon my ultimate monster from either my hand or my deck. So, come on out to play from my deck…Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes (ATK 0, DEF 0)!"

Jessica flinched. "Crap…!"

From Buck's newly-flipped Trap card came a horrendous hissing…then Vennominaga, with her two constrictor-arms, slithered out onto the field, her ATK shooting up to 4500. "Vennominaga gets 500 ATK for every Reptile-type monster in my Graveyard," said Buck. "And right now I've got in there three Venom Serpents, three Venom Cobras, two Venom Boas, and one Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes. That's nine snakes, and nine times 500 equals 4500."

"Thanks…I counted already," Jessica muttered through clenched teeth.

"Then take a gander at this! Vennominaga, take down her Frog the Jam!" Buck cried. In reply, one of Vennominaga's constrictor-arms slithered forward and swallowed Frog the Jam whole in one gulp.

**BUCK: 2800; JESSICA: 5300**

And…from out of nowhere, a golden-scaled snake slithered out from Vennominaga's hair and curled itself into a circular position on her chest. "Uh…what's _that?"_ Honey pointed to the golden snake.

"Oh, that?" said Buck. "That's a Hyper-Venom Counter. See, when Vennominaga does battle damage to my opponent, she gets one Hyper-Venom Counter placed on her. And when she gets a total of three Hyper-Venom Counters, I automatically win the duel."

"Whoa—an automatic win?" Honey looked surprised. "Okay, that's difficult to top…"

"You're more right than you know," Jessica spoke up. "Because Buck's monster there, Vennominaga, has another effect—it can't be targeted by card effects, nor can it be affected in any way by them. In other words, the only way to defeat it is through battle."

"Mighty observant of you, but how's knowing that gonna help you?" Buck countered. "If you can't get a monster whose ATK is on par with or higher than Vennominaga's, you'll be finished soon. And even if you put your monsters in Defense Mode, there's a limit to how many monsters you can have on the field…and to the number of cards in your deck, for that matter."

"No use denying that," Jessica acknowledged. "Still, I won't know unless I try, isn't that right?"

"Probably…try all you want," Buck shrugged. "That's it for my turn now, anyway."

Jessica looked at her hand, then at her deck, and sighed. _Buck's more right than I'm willing to admit out loud…unless I get a very good card on this next draw, I'm screwed. So… _Her hand reached for her deck. _Mommy needs a good one…!_

She drew. Then she looked at the card she'd drawn. _Hmm…okay, so if I play this right, I'll…all right, what else have I got to lose? Let's try it and see!_

"Okay, Buck!" she said aloud. "I'll Flip Summon my remaining facedown monster…" And this she did, revealing a black tadpole with red markings all over its body. "T.A.D.P.O.L.E. (ATK 0, DEF 0)!" Jessica announced, even as the tadpole's ATK rose to 1200. "And since it's a Level 1, Aqua-type, Water-attribute monster, it's affected by the Wetlands, as you can see. But that's not all…" She held up the card she'd just drawn. "I activate the Magic card, Big Wave Small Wave!"

"Huh? Big Wave Small Wave? What's that do?" Buck blinked.

"It's a new card I got to spruce up my deck," Jessica explained. "Its effect destroys all face-up Water monsters on my side of the field…"

Hardly had she finished speaking when, quite suddenly, a huge tidal wave burst out from the Wetlands and drowned both Des Frog and T.A.D.P.O.L.E. "Huh…you'd think they could swim out of that," Buck remarked. "But why'd you destroy your own monsters?"

"Big Wave Small Wave's effect isn't over yet," Jessica spoke up. "Now, I can Special Summon up to the same number of Water monsters from my hand that were destroyed by the first part of the effect. And since two Water monsters were destroyed, I can Special Summon up to two from my hand—so…" She picked out two of the three remaining cards she held. "Come on out, Substitoad (ATK 100, DEF 2000) and Treeborn Frog (ATK 100, DEF 100), both in Defense Mode!"

Moments later, out from the water jumped two new creatures—Jessica's half-frog-half-toad monster, and a brown frog with black spots, two Band-aids set in a cross under its chin, and angel-like wings on its back. Both amphibians crouched down in a defensive posture, while Wetlands increased each one's ATK to 1300. "Next," continued Jessica, "I'll activate Substitoad's effect. By tributing one monster, I can Special Summon one 'Frog' monster from my deck except for Frog the Jam…so I'll tribute Treeborn Frog to Special Summon a second Treeborn Frog from my deck in Defense Mode."

Substitoad flicked its tongue out, hitting Treeborn Frog and causing it to vanish in a shower of sparkles…only for a second Treeborn Frog to take its place moments later. _Now here's where it's going to get tricky,_ Jessica mused to herself. Aloud she announced, "Now I'll activate Substitoad's effect once more, sacrificing Treeborn Frog to Special Summon one Poison Draw Frog (ATK 100, DEF 100) in Defense Mode." Again Substitoad flicked its tongue out, hitting the second Treeborn Frog and making it vanish…and then moments later Poison Draw Frog appeared, even while Wetlands changed its ATK to 1300.

"…I get it now." Buck's face was without humor. "I know what your strategy is now. You're trying to set things up to get _that_ monster of yours into play…aren't you?"

"Or at least, I can try," Jessica shrugged.

Honey had a puzzled look on her face, however. _Buck just said _that_ monster…but what kind of monster could Jessica have that it would need such elaborate card-playing?_ She looked a little uneasy. _Must be another frog of some kind, that much is for sure with her deck strategy…_

"Once again, I activate Substitoad's effect, tributing my Poison Draw Frog…to Special Summon another Poison Draw Frog from my deck." As Jessica made the statement, Substitoad's tongue lashed out, and Poison Draw Frog vanished—to be replaced by another Poison Draw Frog. "And when Poison Draw Frog is sent to the Graveyard from the field while face-up, I can draw one card." And this she did. "Then I'll use Substitoad's effect again and tribute this new Poison Draw Frog…" Again Substitoad's tongue lashed out, and the second Poison Draw Frog vanished, replaced a moment by a third Poison Draw Frog. "And my second Poison Draw Frog's effect has kicked in, so I'll draw another card." And she did, so now she held three cards in hand.

_This certainly looks like it could take a while…_ Honey narrowed her eyes. _But for her to consistently parade those frogs one behind another, whatever she's got planned must be worth it…_

Again Jessica spoke. "I'll use Substitoad's effect one more time and tribute Poison Draw Frog…" At a flick of Substitoad's tongue, Poison Draw Frog vanished. "…to Special Summon my Dupe Frog (ATK 100, DEF 2000) in Defense Mode." Then moments later, the bright purple frog with the graduate cap on its head appeared, while Wetlands increased its ATK to 1300 as it had with the other frogs before it. "And, of course, thanks to the effect of my Poison Draw Frog just now, I can draw one more card." And so she did; now she held four. Then she beheld the cards in her hand—and a smile came over her lips. "Cool…now EVERYTHING'S set."

Buck's brow furrowed. "So you're saying that a bunch of random cards that you've managed to draw from your deck are your saving grace now?"

"You only _wish_ they were random cards, Buck," Jessica returned. "Let me show you just how wrong you are." She held up one of her four cards. "I activate the Magic card, Polymerization! This will let me fuse together three Des Frogs—the two in my hand…" She revealed two more of her hand-cards, showing that they were indeed two more copies of Des Frog. "…and Dupe Frog on the field, whose effect lets me treat his name as 'Des Frog' while he's face-up on the field…so I can summon my ultimate frog!"

"Ultimate…frog…?" Honey shivered.

Buck gritted his teeth. "I knew it…"

Jessica held up her relevant cards, while on the field two silhouetted forms of the two Des Frogs appeared next to Dupe Frog—and then all three frogs suddenly got sucked into a mysterious swirling vortex. "Now, I fuse all three frogs together! Come to the field and do battle, my great frog monster…D.3.S. Frog (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)!"

All at once, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently, so much so that Buck and Honey had to fight to maintain their balance. "Yikes! What's going on now?" Honey exclaimed in bewilderment.

Then…from the grassy marshland of the Wetlands, there arose a gigantic green frog with ruby-red eyes, a large orange underbelly and what looked like prayer beads around its neck. It easily towered over the entire field, matched only by Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes in sheer size. Honey slowly looked up at the giant green amphibian and paled. "Big…frickin'…frog…" she whispered…

…and then she keeled over in a dead faint.

"Whoa!" Buck snapped to attention, rushing over from his spot on the field to where Honey had collapsed. Taking her up in his arms, he removed his hat from his head with one hand and fanned her frantically with it. "Hey, c'mon now, darlin', snap out of it!"

Now Jessica scratched her chin in embarrassment. "Hoo, boy…I guess she couldn't deal with the presence of a big frog like what I've got here…"

Buck looked up uncertainly. "Uh…should we stop the duel? I mean, she could use a little help here…"

"No way!" Jessica shook her head vehemently. "We're not stopping this duel now—not when I'm on the verge of winning!" Her face softened a little as she beheld the unconscious Honey again. "Just…prop her up against one of the trees and make sure she's comfortable, and then come back so we can finish up."

Gingerly, Buck lifted Honey's body in his arms and carried her over to the nearest tree, settling her down gently against its trunk. "Just take it easy now, missy," he said soothingly as he stood up straight again. "Hopefully I can vanquish that ugly old frog before you wake up."

He then strode back over to his place on the side of the field opposite Jessica. "So, then…how about we hurry and finish up?"

"Fine by me," Jessica nodded. "Now, then…my D.3.S. Frog's effect is coming into play. He gets 500 ATK for each copy of Treeborn Frog in my Graveyard." And then the giant frog's ATK, previously unaffected due to the interruption of the duel, rose to a very high 4000.

"4000…wait, so, 2500 plus 500 plus 500…" Buck frowned. "But—you've only sent two Treeborn Frogs into your Graveyard…" He frowned more deeply. "…haven't you?"

"Nuh-uh." Jessica shook her head, smiling impishly as she did. "Remember the facedown monster I had earlier, that I tributed to summon my first Des Frog? What do you think that one was?"

"…oh. Your third Treeborn Frog." Buck made a face. "Makes more sense now." Then he cocked an eyebrow. "Even so, your D.3.S. Frog's still 500 ATK points shy of matching up to Vennominaga. So…"

"So…what?" Jessica countered. "I do still have one more card to play." She held up the one remaining card in her hand. "I'll use my Normal Summon in order to summon Star Boy (ATK 550, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!" And then—she brought to the field a huge red starfish with one eye and a cheeky grin on its face. At once the Wetlands increased its ATK to 1750.

"Okay…Miss Jessica, I know you don't need me to point out the obvious, but…that isn't a frog." Buck cocked an eyebrow. "What's he for, anyway?"

"For his effect, that's what!" Jessica replied. "As long as Star Boy is on the field, he decreases the ATK of all Fire monsters on the field by 400 points…and increases the ATK of all Water monsters on the field by 500 points. And guess what attribute all of my monsters are…?"

Buck took this in at a glance. "Ah, nuts!" he shouted—just as Star Boy began to shine with bright blue energy, its already-altered ATK rising higher to 2250. At the same moment, Substitoad and D.3.S. Frog's bodies were surrounded by the blue energy as well; Substitoad's rose to 1800, while D.3.S. Frog's ATK rose to—4500!

"Now my ultimate frog has enough power to go toe-to-toe with your ultimate snake!" Jessica grinned. "And furthermore, Substitoad's effect states that all 'Frog' monsters, except Frog the Jam, can't be destroyed in battle while it's on the field—so once my frog and your snake fight, even though their ATK strengths are the same, my frog will still remain standing! So…battle, D.3.S. Frog! Use your Croak Cannon!"

The giant frog promptly unleashed a thunderous croak that practically shook their surroundings. Vennominaga, buffeted by the sound waves of the croak, was promptly obliterated from the field—but Buck, even as he managed to hold his ground in the face of the shockwave, yelled, "I'm gonna activate Vennominaga's effect! When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can remove one other Reptile-type monster that's in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon Vennominaga back to the field! So…" He swiftly went through his Graveyard stack and pulled out a card. "I'll remove one of the Venom Cobras in my Graveyard from play to call back Vennominaga from the Graveyard in Attack Mode!"

The ground rumbled…and then the two huge boa constrictors that were Vennominaga's arms burst out into the open, even as Vennominaga itself emerged in full, its ATK now down to 4000 flat. "Huh…now he isn't as strong as I'd like…but I guess we can't have everything," Buck remarked. "Anyway, this'll give me a clear shot on my next turn…"

Jessica hissed visibly as she realized what he meant. She glanced at her Star Boy. "Ungh…damn…fine. I end my turn. There's nothing else I can do right now, anyway."

"Then it's my turn!" Buck drew his card. "Aaaaaaaaaand…I attack with Vennominaga! Swallow her Star Boy whole!" And, heeding his order, Vennominaga lunged one of its constrictor-arms forward, the snake-head swallowing Star Boy with one bite.

**BUCK: 2800; JESSICA: 3550**

In that moment, Substitoad's ATK dropped down to 1300, still affected by the Wetlands, while D.3.S. Frog's ATK dropped slightly to a flat 4000. And as Vennominaga drew back its boa-arm, the snake-head's jaw chewing vigorously with its most recent meal in its mouth, another golden-scaled snake slithered out from the snake-deity's hair and curled up on its bosom.

_That's two Hyper-Venom Counters…_ Jessica looked at Vennominaga with apprehension. _If Buck can get one more, he'll win…and I'll be out of this tournament as an eliminator. And…_ She looked at her two amphibians. _Substitoad's effect to protect "Frog" monsters from being destroyed in battle obviously doesn't apply to itself…and if it's destroyed, my D.3.S. Frog will be put in danger. Still…on the plus side, Buck's already attacked for this turn, so Substitoad's safe for now, AND Substitoad's in Defense Mode, so my life points are safe. And…if I attack Vennominaga with D.3.S. Frog during my next turn while Substitoad's on the field, if he removes another of his snakes in the Graveyard from play to bring back Vennominaga, it'll hereafter be weak enough not to pose a problem to D.3.S. Frog! So, then, it's just a matter of waiting now, and…_

Buck's voice brought Jessica's mind back to reality. "I'll set this card facedown, and end my turn," and he set the card he'd drawn only moments before. "All right—what's your plan now, Miss Jessica?"

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "You think that putting a facedown card on the field is going to throw my game off just like that, Buck? Well, you'll have another think coming! I draw!"

She swiftly drew and replenished her hand—but her eyes narrowed some more. _I can't afford to be rash at this point…there really IS no telling what that facedown card of his could be. But… _She cast a glance at her defending Substitoad. _If I don't attack with D.3.S. Frog this turn, Buck will take the opportunity next turn to destroy Substitoad with Vennominaga…then, with Substitoad gone, D.3.S. Frog's immunity to being destroyed in battle will be gone, and it'll be all clear for Vennominaga to destroy me! And even if he doesn't get all of my life points, Vennominaga's attack will still give him one more Hyper-Venom Counter, and he'll win this duel._

Then she looked at the card she'd just drawn. _This is…!_ Her eyes now twinkled. "All right. I also set a card facedown, and end my turn for now." She chuckled. "Do your worst."

"Before long, you'll be sorry you extended that invitation!" Buck declared as he drew his card. "Now, let's see how much stronger my snake can get! I activate my Trap card, Needlebug Nest, to send the top five cards from my deck to the Graveyard!"

_CRAP!_ Jessica's mind screamed as her eyes widened in horror. _I almost forgot—Vennominaga gains 500 ATk for every Reptile-type monster Buck's got in his Graveyard! And that card might put a few extra ones in there from his deck, and if that happens…it'll be enough to do damage to D.3.S. Frog, and that'll give him the final Hyper-Venom Counter he needs to defeat me!_

Buck promptly pulled the top five cards of his deck and examined them. As he did, a scowl crossed his face. "Damn…" He held them up for Jessica to see what they were: two copies of the Trap card Ambush Fangs, the Magic cards Venom Shot and Snake Rain, and the Trap card Venom Burn, in that order. "No Reptile-type monster cards here…"

"Heh." Jessica smirked. "You were hoping I'd have attacked last turn, then you'd be able to spring that trap on me so as to hopefully get more snakes into your Graveyard so as to power up your Vennominaga and give yourself a surefire win, isn't that right?"

"Well, a fellow can dream…" Buck grumbled ruefully. "But I can still cement a victory with _this!_ The survival of your little strategy here requires that your Substitoad be on the field a little longer—but what'll happen to that strategy if he isn't here? Go, Vennominaga—eat the frog-toad-monster all up!"

Vennominaga thrust one of its constrictor-heads toward the suddenly-panicking Substitoad—but Jessica shouted, "Not so fast! I activate my Trap card—Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord!"

"That won't work!" Buck snapped. "Vennominaga's effect protects it from being targeted or affected by any card effects!"

"But my card's effect isn't intended for your monster at all." Jessica smirked again. "Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord affects _my_ monsters, not yours…and its effect says that until the end of this turn, no face-up Level 3 or lower Water-attribute monster that I control can be destroyed by battle or by card effects. Take a look."

Buck looked—and indeed, the silhouette of some huge blue serpent-like monster was overshadowing the not-so-frightened Substitoad, to the point that Vennominaga had to back off. "Aw, hell!" he cried.

"So now my Substitoad's safe for this turn," said Jessica.

"Yeah…yeah, it is," Buck conceded grumpily. "I end my turn."

"My draw!" Jessica quickly drew again to replenish her hand. "So, Buck, you realize what'll happen if the duel continues on this course, right? I'll destroy Vennominaga, and you'll bring it back, and I'll destroy it again…and it's gonna keep on and on like that until you end up removing all your snakes in your Graveyard from play, and then your big snake boss will be of no use to itself, much less to you."

"So I should just give up now, then?" Buck returned. "I don't think so. After all, next turn I can just have Vennominaga destroy your Substitoad, and from here on out after that your D.3.S. Frog will be vulnerable to being destroyed by battle. So all I need to do is wait a little while."

"Keep waiting." Jessica pointed toward Vennominaga. "D.3.S. Frog, destroy Vennominaga with Croak Cannon!" And once again the gigantic frog unleashed its loud croaking attack, ripping the giant snake monster to shreds.

Buck merely shook his head. "Vennominaga's effect activates; and I remove one of the Venom Boas in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon Vennominaga back to the field, in Attack Mode." And as he took Venom Boa out of his Graveyard, Vennominaga returned to the field a short while later, albeit with weaker stats as its ATK was now at 3500.

"Okay." Jessica shrugged. "Your turn."

Wasting no time, Buck drew his next card; now he had two in hand. "…" He studied the cards he was holding for a moment; then he looked up at Jessica. "Hey, Lady Jessica, sorry to disappoint you, but it seems I'm about to dethrone you and take your place as Drake's strongest enforcer in the House of Cards!"

"Eh? And how do you arrive at that conclusion?" Jessica demanded.

"Well…" Buck tipped his hat. "Remember I sent a copy of my Venom Shot card to the Graveyard thanks to my Needlebug Nest card earlier? Well…" He held up the card he'd just drawn. "I've got a second Venom Shot magic card right here!"

"That card…!" Jessica scowled on seeing it.

"I can only activate Venom Shot when I control Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes, or any 'Venom' monster on my side of the field," said Buck. "Then, I send one Reptile-type monster from my deck to the Graveyard and place two Venom Counters on a face-up monster controlled by my opponent. So…" He shuffled through his deck quickly. "I'll send one copy of Venom Snake (ATK 1200, DEF 600) from my deck to the Graveyard, and then I'll put two Venom Counters on your D.3.S. Frog…" Two small snakes promptly slithered out of the Venom Shot card and attached themselves to the giant frog, even as Vennominaga's ATK rose slightly to 4000 thanks to the addition of the new Reptile-type monster in the Graveyard to fuel its power.

"Damn…our monsters are equal in strength again…" Jessica's brow furrowed.

"Not for too much longer, they won't be!" Buck assured her. "Vennominaga, go have Substitoad for dinner!"

Vennominaga thrust one constrictor-arm toward Substitoad, and the snake-head on the arm devoured the amphibian in one gulp. "Now D.3.S. Frog's immunity to being destroyed in battle is gone," Buck said triumphantly. "Next turn, your frog king's a goner—and so will you! So…time to consider your options, Miss Jessica." He smirked. "On your next turn, will you surrender and keep your dignity? Or will you stand to the bitter end and go down the hard way?"

"Let's say we find out, eh?" Jessica answered as she took her turn and drew her next card. Then she looked at the cards in her hand. "Hmm…"

"Well?" Buck prompted her.

Jessica didn't reply immediately, but continued to examine her cards. Then at length she looked up. "I end my turn. But I'm not forfeiting."

"So you've decided to commit suicide after all!" Buck exclaimed. "Well, I'll assist you, then! My draw!" And he drew his next card so that he now held two cards in hand again. "Vennominaga, tear D.3.S. Frog apart! Double-Constrictor Fang!"

The Deity of Poisonous Snakes' two constrictor-arms thrust forward, their mouths open and ready to bite—but suddenly Jessica held up one of the two cards she held. "I activate the effect of a Quick-play Magic card from my hand: Rush Recklessly! This card will increase the ATK of one monster by 700 points till the end of this turn—and I choose my D.3.S. Frog!"

All at once, seemingly out of nowhere, the gigantic frog's ATK sharply rose to 4700! "Whoa!" Buck exclaimed in horror…but all he could do was watch helplessly as D.3.S. Frog lashed its tongue out, grabbing both of Vennominaga's snake-arms in one movement. The frog then threw its head upward, forcing the snake airborne…then the frog began to twirl its tongue round and round, spinning the snake wildly, before slamming it back to the ground in a movement that fairly caused the ground to shake even as Vennominaga was reduced to pieces from the impact.

**BUCK: 2100; JESSICA: 3550**

"Argh…" Buck's life points dropped to 2100. "Vennominaga's effect activates. When it's destroyed by battle, I can remove one Reptile-type monster in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon Vennominaga back to the field." As if in response, one of his cards popped out of the Graveyard slot of his Duel-Disk. "And I remove one of my Venom Serpents from play to Special Summon my ultimate snake back to the field…this time in Defense Mode."

Out of the crater where it had been unceremoniously slammed moments earlier, Vennominaga appeared yet again, only this time curled up in a defensive stance with its ATK down to 3500. "Heh…since it was removed from the field and then brought back, the Hyper-Venom Counters that Vennominaga had before are gone now," Jessica pointed out. "Not to mention that now it's weaker thanks to D.3.S. Frog's counterattack."

Buck simply shook his head. "I...end my turn. For now."

But as D.3.S. Frog's ATK dropped back down to 4000, in his mind Buck added, _Damn…no wonder she wouldn't forfeit—she was counting on me to attack since I didn't know she had that Rush Recklessly card in her hand. Anyway, at this point all I can do is defend with Vennominaga…at most, I'll be able to keep my life points safe for seven more attacks or so. Unless I can send any remaining Reptile-type monsters from my deck to the Graveyard to power Vennominaga back up and really finish off her big frog once and for all!_

"My turn again!" Jessica quickly drew her next card, so she held two cards again—then her eyes lit up at what she saw she'd drawn. "And, Buck…it's been fun and all, but all good things have to come to an end! Now, I summon…Submarine Frog (ATK 1200, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!"

Seconds later there appeared her diving-equipped frog, its ATK swiftly rising to 2400 thanks to the effect of the Wetlands. "Submarine Frog's a Level 2, Water-attribute, Aqua-type monster, so Wetlands will affect him," she explained. "And when it attacks a Defense Mode monster with an ATK that's higher than that monster's DEF, the difference is calculated from my opponent's life points as battle damage. And what's Vennominaga's DEF like, now? 0, is it…?"

The realization hit Buck like a brick to the head. "CRUD!" he shouted.

"Go, Submarine Frog! Amphibian Spear Dive!" Jessica cried. In reply, Submarine Frog dived into the Wetlands' marshy water—then shot upward from below Vennominaga seconds later, tearing right through the snake deity and ripping its body completely in half as Buck's life points plummeted all the way to 0.

**BUCK: 0; JESSICA: 3550**

"…damn…" Buck sighed even as the water thrown up from Submarine Frog's reverse-dive now showered back down, sprinkling his hat-brim with realistic style…while on his Duel-Disk, his tournament points dropped to 0, as his life points had moments ago.

Jessica, in turn, smiled brightly while the holographic images gradually vanished from view and as, on her Duel-Disk, her life point counter was replaced with her tournament point counter—which was now increasing in value to 10,000. "Well, Buck…it's my win." She winked. "I told you my frogs would beat your snakes, didn't I?"

"Yep. I reckon you did." Buck adjusted his hat. "Good duel, Lady Jessica. Drake sure was right to make you an eliminator, after all."

"Thanks…but you know, you weren't an easy character to defeat," Jessica admitted. "Next to me and Drake, you're probably the strongest of all the House of Cards…" Suddenly hearts popped up in her eyes. "Oh, and next to that hunky Janny-poo, too!"

"Uh, yeah, thanks…I _think…"_ Buck sweat-dropped.

"So, anyway, now that the duel's done…what say we go help her out?" Jessica indicated Honey, still unconscious and leaning against the tree where Buck had propped her.

"Ah—right! Let's do that!" Buck swiftly nodded.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ For a quick synopsis of tournament progression as of this chapter: Seta Kaiba and Yugo Muto each have 2000 tournament points; Usagi Saiou and Janus Yuki each have 3000; and the eliminators Jan Shimizu and Jessica Phoenix have 5000 and 10,000, respectively. Not to mention, Drake Phoenix, the host of the Phoenix Herald Crown, is still waiting for the last duelist standing to come challenge him in the Dark Lord Castle of Kaiba Land…what is next?

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!


	64. The Man from Mokushi

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Oh, no! Neomage is swamped by real-world work! But as always, he continues to write…and he doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

**CHAPTER 64 – The Man From Mokushi**

KAIBA LAND, 6:30 p.m.

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, while the duel between Buck and Jessica was wrapping up…

"Huh…no opponents since my duel with Gaston…nobody else who could possibly still be in this tournament…" Yugo sighed as he settled down on a bench in the middle of the park. "And the longer I keep walking around like this, the more my feet are gonna hurt…ow…"

He leaned his head back and sighed loudly. "Man, what I wouldn't give for a sub sandwich or something right now…"

"Sub sandwiches! Get 'em hot and ready, right here!"

Yugo looked up in the direction of the shout, and beheld a woman with a food cart coming his way. He looked upward. "Thank you." Then he got up and approached the vendor. "Whatcha got?"

"Whatever kind of subs you want, I have 'em here!" the vendor grinned at him. "Beef, turkey, chicken, ham, fish, with cheese or without, potato wedges optional, your choice of sauce. What'll it be, little man?"

"So many to choose from…" Yugo bit his lip.

"Excuse me, miss, but could I have a turkey sub with cheese?"

Yugo looked up to see the owner of the new voice right next to him—a man sporting red hair with yellow highlights in it. "Eh?" he looked curiously at the newcomer.

"Turkey with cheese, it is!" the vendor beamed, and she promptly began to look about the sandwich.

The man looked at Yugo. "Better hurry and make your selection, or the next person might take your spot again before you can speak up," he stated. "He who hesitates is lost. Ever heard of that proverb?"

"Ah, well, no biggie—I'll still get a sandwich in the end," Yugo shrugged. "You know what, miss, that turkey with cheese—make it two."

"Right!" The woman's pace didn't change as she prepared the first sandwich.

Presently the man glanced at Yugo's Duel-Disk, still strapped to his arm. "Ah, yes—I think I recognize you," he stated. "You're one of the participants in this tournament. Yugo Muto. Am I right?"

"Guilty as charged." Yugo nodded.

The man nodded and extended a hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Yugo. Gabriel's the name."

Yugo politely shook his hand. "So, here to watch the fun, huh, Gabriel?"

"Actually, my relatives dragged me here, to be perfectly honest," Gabriel sighed. "I myself am not really all that interested in the whole dueling hype, but my cousins are just mad about the duelists who're taking part here. Plus, my aunt practically twisted my arm behind my back till I finally agreed to join them here."

"Hey, well, not everybody can like dueling," Yugo conceded. "But this place has plenty of other stuff to keep you occupied—right?"

"Well, I'll admit the cable TV's good." Gabriel chuckled. "Anyway, I was just out taking a walk and checking out Kaiba Land. It's not so bad, really—amusement rides here, there and everywhere, and food vendors at every turn, like our lady friend here."

"Flattery gets you your food faster," the vendor smiled up at him. "All right—dig in, boys!" And she held up two huge subs, one in each hand.

"Awesome!" Yugo took his sandwich and began to eat with gusto. Gabriel took a few bites, too, though he wasn't as swift in his eating.

For a moment neither of the two said anything, but focused on eating. Then Gabriel glanced at Yugo. "Mind if I ask you something, Yugo?"

Yugo paused in mid-bite at the question. "Uh, yeah, sure. What's up?"

Now Gabriel's eyes seemed to be boring into Yugo. "Why did you enter this tournament?"

Yugo looked back at his questioner. "Well, Drake Phoenix—that's the host of this tournament—he gave me a special invitation, since I was the winner of the World Championships, and I accepted."

"And why did you accept?" Gabriel pursued. "You could've chosen not to come—so why did you? Did you feel obligated to come because you were invited? Or was it the prizes this tournament's offering? Or maybe you're here to face a special rival?"

"Hmm…" Yugo cocked an eyebrow at the questions. "Why the curiosity?"

"…" Gabriel didn't answer for a moment, but took another bite from his sandwich. Then: "You're right. I apologize. I guess I _am_ being a bit more forward than I should be."

Then his eyes took on a faraway expression. "I guess…I'm just wondering what duelists nowadays get out of throwing down a few cards, controlling a few holograms, for no other reason than just because they can. From what I understand, back when Duel Monsters was still a new game, it was the modern way of engaging in combat, without the actual death or dying aspect…now, anybody can play the game like it's nobody's business. But to me, every duelist should at least have a reason why they're dueling…otherwise, the game's just not interesting."

"Huh. Interesting viewpoint." Yugo frowned a little. "Although, you know, for someone who isn't really interested in Duel Monsters, you've got some pretty strong ideas of how it should be."

Gabriel shrugged. "I used to play it at one time."

"Oh?" Yugo's curiosity was piqued. "Why'd you stop, then?"

"Now, _that's_ personal." Gabriel took another bite of his sandwich.

"Oh." Yugo looked away and bit into his sandwich again.

"Think nothing of it. It's just not something I discuss too readily, is all." Gabriel arced his shoulders a little. "Well, I'd better hurry and get back to my hotel room—my aunt and cousins will probably be waiting for me to get back in time for dinner."

"Dinner?" Yugo looked down at the remnants of his sandwich in dismay. "Aw, nuts! I hope I haven't spoiled my appetite for the hotel's food already!"

Gabriel couldn't help but smile a little at the comment. "Let's hope not. Well…see you around, kid. Good luck in the rest of the tournament." And he turned and walked off.

"Thanks…I guess," Yugo replied. "Hmm…kind of an odd guy…"

All this while, the vendor had been listening to the back-and-forth between the two. Now, as she watched Gabriel walk off, her brow furrowed. "I wonder…that guy…he seems familiar to me somehow…" She fingered her chin. "Where have I seen him before, though…?"

"Hey, maybe you shouldn't stress about it too much," Yugo told her. "If his identity is that important, you'll remember soon."

"Maybe you're right." The vendor smiled. "Well, I better keep on my rounds. And good luck in the rest of the competition, okay?" She nodded and pushed her cart along once again.

"Thanks! And thanks for the sandwich!" Yugo called after her, and she waved in response. Then he turned away and downed the last bite of his sandwich. "All right—what now?"

----------

At the same time that Yugo and Gabriel had been talking…

Honey's eyes tightened, and then opened. "Ah…where…?"

"Oh, you're awake now. Good for you," Buck's voice reached her.

Glancing around, Honey soon perceived that she was being carried in Buck's arms, while Jessica walked close by. "What happened?" Honey asked.

"You saw my deck's ultimate monster and then you fainted," Jessica informed her. "I won, by the way."

"Oh." Honey glanced around again, noting that they were in front of the hotel. "We're back here now?"

"We sure are," said Buck. "So, how're you feeling, missy? You think you can walk on your own, or you want me to keep carrying you?"

"Um…thanks, I'll walk," Honey answered.

Buck acquiesced, letting Honey down from his arms. "Sorry for the trouble, you guys…it's just, when I saw that HUGE frog, I…" Honey began.

"Don't sweat it," Jessica nodded to her. "I think quite a few of my past opponents who saw my big frog for the first time got a little scared back then, so…"

"Well, anyway, ladies, what say we go in and freshen up, then grab a bite to eat? I'm famished!" Buck suggested.

"Let's eat together; it's the least I can do after all the trouble you've had to go through to carry me here," Honey offered.

"You guys go ahead; I'm still in the tournament, so I still have to win tournament points as an eliminator," said Jessica. "Catch you later!"

"Sure thing, Lady Jessica," said Buck. "All the best now, y'hear?"

Nodding, Jessica turned and walked off in another direction. Buck and Honey, meanwhile, turned and headed into the hotel's entrance. "Let's meet up and eat together in thirty minutes' time, what do you say?" Honey asked. "I need to link up with my brother, anyway."

"No problem. Thirty minutes it is." Buck tipped his hat to her. "You can ask your brother if he'd like to eat with us, if he hasn't eaten already. Sound all right?"

"Thanks." Honey nodded.

----------

While Honey, Buck and Jessica were parting ways at the hotel…

At the Dark Lord Castle…Drake was seated once again, watching Yugo from one of the many camera-shots on Kaiba Land's security system. "Hmph…I'm surprised _you_ have no idea who Gabriel Roman is—you, who's the World Champion by a complete and utter fluke," he spoke to Yugo's image. "But then again, it WAS a fluke, so no wonder you don't know…"

"Oh, Gabriel Roman is still around? How unexpected…although not unpleasant." The statement came from behind the closed door.

Drake jumped up instantly and spun in the direction of the voice, eyes ablaze. "Who's there?" he barked.

"My, my, my…is that how you speak to guests who've come to attend your tournament, Mr. Phoenix? Not very good for publicity, I warn you," the voice chuckled.

Drake's eyes narrowed. "I've had one uninvited guest inside this castle already. The security here must be sleeping…"

"Oh, no, Mr. Phoenix; your security here is quite diligent," the voice said pleasantly. "I just happened to get into this fine castle because of the clout I possess, Now, why don't you come out here and see who I am? Besides, I have business with you."

Scowling, Drake stomped over to the door and opened it—and cocked his eyebrow at who he saw standing out there in the hallway. "And who the hell are you?" he asked.

The stranger standing before him was a tall, dark-skinned man with a thin mustache, clad in a green business suit and sporting a gray cloth turban on his head. "Quite a rude young man, now aren't you?" he remarked. "But since you've asked, however ineloquently…" He took a bow. "Ahab Ezekiel, owner of the Ezekiel House of Finance in Cairo."

Drake wrinkled his nose. "And what do you want with me?"

"Very well…since you are so to-the-point, I suppose I should be, as well." Mr. Ezekiel nodded meaningfully. "This is the point of my visit, Mr. Phoenix: I'm here on behalf of a certain…select group of individuals who've been following your progress in your tournament career. As a matter of fact, you've had dealings with them in the most recent past."

"Oh?" Drake looked warily at him. "And what group is that, hmm?"

"My, my. Young people don't have as good recall as is often boasted. All right, then." Mr. Ezekiel nodded again. "Let me jog your memory, if you will."

He leaned forward so his mouth was close to Drake's ear. _"Mokushi."_

Drake's eyes widened on hearing the word. He stared incredulously at Mr. Ezekiel. "I see…then you are…"

"Now you're catching on," and Mr. Ezekiel softly applauded.

"But why are you here now, then?" Drake pursued. "I said I'd do what I have to do, and I will do it. It's just a matter of time, that's all."

"And we have helped you as far as we've been willing to help you, in order to attain that goal," said Mr. Ezekiel. "But your end of the bargain is only half done. Only when this tournament of yours has been satisfactorily completed, will our bargain with you be fully realized." He smiled. "Think of it, Mr. Phoenix. The sponsorship of several giant global conglomerates for life…power that surpasses even that which the name of your family can currently afford you at your young age…only by fulfilling the criteria we laid out for you, can all of that and more be yours, all yours."

Drake gave Mr. Ezekiel a long look…then turned his back on the man. "Look, mister, I don't know if maybe you people don't have good inter-communication or whatever…but like I told your other representatives when they first approached me, I don't care about the material rewards you're offering me out of this deal," he said. "What I really want…money can only go so far in giving me that. Even the money that went into this tournament—it won't mean a thing if my objectives aren't met."

"Which is why you cannot afford to fail, isn't that right?" Mr. Ezekiel asked knowingly.

"I. Won't. Fail." Drake didn't turn to look at Mr. Ezekiel, but the tone expressed his emotion.

"Heh. If you say so." Mr. Ezekiel now turned away. "Well, I'll be observing your competition's progress from the crowds gathered here at Kaiba Land…and so will _they."_ And so saying, he walked away, leaving Drake standing there in the hallway.

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 7:07 p.m.

Back within Kaiba Land, at that very moment…

Usagi Saiou had made it back to the safety of the hotel's grounds long ago. At present, she was just arriving from her room into the dining room, watching as the kitchen staff bustled around to cater to patrons for dinnertime. However…her thoughts were not on food, even as she seated herself at one of the tables in the dining room.

_I sense…something ominous…_

Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out her deck of cards, shuffled it, and laid the deck facedown on her table. Then, picking up the top three cards, she placed them all facedown on the table, rotating them 180 degrees at random intervals. She then shuffled them around until their order was mixed up as they lay side by side. "Now…let's see what fortune will be shown," she muttered to herself as she placed her hand over the three cards.

She flipped the first card face-up. _The Quick-play Magic card, A Deal with Dark Ruler…positioned right-side up…_ She frowned. _I see…so THAT'S how it was…that's what has transpired…_

Then the second card was flipped face-up. _The Trap card, Half or Nothing…positioned upside down…I see. So a decision will have to be made between two choices, neither of which will be beneficial to the one who must make the decision…but since the card is upside down, there may yet be a way of escape…_

The third card was flipped face-up. _The Magic card, Final Destiny…right-side up…destruction is imminent…_

"Hi!"

Startled out of her reverie, Usagi looked up to see a grinning Janus Yuki standing over her table. "Oh—hello," she replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I just decided to come back and kick back a little before going back out," said Janus. "What about you? I thought you'd be out there grabbing up the tournament points."

"All in good time," Usagi said smoothly. "I already have 3000 tournament points, and much of the competition has already been wiped out anyway. I'm not in any rush."

"3000? Nice!" Janus sat down opposite her. "I've got that amount, too!"

"Then I should've asked _you_ the question you just asked me," Usagi smiled. "You're a very extroverted person, I realize; I would've thought you'd either be swimming in tournament points or else you'd have been knocked out by now—not somewhere in between."

"Yeah, well…finding opponents who're still alive and kicking in this tournament isn't so simple," and now Janus sighed with a resigned expression. "They're so far spread out all over Kaiba Land, and it's not even THAT big a place…"

"There, there." Usagi's face then turned thoughtful. "Actually, Janus…I'm glad you chanced by just now. I've been hoping to talk to you one-on-one, outside of the sphere of this tournament."

"Oh? What about?" Janus looked at her inquiringly.

Usagi didn't miss a beat. "I know the real reason Drake has hosted this tournament is to show up the three of you—you, Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba—and establish himself as the world's strongest duelist. So last night, I read your individual fortunes. When I read yours…I was surprised at what I saw."

"Hmm? What did you see?" asked Janus.

"I saw…that you currently have two souls inhabiting one body." Usagi shook her head. "Two souls in one body…when usually each living being consists of only one body and one spirit. I want to know how that is possible."

Janus's eyes widened at the revelation. "Huh…so you know about that?" he remarked. "Well…I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what with you being a fortuneteller and all that. I'm just surprised your fortunetelling didn't show you the _how_ and _why."_

"Not everything is revealed to me all at once," said Usagi. "Whatever my cards show me on a certain matter is what I know of that matter."

Janus leaned back in his chair. "So why do you want to know about it?"

"Call it curiosity." Usagi shrugged.

"I see." Janus propped his elbow on the table and eased his hand under his chin. "And speaking of curiosity…maybe you can sate some of my own. About the House of Cards."

Usagi didn't bat an eyelash. "You know."

"Diane Chill mentioned it, and Kent West explained what the group's all about—plus, Kent also said to keep an eye out for you, because you could explain it more deeply." Janus's eyes narrowed a little. "I know that Drake formed it four years ago, around the start of his fame in the pro leagues…and he's using the group, and this tournament too, to upstage me, Yugo and Seta—just like you mentioned just now. And I know also that three of the eliminators he's hired for this tourney are former members of the Zodiacs, and one of the others uses an Archfiend deck and is extremely powerful." He inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly. "Please tell me what you know, Usagi—what you know that I don't already know, that is."

Usagi didn't say anything for a long moment, but looked right at Janus. Finally, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Very well. But in exchange, I want something from you."

Janus waited.

"The other being that you have intertwined in yourself. I want to see what sort of being it is." Usagi didn't blink. "That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"…and that's all?" Janus asked after a moment.

"Yes. That is all."

Janus tapped a finger on the tabletop. Then he nodded. "All right. Let's go somewhere outside the hotel, and have a duel. If I'm going to show you this little secret of mine, I should at least be able to get your tournament points as payment."

"And if I'm going to tell you what I know of the workings of the House of Cards, _your_ tournament points will be payment to me." Usagi gathered her cards together and stood up. "Shall we?"

"Let's!" Janus nodded, standing up as well.

Together, the two walked out of the dining room and toward the front lobby…but as they entered the lobby, Usagi's shoulder brushed against that of a young man coming up at that moment. "Oh…excuse me," Usagi apologized.

"Not at all, pardon me," the man replied politely, before continuing on his way.

Janus turned his head and looked at the departing man. "Weird hair that guy's got," he remarked, shrugging a little.

Usagi said nothing. _Gabriel Roman…_

----------

Outside the entrance to the Kaiba Land hotel, just a little ways into the surrounding trees, there was Adam Rhodes, his biker helmet still over his head to keep his identity protected. He glanced up and ahead of his position, at a security camera that occasionally shifted to pick up everything except himself, as he was standing just outside its range. Now he looked toward the hotel's entrance and frowned under his helmet.

_No doubt about it…that guy I just saw at the hotel's entrance right after Buck Morgan and the two girls…that was the old World Champion before Seta Kaiba, Gabriel Roman…but the last time I ever saw that guy was ten years ago, the day he quit! So why's he here now…?_

His attention was suddenly arrested by something else—two persons exiting the hotel. _Huh…that's Janus…and that other person looks like—no, it IS Usagi Saiou! So…are they going somewhere to duel, then? They've both putting their Duel-Disks on, so…_

He observed the direction they were going, into the trees. _I suppose I may as well take a look at how my cousin's going to hold up against a seasoned veteran like Usagi Saiou…_ And with that in mind, he crept through the trees towards where he'd seen the two go.

----------

Back in the hotel, Gabriel was just now stepping out of the elevator to his floor. "I'm late," he muttered ruefully. "I wonder if Aunt Celina and the kids went ahead without me…"

Moments later he approached his room door—and paused. It was slightly ajar. "Guys? You in there?" he called, pushing the door open and walking in. He glanced around, noting that nobody seemed to be around; even the bathroom, mere footsteps away, was empty from where he stood. "Weird…why'd they leave the door open, then?"

"It's not a completely empty room, you know."

Eyes widening, Gabriel spun around to see who'd spoken—and standing right there, behind the door, was Reno Dawkins. "You—I recognize you! You're one of the tournament competitors!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"I _was,"_ Reno clarified. "Reno Dawkins is the name. Pleased to meet you in person at long last, Gabriel Roman." He smiled a little. "I used to be a fan of yours, you know—before you called it quits ten years ago. To this day, I don't think anybody knows the concrete reason why you did that, but there sure are a lot of theories and rumors."

"What are you doing in my room? You're trespassing, you know!" Gabriel snapped.

"I wonder about that…" Reno smirked now. "Oh, and since you were wondering about your family…"

Gabriel's eyebrows rose slightly. "What? Did you do something to them? Where are they?"

"Hmm…who knows…" Reno shrugged.

Gabriel strode up to Reno and grabbed the front of his jacket. "Don't screw with me! Where are they and what have you done with them, you—"

A sudden blunt force to his midsection knocked the air out of him, and he collapsed to his knees, gagging. "I'll thank you to keep your hands to yourself," Reno said coolly, straightening his jacket with one hand while the other was clenched in a fist. "Your family's safe—but for how long will depend entirely on you."

"Urgh…" From his prostrate position on the floor, Gabriel glared up at Reno. "…the hell're you saying…?"

"Let me get to the point." Reno bent down over Gabriel's face. "Drake Phoenix knows you're here in Kaiba Land, and he wants you and your dueling skill working for him. Comply, and your relatives won't have a hair on their heads injured."

"Go to hell!" Gabriel snarled. "Anyway, I don't duel anymore—anybody who knows about me knows that! You guys need to go check your history!"

"Huh. Well, maybe what I need is to illustrate my point." Standing up, Reno walked across the room to a large closet that was built into one of the walls. Turning a little key in the closet door's lock, he pulled the door open—and laying there on the floor of the closet, bound, gagged and unconscious, were Aunt Celina, Clyde and D.J.!

Gabriel's eyes widened in horror at this display and he made a move to get up. "Guys!"

"Don't get too bright here, ex-champ," Reno said sharply, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a large black object. "I usually avoid using this unless I'm on a serious job for my regular employers, but I can always make an exception to that rule."

Gabriel froze where he was on seeing the gun in Reno's hand. "You wouldn't—not on them! They haven't done anything to you!"

"I wouldn't, huh?" Reno countered. "Well, this little friend of mine's got a silencer attached," and he held up the gun briefly to show the attachment on its muzzle to Gabriel. "The most sound it'll make with this on it is a bit of a muffled explosion—but anybody who's in any of the rooms nearby will just think it's the TV or something. Now…" He pointed the gun right at Aunt Celina's temple. "What's it gonna be, Roman? You can either come back to the Dark Lord Castle with me, do as Drake wants, and these three will only suffer cramps from being stuffed in the closet—at worst. Or…I'll blow their brains out right here and THEN kill you. After all, Drake only said to get you to him by whatever means I could use—he never said I couldn't kill you if you kept acting stubborn. But of course, life is so sweet…and you DO love your life _and_ theirs, don't you?"

Gabriel glared at Reno, then flitted a glance at his unconscious relatives. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Don't…hurt them…" he whispered.

"Then do what's best for their health." Reno fixed a stare on Gabriel, even as he pushed his free hand into a pocket. "And by the way…if you'd really quit dueling like you claim, you'd have gotten rid of these long ago." He drew his hand out of his pocket-and held up a deck of cards. He turned the face of the deck toward Gabriel. "Look familiar?"

Gabriel's brow furrowed when he saw the deck. "Maybe I'm just keeping that deck out of sentiment. Ever think of that, genius?"

For answer, Reno released the gun's safety mechanism with his thumb; Gabriel flinched visibly at the slightly loud _click_ this caused. "Talk like a smart-aleck again and you can say bye-bye to your family right now," Reno said coldly. "Now—I'm giving you to the count of three to decide what you're going to do. One." A beat passed. "Two."

"All right." Gabriel's face held an angry grimace. "All right. I'll go with you. Just…get that thing away from her already."

Slowly, not once taking his eyes off Gabriel, Reno slipped the deck back into his pocket and pulled the gun away from Aunt Celina's head. "Right, then. Let's head out. Oh, and by the way, if you make any motion to anybody or give any indication that anything's wrong, then…" He waved the gun a little, then motioned its silencer-equipped muzzle in the subdued trio's direction for emphasis.

"Right. I get it." Venom leaked from Gabriel's voice.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 7:16 p.m.

Principal Yuki poked his head through the open door and knocked lightly on the doorjamb. "Knock, knock," he announced himself.

"Ah—one of the man-slaves is back! Bring our provisions, if you please!" Cassara grinned from where she sat on the floor.

"Start praying that you don't get any classes with me next semester, kid," Principal Yuki glowered at her, even as he eased through the door with a huge bag of food. "Honey, are you really going to let the little brat maintain control over me like this?" he whined to his wife.

"Hey, I'm suffering as much as you—we'll both owe her enough money to buy a car for herself in no time at all," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, sitting on the bed next to Natasha, grumbled.

Jiro and Ricardo emerged after Principal Yuki, bearing more cups of drinks. "The cafeteria's really working overtime tonight—plenty of food there," Jiro reported. "But, Cassara, you owe us big-time for doing this!"

"So do THEY," and Cassara jabbed her thumb at the principal and vice-principal.

"Don't worry, guys, you haven't missed anything important since you headed out last," Natasha reported. "What's the campus gossip like?"

"Oh—about that," Principal Yuki spoke up. "While our latest food order was being prepared, I was able to dash up to the staff room to see what the faculty was doing. Turns out, Crosskill started a betting pool to see how fast Janus would get knocked out of the tournament."

"Hmph. Remind me to put cyanide in his coffee," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki smirked.

"Oh—speaking of Janus, there he is now!" Natasha pointed excitedly at the TV screen.

Everyone turned and looked at the TV as one, and beheld Janus walking along with someone. "That's him, all right," Ricardo chuckled. "But…isn't that Usagi Saiou with him? The famous fortuneteller duelist?"

"It sure is," Cassara agreed. "Hey, Jiro, pass me my soda—you _did_ remember to get grape-flavored soda like I told you, right?"

Jiro leaned forward to Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "Could you spare me a canister of that cyanide?" he whispered.

_Hmm…_ Principal Yuki looked intently at the TV. _Well, son, you've beaten two pro-league duelists so far…how will you manage against this one, who's known for her power of foresight…?_

----------

KAIBA LAND, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

Drake, having settled back onto his couch, was just now looking at one of the security camera feeds on his screen. There, he could see Janus an Usagi walking toward a small bridge which stretched across a not-too-wide river. Then Janus was shown to stop on one end of the bridge, with Usagi walking a little ahead of him before turning to face him.

"Well, now." A smirk crept onto Drake's lips. "Usagi Saiou, whose fortune predictions have never been wrong, whether in professional fortunetelling or in dueling…she's the daughter of the great Takuma Saiou, the man known to many by his stage name of 'Sartorius' back when he actually had the power to predict fortunes himself. Now, his offspring has inherited his previous ability in full force…and that ability will crush Janus like an insignificant mosquito!" He leaned back into the couch. "She may not be an eliminator, but she'll definitely put a dent in his lucky streak in this tournament up to now. Take him down, Usagi!"

----------

Meanwhile, at the bridge site, Janus and Usagi had their Duel-Disks activated and wee now slotting their cards into their appropriate places. "So, Janus…I trust you're ready?" Usagi asked quietly.

"Yeah. Ready to claim your tournament points and your information." Janus nodded.

A bit of distance away, within the nearby trees, Adam hid himself and watched. _This should be interesting to see, at least…Janus going up against the pro leagues' prominent seer…_

"I'll repeat the conditions of this duel," said Usagi. "In addition to tournament points being on the line, you will show me your secret, and I will tell you what I know. Whichever of us wins, at least we'll both gain something from it."

"Agreed," said Janus. "Just promise me one more thing."

"What is that?" Usagi queried.

Janus looked levelly at her. "Your ability to predict the future…use it."

"Hmm? Use my fortunetelling power in this duel?" Usagi blinked. "But then you'll be guaranteed to lose, if I deliberately predict what your moves will be."

"Then we'll just have to see whether my skill or your powers will prevail, won't I?" said Janus. "Besides…if I can't defeat you when you've got a decided advantage, how worthy am I to risk taking on Drake, who's more than likely watching this duel right now and prepping to take me down later anyway?"

"Hmm…an interesting point." Usagi nodded. "Very well, Janus. I will not hold back, then, since you request this."

"Right, then." Janus glanced down at his chest, over which the Shadow Charm Pendant hung from his neck. "All right. Showtime."

"Indeed it is." Usagi held up her Duel-Disk as her life point counter rose to 8000.

Janus's life point counter rose to 8000 too. "Usagi…you wanted to see my secret. Well…here you go."

He took a deep breath…then: _**"SENSHUKEN!"**_

And—suddenly the Shadow Charm Pendant glowed brightly, and Janus's body got engulfed in a bright yellow aura. His features transformed as they had done when he'd first consciously activated the Pendant's power: his features now appeared somewhat older, his jacket was longer and reaching down to his feet, and his hair now sported three dagger-like strands hanging over his face.

Usagi watched the transformation, awe on her face. _I see…so this is the other soul that resides in this boy…_ She stole a glance at the Shadow Charm Pendant. _Just like the legends of Yugi Muto and his Millennium Puzzle from decades ago…is history somehow repeating itself in this modern day?_

From his hiding place in the forest, Adam stared at the scene unfolding before his eyes. "Huh—what the…!" he whispered.

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, AT THE SAME TIME

The kids stared in astonishment at the TV. "J…Janus…?" Natasha whispered.

Cassara blinked. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or did Janus just…get more…_handsome?"_ she asked.

Ricardo's eyes were wide with surprise. _This is…just like back then…when he displayed that weird power on Park Fletcher's goons at the abandoned dorm…_

Jiro's eyes, on the other hand, were narrowed. _What's going on all of a sudden?_

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked at her husband. "Jaden?"

Principal Yuki sighed. "Well…I guess the cat's out of the bag, in a sense."

The kids all turned to look at him. "Principal? You know what this is about?" Cassara queried.

Principal Yuki nodded. "I do. And since you've all seen it, I guess I'll have to explain it to you…including how he got that power in the first place." He glanced at his wife. "Alexis…they're his friends. As much as I told him to keep it quiet, I had a feeling they'd have to find out sooner or later. We have to be honest with them."

Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki closed her eyes. "I don't like it, but…all right." She turned to the others. "Kids…we'll tell you everything about what you've just seen…and we'll try to make it simple for you to understand. So, here we go…"

----------

_**Neomage:**_ So, Janus's secret is out in the open! Not much of a secret for long, now was it?

Anyway, next chapter I'll showcase a reaction to Janus's big reveal that's especially appropriate—Drake's. And, Janus and Usagi will duel, with neither of them holding their full power back! How will the duel turn out?

Oh, and by the way…Ahab Ezekiel, introduced in this story, albeit without a character bio at the start of the chapter? The word he said to Drake, "Mokushi," means "apocalypse" in Japanese. Is it significant? Well…you'll have to keep an eye out for future updates to find out, that's all I'll say about it here!

Review soon, please!


	65. A Hero's Fate, Part 1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Chapter 65, already! Oh, and ahem, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh in any format except these fics.)

**CHAPTER 65 – A Hero's Fate, Part 1**

KAIBA LAND, 7:20 p.m.

Drake stared, flabbergasted, at the TV screen as Janus's body was bathed in bright light and his features were changed. "What…the hell…?" he managed to croak out.

Destiny Hero – Doom Lord appeared next to him in semi-solid form. _"I sense…a magical influence at work here,"_ he commented. _"It would seem Janus has somehow tapped into a hitherto unknown power of sorts…"_

"But how? How DID he do that?" Drake protested. "He's never done that before!"

_"Perhaps that is the answer,"_ and Doom Lord pointed a dagger-like finger toward one of the other security camera shots available on the screen, where a close-up of Janus could now be seen as the mysterious light abated from the boy's body. _"That pendant he's wearing…it is glowing."_

Drake leaned forward a little for a better look. "Hmm…I see what you mean," he remarked. "And now that I think of it, I did see Janus wearing that thing this morning at breakfast in the hotel, but I didn't think much of it." He looked at Doom Lord. "Are you saying _that's _what's causing that weird change of his?"

_"Perhaps,"_ said Doom Lord. _"It would be wise to observe him, now that he's undergone such a drastic change…see how much differently he duels now from how you've seen him duel before. There's no telling, in fact, whether or not his dueling prowess HAS been altered in any way."_

"Why would his dueling change?" Drake looked skeptical.

_"Let us watch…and see." _Doom Lord vanished after that statement.

"Huh." Drake's eyes narrowed. _What HAVE you come into this tournament with, Janus—some sort of secret weapon? Let's find out…_

----------

DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, IN THE MEANTIME

"…and that's it, in a nutshell." Principal Yuki sighed. _At least I don't have to explain HOW Yubel pulled it off…_

"Okay, so…" Cassara frowned and tapped her finger on her cheek. "So Duel Monsters exist in this world as spirits—and they can interact with us humans?"

"Basically, yes," said Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "But there are very few duelists in the world who can actually see Duel Monster spirits or converse with them. Maybe one in, say, twenty or thirty. Of course, we don't go around telling random strangers about that—they'd truck us to the loony bin."

"And you can see them, Principal Yuki?" asked Natasha, eyes full of interest.

"I can." Principal Yuki nodded. "And many people who've come to Duel Academy over the years since it was first built have developed the ability to at least see them, if not talk to them. How able they are to do so vary…of course, some aren't able to see or hear Duel Monster spirits at all."

"How about you, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki? Can you see them?" Ricardo queried.

"Only on the day of the year when we hold the Duel Monster Festival, when they're able to take solid form and interact with us," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki admitted. "You kids should already know about that. It's one of the yearly events that Duel Academy's famous for."

Jiro turned his gaze back to the TV, a thoughtful expression on his face. _So…from here on out, it'll be a lot more than just natural talent helping you in your duels, Janus…perhaps…_

"So, question—back when we infiltrated the Zodiacs' Ark during Dueltropolis, we used Duel Monsters' holographic images to aid us…were those Duel Monster spirits, in any way?" Ricardo asked. "After all, holograms aren't supposed to do what those did on that submarine, and at Tokyo Dome when we stopped the Zodiacs there."

"It's…difficult to explain in a way that makes logical sense," Principal Yuki admitted. "But then again, when has anything concerning Duel Monsters ever made logical sense—especially on this island, in this school's history?"

"Good point…" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki chuckled.

"Still, he could've done without the light-show just now…" Jiro grunted.

Cassara looked quizzically at him. "What light-show, Jiro?"

"Huh? What do you mean, 'what light-show'?" Jiro exclaimed. "When that pendant of his glowed, his whole body glowed! You can't tell me you didn't see that!"

"Uh—_no,"_ Cassara countered. "Sure, the pendant glittered a little, but all I saw was that his jacket got a little longer, his eyes got more serious, his hair looked a little longer…there was no 'light-show' or anything about it!"

"There was a light-show, I tell you!" Jiro appealed to the others. "Guys, you saw a light around Janus's body, didn't you?"

"I sure did—back when Janus and I went to confront Park Fletcher a while back," Ricardo spoke up. "Janus did something similar then, and it was a whole lot of light. And his voice was different, too."

"Um…actually, I didn't see any light from Janus on the TV," Natasha shrugged.

Principal Yuki and Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki looked at each other knowingly. "Differing levels of spirit awareness," Principal Yuki whispered.

"Give it time," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded.

Then, as one, everyone's attention was drawn back to the TV. "Hey—looks like they're going to duel now!" Natasha said excitedly.

"Pass my fried rice!" Ricardo yelled. "Can't watch a good duel on an empty stomach!"

----------

KAIBA LAND

While the banter between Janus's friends and family had been going on back at Duel Academy…at Kaiba Land, Janus himself was eyeing Usagi out of now-serious eyes. "So, Usagi…" His voice sounded more mature, more determined. "Bring it on!"

Usagi blinked. _It's as if…his whole demeanor…no…his whole personality has changed, yet stayed the same…definitely like the stories of Yugi Muto in his prime! _Then her eyes narrowed. _Well, no matter now…as far as this duelist is concerned, it's still the same Janus Yuki standing before me—and he will still fall!_

"All right," she said aloud. "Let us begin. And I find it fair to let you know…I have already prophesied your defeat."

"Funny." Janus snorted. "Let's go!"

**JANUS: 8000; USAGI: 8000**

The two duelists held up their prepared Duel-Disks—and on TV screens around the world, their stats were displayed. First, Janus's: _**Janus Yuki. Age: 14. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: 3rd place in the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championships. Deck strategy: Elemental Heroes.**_

Then, Usagi's: _**Usagi Saiou. Age: 22. Nationality: Japanese-Romanian. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 3 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Arcana Force monsters.**_

"I will take the liberty of going first," and this Usagi did, drawing her opening hand and then drawing a sixth card to start. "And I choose to summon Arcana Force III – The Empress (ATK 1300, DEF 1300) in Attack Mode." A moment later, her talon-fingered, transparent-caped monster appeared, the spikes protruding from its back shining at their tips. "When the Empress is summoned, I toss a coin; if the result is heads, then each time you Normal Summon or Set a monster, I can Special Summon an 'Arcana Force' monster from my hand—but if the result is tails, then each time you Normal Summon or Set a monster, I must discard a card from my hand to the Graveyard." Here she paused. "I predict that the heads effect will prevail."

A holographic coin appeared and was flipped; moments later, the coin landed, its face showing the heads result. "Next," Usagi continued, "I shall set a card facedown, and hand over to you." Here she looked up at Janus. "You said I should use my fortunetelling ability in this duel, yes? Well…in your hand right now, you are holding Elemental Hero Clayman (ATK 800, DEF 2000), Neo-Spacian Dark Panther (ATK 1000, DEF 500), the Elemental Recharge and Hero Signal trap cards, and the Neos Force magic card—and the card you will draw for your next turn will be another Monster card, Elemental Hero Bladedge (ATK 2600, DEF 1800)."

Janus frowned and looked at his hand—and all the named cards were indeed there. "Yeah…you're right. And it's my turn." He drew—and the newest card in his hand was indeed the Elemental Hero Bladedge card.

"Having second thoughts?" Usagi queried. "I could stop predicting your cards if you wish."

But Janus shook his head. "No. I set that stipulation—I won't repeal it now that the duel's started." He glanced down at his hand. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…"

"Which triggers my Empress's effect—now I Special Summon an Arcana Force monster," Usagi spoke up even as the holographic figure of Janus's facedown monster appeared on the field. "And I choose to call upon Arcana Force VII – The Chariot (ATK 1700, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!" And she brought forth an hourglass-shaped monster with numerous tentacles protruding from its body. "Plus, now that it's been summoned, the Chariot has its effect activated…"

"Yeah…?" Janus waited.

"When the Chariot is summoned, I toss a coin," said Usagi. "If the result is heads, then if it destroys an opposing monster by battle, I can Special Summon that destroyed monster to my side of the field. If the result is tails, however, then you gain control of the Chariot." Her eyes flashed. "I predict that the heads effect will prevail."

A coin was tossed for the Chariot; moments later its result proved to be heads, just as Usagi had predicted. "Right," said Janus. "Well, I'll set two cards facedown…and that's it from me. Your move."

"I draw." Usagi did so, and now she held four cards in her hand. "Now you have only Neo-Spacian Dark Panther, Neos Force, and Elemental Hero Bladedge in your hand. You set Elemental Hero Clayman, Elemental Recharge and Hero Signal on the field."

"Yeah. I may as well admit it, since you know already." Janus nodded. "On the other hand, I can't see your hand or your facedown card, so I don't know what your strategy could be. That's an obstacle I need to overcome, if I'm going to be worthy enough to face Drake at the end of this tournament."

"But of course, you'll have to defeat me first—which you won't. And it _is_ my turn now. So…" Usagi studied her hand. "I summon Arcana Force 0 – The Fool (ATK 0, DEF 0) in Attack Mode." She brought out her tentacle-haired monster seconds later. "And since he's been summoned, his effect activates—I toss a coin, and if the result is heads, then I negate the effects of my Magic, Trap and Monster cards that target the Fool, and destroy them. If the result is tails, I negate all of _your_ card effects that target the Fool, and destroy them. Additionally, the Fool has two other effects of his own regardless of the coin toss result: he cannot be destroyed by battle, and he cannot be shifted to Defense Mode except by a card effect."

"Okay. And which of the coin toss results are you predicting?" asked Janus.

"Heads." Usagi's expression didn't change, even as the coin appeared and was tossed…and then came back, indeed, with a heads result. "But this coin result doesn't bother me, Janus—for I'm holding my deck's ace card…the card that will seal my prediction of victory against you. You said not to hold back…so I won't."

"Then don't. Let's see what you've got," Janus replied.

Usagi picked one of the three remaining cards in her hand. "I shall now send all three of my Arcana Force monsters—the Fool, the Empress, and the Chariot—to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon my ultimate Arcana Force monster." Then all three of the named monsters vanished in a flash of light. "Now, descend upon the field in Attack Mode…Arcana Force Ex – The Light Ruler (ATK 4000, DEF 4000)!"

All at once, Janus noticed a shadow enveloping the ground. Staring at it for one long moment, he slowly looked up…and his eyes just as slowly bulged. "Holy…" was all he could say.

Hovering there over Usagi's side of the field was an incredible monstrosity: a dark metallic monster with what appeared to be tow long-necked dragon-heads protruding from its back, a long tail with a sharp blade at the end, and on its gigantic torso it had two cannon-shaped arms attached, and numerous round blue orbs where its chest cavity would be. Its main head had one single green eye in the center of its face, with which it now looked down at the far smaller Janus. "Now that this newest Arcana Force monster has been summoned, I toss a coin for its effect," Usagi spoke up. "If the result is heads, then when the Light Ruler destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I can add one card from my Graveyard to my hand. If the result is tails, then when a card effect that targets the Light Ruler is activated, I negate that effect and destroy that card, but in turn the Light Ruler loses 1000 ATK points. I predict the Tails effect."

Again the holographic coin was tossed; when it landed, it indeed showed tails as its result. "Very well, then," said Usagi. "Now, to finalize things, I activate my Trap card, Tour of Doom." And as she said that, her facedown card flipped face-up, revealing the orange-robed Grim Reaper with his wicked-looking scythe-blade at the ready. "Now, as long as this card remains on the field, during each of your Standby Phases I get to flip a coin. If the result is heads, you cannot Normal Summon or Flip Summon until the end of that turn. If the result is tails, then I cannot Normal Summon or Flip Summon during my next turn." She looked upward. "Now, Light Ruler, destroy his monster! Use your Illumination Cannon!"

The Light Ruler pointed both of its arms forward—and fired a thunderous blast of light energy at Janus's facedown monster. The card was flipped face-up, revealing it to be a defending Elemental Hero Clayman, and he was swiftly reduced to nothing but dust as the blast exploded all over Janus's side of the field. "Urgh!" Janus instinctively put up a hand to shield himself from the impact.

"You may have been the one to say that I should not hold back, but with my power of prediction coming at you full force…you will surely perish." Usagi narrowed her eyes. "The only other option now is to surrender. There's no disgrace in that."

"Well, sorry if I don't share that sentiment!" Janus pointed to one of his facedown cards. "I activate my Trap card, Hero Signal! Since my monster was destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can now Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Elemental Hero' monster from my hand or deck to the field…and I select Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600, DEF 1400) from my deck, in Defense Mode!"

The iconic Elemental Hero searchlight shone out from Janus's card even as it was flipped face-up—and from the end of the searchlight itself, a beam shot down on his side of the field, resulting in Sparkman materializing in the same spot where Clayman had stood only moments earlier, kneeling in a defensive stance. "A brave front…but not very helpful in the long-term," said Usagi. "I end my turn…and by the way, I predict that the card you'll draw next is the Trap card, Mirror Gate."

Now frowning, Janus drew—and indeed he'd drawn the Mirror Gate card. _Just as she predicted...and, as for this card…_

"It is the Standby Phase, so my Tour of Doom's effect activates," Usagi's words interrupted his thoughts. At once a holographic coin appeared and was flipped…and the end result was tails. "All right…during my next turn, I can neither Normal Summon nor Flip Summon." In turn, the Grim Reaper turned and waved his scythe across Usagi's field momentarily. "Now you may proceed with your turn."

"All right." Janus looked at the Mirror Gate card again. _Hmm…all right._ "I'll set a monster in Defense Mode, set a card facedown, and end my turn."

"You set your Neo-Spacian Dark Panther in Defense Mode, and your Mirror Gate card facedown. Now, all you have left in your hand are your Neos Force and Hero Mask cards." Usagi shook her head. "I have already predicted what you were planning to do, Janus. Your Mirror Gate trap card can only be activated when one of my monsters targets a face-up Elemental Hero monster that you control; then, it switches control of those two monsters before damage calculation is performed, after which control of the monsters switch back at the end of the turn. So, you were hoping I would attack with the Light Ruler, then you would activate Mirror Gate, at which point Light Ruler's currently-active effect would kick in, negating and destroying Mirror Gate in exchange for lowering Light Ruler's ATK by 1000, thus making him even slightly easier to destroy later."

"Hmph…so my fate is that much of an open book, eh?" Janus wondered.

"Unfortunately for you right now. Now, my turn. I draw." Usagi did just that, so she held three cards in hand. "Thanks to the power of my Tour of Doom during your Standby Phase a little while ago, I cannot Normal Summon or Flip Summon any monsters, but I can still set a monster in Defense Mode…which I will do, by the way." This she did. "And I'll also set another card facedown," and this she did as well. "Now, Light Ruler, disintegrate his facedown monster! Illumination Cannon!"

Arcana Force Ex – The Light Ruler blasted cannon-like beams from its arms, forcefully flipping the facedown monster into view and revealing it as a screaming Neo-Spacian Dark Panther even as it was blasted out of existence. "Not to worry, your Sparkman will eventually meet his end. I end my turn…and the next card you draw will be Armor Breaker (ATK 800, DEF 800)."

"My turn again!" Janus declared, drawing his next card—and it was indeed Armor Breaker. _The Armor Breaker card that Cassara gave me…_

"Again it's your Standby Phase, so again my Tour of Doom trap card activates," said Usagi, and once more the holographic card flipped…and its result was heads. "Now YOU can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon during this turn." The Grim Reaper promptly flashed his blade across Janus's side of the field.

"Doesn't mean I can't set monsters, as you yourself pointed out," said Janus. "And since you already know this card I just drew is Armor Breaker, I'll set it in Defense Mode…and end my turn."

Usagi wasted no time. "I draw," and that she did. "Now, I activate my facedown Trap card, Lucky Chance! As long as this card remains on the field, each time an Effect Monster's effect that requires only one coin toss is activated, this card lets me call heads or tails for that coin toss. If I call it right, I draw one card. So…I'll Flip Summon my facedown monster, Arcana Force VI – The Lovers (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)."

Moments later the Lovers monster appeared as its representing card was flipped face-up. "Now, to resolve the Lovers' effect," Usagi went on. "When it's summoned, I toss a coin, and if the result is heads, then the Lovers can be treated as two tributes for the summoning of an Arcana Force monster. If the result is tails, I am forbidden to Tribute Summon any Arcana Force monsters. I predict the heads effect will prevail."

Yet another holographic coin was tossed, and the result of this one was heads. "Now the Lovers can be treated as two tributes to summon Arcana Force monsters," Usagi announced—and the Lovers monster immediately seemed to split into two separate monsters trying to stand in the same space. "And additionally, since I called the coin toss correctly, Lucky Chance lets me draw a card," and this she did.

Then Usagi held up one card from her hand. "And now…I will tribute the Lovers to bring forth yet another of my monsters…Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon (ATK 2800, DEF 2800) in Attack Mode!"

Both images of the Lovers vanished—replaced seconds later by an image of the full moon, which then morphed into a bizarre multi-tentacled mechanical creature with what appeared to be a small blue spaceman manning it from inside a cavity in its stomach. "As an Arcana Force monster, the Moon's effect activates—I toss a coin, and if the result is heads, then once per turn during my Standby Phase, I can Special Summon one Moon Token to my side of the field, and it's treated as a Light-attribute, Fairy-type, Level 1 monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF. If the result is tails, then during each of my End Phases I must select a monster I control and give control of it to you. And my prediction is that the heads result will prevail."

Once again a coin was tossed, and true to Usagi's word the result was heads. "All right," said Usagi. "I called the coin toss correctly, so Lucky Chance lets me draw another card," which she did. Then she selected one card from her hand. "Lastly, I will equip the Moon with this Magic card—Fairy Meteor Crush." As the card was activated, the Moon began to glow with bright red energy. "When a monster equipped with this card attacks a Defense Mode monster with an ATK higher than that monster's DEF, the difference is calculated from my opponent's life points as battle damage. So, Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon…destroy his facedown monster with Lunar Strangle!"

Its red energy from the Fairy Meteor Crush card mixing with a queer yellow energy from within its body, the Moon thrust one of its tentacles forward and gripped Janus's facedown monster card hard. The monster, revealed to be Armor Breaker, struggled hard—but got swiftly and brutally crushed for his effort.

**JANUS: 6000; USAGI: 8000**

"Only a little while longer, and your defeat will be assured," Usagi informed Janus.

"Well, sorry if I postpone it a while!" said Janus. "You already know that I had this card facedown, but I'll activate it now—the Trap card, Elemental Recharge! This will allow me to gain 1000 life points for each Elemental Hero that I control—and since I've still got Sparkman, that's exactly 1000 life points!"

**JANUS: 7000; USAGI: 8000**

"Very well…not that it'll do you any good in this duel, but I give you points for your endurance," said Usagi. "I will end my turn now. By the way…the next card you draw will be the Hero Mask magic card."

Now Janus sighed. _No doubt about it not…Usagi Saiou's definitely skilled, and with her power of prediction at her disposal, she's an even tougher force to deal with. As far as her power goes, she can predict whatever cards I'm going to draw, and she's prepared to counter any strategy I might cook up to deal with her—right now she's not even taking the bait with my Sparkman and Mirror Gate combo. Her Light Ruler's current effect could probably negate and destroy Mirror Gate if she attacked with that monster and I activated it, but she's not going to risk losing 1000 ATK points off the Light Ruler in case I come up with something stronger…but on the other hand, if my Sparkman stays in Defense Mode and she attacks with the Moon, whether I activate Mirror Gate or not I'll still lose a monster…and if I do activate it and control of our monsters gets switched, she won't attack the Moon with the Light Ruler, but she'll just wait till she gets back control of her monster—then my life points will be wide open and she'll be able to blast me out of the duel. Man…what'll I do?_

_**Janus 1 to Janus 2! Hey, Senshuken, I KNOW you can hear me!**_

Janus's mind snapped to attention. _Huh?_

_**What's the matter—forgot we're sharing the same body? You might be the one in control and using my name right now, but regular ol' Janus is still here!**_ The mental voice sounded peeved. _**I can't believe you're just itching to roll over and play dead just like that! Not while we're sharing one body and one mind, you won't! Get yourself in here and let's have a little chat!**_

_ How? Aren't we already talking here?_

_**Just close your eyes.**_

Janus heeded the voice, and closed his eyes…

----------

_ Now Senshuken soon found himself in what appeared to be a yellowish-white room, with himself at one end and regular Janus standing up at the other. _**"Janus?"**_ he queried. _**"Where is this place?"**

_"You mean you don't know?" Janus cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "It's a little room inside the Shadow Charm Pendant. It's connected to our shared mind."_

**"Hmm…"** _Senshuken glanced around. _**"How did you wind up here?"**

_ "As I said, it's connected to our mind," Janus answered. "I still don't fully understand it myself, but my guess is that when the Shadow Charm Pendant first woke you up from within me, it also created this room within itself and it got linked to our mind so you and I can better harness its power."_

** "That would make sense…it certainly explains how we were able to use its power with such ease and knowledge back when we faced that Park Fletcher character at the abandoned dorm,"** _Senshuken reasoned._

_ "And it helps that you were created inside me from the essence of Yubel's power back when I was still in Mom's womb," Janus added. "Yubel's a strong character…just a small fraction of her power resulted in you."_

**"But in any case, how's the discovery of this aspect of the Shadow Charm Pendant going to help us?"**_ Senshuken queried. _**"Right now, while I'm controlling our mutual body, Usagi's outside giving us a sound thrashing. Are you really sure it was such a wise idea to let her use her full power of prediction for this duel? It's starting to get quite unnerving…she was able to read our opening hand, after all…"**

_ "Yeah, I've been seeing it through our shared eyes," Janus nodded. "But there's something we ought to remember, man. Usagi's predictions might've been on the mark so far, but that's all they are—predictions. She can't read our mind—and that's probably what can give us an edge. Even if she's able to predict what cards we'll draw, she shouldn't be able to read our mind and figure out HOW we'll use those cards."_

_A light dawned on Senshuken's face._ **"Of course!"** _he exclaimed. _**"The ability to predict the future is not the same as the ability to read one's mind!"**

_"Exactly," said Janus. "Now that that's established, you don't have to get too rattled about her predictions. And as for your little concern you were just thinking about, I have an idea…but it might be a pretty risky gamble, given what's at stake in this duel."_

**"Well, I'm willing to try anything to get back the edge in this fight,"** _said Senshuken. _**"What's your plan?"**

_ "It's simple…" Janus winked._

----------

Usagi regarded Janus. "So, Janus?"

Janus snapped out of his stupor. "Oh…sorry. Just thinking. All right—now I'm ready to take my turn." He drew his card—which turned out to be Hero Mask, just as Usagi had prophesied.

"And it's the Standby Phase, so my Tour of Doom activates…and I predict the heads result," Usagi reminded him, and a holographic coin was tossed. Moments later it landed…and the result was heads. "You will not be able to Normal Summon or Flip Summon during this turn."

"That's fine…it's not like I can summon my Bladedge anyway," Janus replied, looking at the Bladedge card he still held in his hand. "I end my turn."

Usagi simply drew her next card so she held three in hand…and then did a general sweep of the field. _What now…if I attack with Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon, the Fairy Meteor Crush card it's currently equipped with can deal piercing damage through Sparkman's defense…but if I do attack with the Moon, you'll activate your Mirror Gate trap card, forcing us to switch control of our monsters and inflicting damage to me instead of you, and then you'll probably bank on me not using Light Ruler to attack my own Moon._

She then looked from one to the other of her monsters. _On the other hand, if I attack with the Light Ruler instead, and you activate Mirror Gate, Light Ruler's mandatory effect will negate and destroy Mirror Gate at the cost of reducing its ATK by 1000 points—not enough to significantly weaken it, I'll admit, but it'll be enough so that the battle damage you'd get from that battle will be reduced considerably…_

But then she shook her head. "It's my Standby Phase now, so the Moon's effect activates. I Special Summon a Moon Token." And then, a small blue spaceman similar to the one piloting the Moon appeared on the field. "And now…I offer the Moon Token as a tribute to summon Arcana Force XIV – Temperance (ATK 2400, DEF 2400) in Attack Mode!"

The Moon Token disappeared in a flash, and moments later Temperance stood in its place, its long arms stretching outward as if to grab Janus. "Temperance's effect activates—I toss a coin, and if the result is heads, all battle damage I take will be halved. If the result is tails, Temperance will halve all battle damage that you take, instead." Her eyes flashed. "For the purpose of Lucky Chance, I predict that the tails effect will be the result."

The coin was flipped—and sure enough, the result was tails. "So, now I draw a card for Lucky Chance," said Usagi as she drew, "and your battle damage that you'll get from here on out will be halved due to Temperance's effect. Now, battle, Temperance! Attack his Sparkman!"

Temperance stretched its arms forward—but Janus announced, "I activate my Trap card, Mirror Gate! You know what this'll do—it'll switch control of Temperance and Sparkman from their respective owners to the opponent, so now Temperance is mine and Sparkman is yours!"

Two huge mirrors emerged on both sides of the field—and on Usagi's side the mirror reflected Sparkman, while on Janus's side his mirror reflected Temperance. The latter monster's attack carried through, smashing Sparkman's mirror and destroying the monster altogether. "Now you can't possibly attack! You wouldn't willingly sacrifice your own monster, would you?" Janus grinned.

"Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon…destroy Temperance."

The grin vanished from Janus's face. "Crap!" he yelped—seconds before the Moon sent its tentacle lashing out at Temperance, flattening it with one blow.

**JANUS: 6600; USAGI: 8000**

"Now I have a complete tactical advantage," said Usagi, "in that you've got nothing left on your side of the field to protect you. Now, Arcana Force Ex – The Light Ruler…attack directly with White Nova Judgment!"

And as Janus looked on with ever-growing apprehension, the two dragon-headed appendages on the Light Ruler's back charged up white particle energy in their mouths…and fired…

----------

YUGO MUTO'S HOUSE, DOMINO CITY, AT THAT VERY MOMENT

_BANG! _The noise from the TV accompanied the blast of light that enveloped the dueling field even as, from the spectators' point of view, Janus's life points dropped drastically to 2600. "Merciful goodness…poor Janus sure took a heavy hit," Grandma Muto remarked, sipping thoughtfully on her mug of lemonade.

"And Usagi hasn't even gotten a scratch on her life points yet," Mrs. Bakura added, sipping from her own glass.

"Come on, now, don't count Janus out just yet," Kyo admonished the two of them. "Janus is still in this duel—maybe he'll pull off a strategy on his next turn."

A little ways away from the three, Mr. Muto and Mr. Bakura were sipping from their glasses, filled with the same odd green liquid Grandma Muto had been pouring out earlier. "I say, Yugi, it seems we'll be camping here at your house tonight…the duels don't look like they'll be going on hold for now," Mr. Bakura remarked.

"Don't sweat it," Mr. Muto said warmly. "You and your family are always welcome here, you know that."

"More importantly, though…" Mr. Bakura's voice lowered and became serious. "I didn't want to bring it up immediately, but…you saw that pendant Janus has been wearing all this time since the tournament began?"

Mr. Muto nodded. "I saw more than that," he replied. "I saw the magical effect Janus was able to pull off with it…"

"Not unlike us and our Millennium Items, back in the day." Mr. Bakura's voice was grave. "And that pendant in and of itself…it's one of several artifacts that I'd begun to study a couple of years ago. Do you remember me speaking of them?"

"Yes. I recall you'd mentioned them." Mr. Muto nodded again. "The Shadow Charm Items…from what I remember, they were wielded by a group of duelists who called themselves the Shadow Riders…a well-known group in the underworld, if memory serves correctly."

"It serves correctly," Mr. Bakura assured him. "Five years ago, Jaden Yuki sent the items to me, in order to ascertain their age and origin. Just last week, I was able to complete my research on them."

"I see. And…?" Mr. Muto looked expectantly at him.

"I'll tell you more, after this duel is over…for now, it looks like Janus is getting back up." Mr. Bakura smiled and took another sip from his glass.

----------

KAIBA LAND, AT THAT MOMENT

**JANUS: 2600; USAGI: 8000**

Janus slowly rose to his feet, smoke rising off his body from the Light Ruler's attack. "Damn…what power…" he managed to whisper.

On the other side of the field, Usagi regarded him. "You say you want to face Drake, yet this is the best you can do against me?" she asked softly. "It makes no sense to fight against fate…I've already predicted that victory in this duel will go to me, and your struggling is only making my victory come closer and closer. Yield. It's the best you can do in this case."

Shrugging his shoulders a little to shake off the effects of the attack, Janus shook his head in response to her. "And if I do that…then I may as well forfeit this whole tournament," he answered. "But you know why I won't? Because if I drop out now, that's exactly what Drake will want. And I won't let him have that satisfaction." His eyes narrowed. "The others who're left in this tournament may have their reasons to get to Drake…but I…I'm the only one who can get through to him. That's what I believe. And facing him is the only way I can do that."

"Get through to him…you mean, regarding your shared past?" Usagi eyed him keenly. "Regarding…Racquel?"

Janus looked right back at her. "I'll assume you saw that from your fortune-reading last night."

Usagi shook her head. "I saw it from even before that…when I first read Drake's fortune." She sighed deeply. "As you know, Drake has a great deal of rage in his heart. After I first joined the House of Cards, I read the fortunes of the other members, just to see what fate had in store for each of them…and his fortune was, and continues to be, the blackest of the lot. If he does not change, his fortune will come to pass…and not for the better."

Now a steely expression came into her eyes. "This whole tournament…you know its ostensible purpose already—to prove Drake Phoenix the best duelist in the world by defeating the top three Dueltropolis contenders. In reality, though, the entire enterprise, and all of Drake's preparations leading up to it, have all been geared to strike a decisive blow of vengeance against you for what happened between you, himself, and Racquel when you were children. And he will not stop until he has crushed you right under his heel for that time."

"Yeah." Janus's face looked dour. "I'd gotten so used to his disliking me all that time when we were kids, when Racquel was around…the two of us, always competing for her affection…" His eyes were overshadowed, though his expression remained visibly grim. "But after…that day…everything changed. We, he and I, we've only seen each other sparingly over the past eight years…and now, he's gotten stronger as a duelist…but…"

"But also more bitter," Usagi finished for him. "Eight years ago, your rivalry with Drake was established, but it wasn't until a year later that the truly bitter blood feud was sparked. It has been seven years since _that _time…it is a very long period of time to experience, but more than long enough for grudges to fester in one's soul, like a cancer that rots out the structure. And childhood slights and traumas, even if considered mere memories by others years later, are scarcely ever forgotten by he who experienced them in the first place. But unless a check is placed on his vengeance, that cancer will spread even further than it has."

Janus closed his eyes and held up his head—then opened his eyes again. "I know. I've always known. That's why…" His eyes narrowed. "…that's why, no matter how much you may be overwhelming me now, in this duel; now matter how much of my moves you may be able to foresee and predict…I'll keep going forward, not hesitating once till I get to my goal! No matter who my opponent is…it could be Yugo Muto, or Seta Kaiba, or whoever—so long as I have this one chance to settle things and make things right, nothing's going to stand in my way—not the other contestants, not the eliminators, not the distance, not destiny, not fate, and…"

Suddenly, the Shadow Charm Pendant began to shine—then, to Usagi's astonishment, a blaze of light energy seemed to explode from Janus's feet and enveloped his entire body, causing even his hair to flail about wildly. _"CERTAINLY! NOT! YOU!"_ Janus yelled. "So come on, Usagi Saiou—**BRING IT ON!"**

Usagi stared at this phenomenon, utter wonder on her face. Then she relaxed. "As you wish, Janus. My turn is now complete…and…the card I predict you will draw next will be—"

Suddenly her eyes flew open wider. _What the hell…! His next card…I…_ A bewildered look covered her entire countenance. _I can see what type of card it is…a Magic card…but—that's ALL I can see! I can't see which one it is!_ She looked up at Janus, who was still covered in his energy field. _Is he…is he somehow blocking some of my ability to foresee what cards he'll draw? But—that has never happened before!_

"Now…my draw!" And Janus readied himself, preparing to draw…

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Janus busts out the power of the Shadow Charm Pendant in his duel against Usagi, where so far he's been pushed against the ropes while her life points remain relatively untouched! But what _is_ the mystery card Usagi is suddenly having trouble predicting—and will it make any real difference for Janus at this stage in the duel?

Readers, much has been happening in my real life. I've been swamped with work assignments, one after another…and they've been hampering my ability to update regularly. I haven't even had a chance to look at any of my other incomplete fan-fics, and frankly, I'm feeling quite strained by that.

So all I'll ask, for readers of this story and the readers of my other in-progress stories "Velocity" (Justice League) and "One Piece, Two Piece, Red Piece, Blue Piece" (One Piece), please exercise patience as I sort things out in real life. I apologize for not being able to update as regularly and as often as I used to, but as they say, life's a bitch.

Another concern I've been having, regarding this particular story, even as I'm writing this now: I'm worried that it's starting to get as campy as Yu-Gi-Oh GX was, to the point of stretching your suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. What I want to know from you folks out there, at this time, is simply this: Am I, in fact, doing a good enough job at the moment with the story arc, the pacing, the characters, and the structure of the various duels?

Encouragement is really, really needed! Review soon, everyone!


	66. A Hero's Fate, Part 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Neomage ain't the owner, folks.)

**CHAPTER 66 – A Hero's Fate, Part 2**

KAIBA LAND, 7:30 p.m.

**JANUS: 2600; USAGI: 8000**

The duel between Janus and Usagi continued, while on TVs worldwide the stats were shown for viewers' benefit: Usagi was leading with an untouched life point score of 8000, while Janus was struggling along with only 2600 life points remaining. Janus currently had nothing left on the field; by contrast, Usagi had Arcana Force Ex – The Light Ruler in Attack mode with its tails-coin-toss effect active, Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon in Attack Mode with its heads-coin-toss effect in force and itself equipped with the Fairy Meteor Crush magic card, and the Tour of Doom Lucky Chance trap cards active. Both players held three cards each in hand—though in Janus's case, Usagi's fortune-telling ability had already identified his three cards as the Neos Force and Hero Mask magic cards and the Elemental Hero Bladedge monster cards. However, since the security cameras on them at this point hadn't been quite close enough to catch the audio of Usagi declaring the cards' identities, for anyone watching at this moment, the specific data on Janus's hand-cards was not included in the duel stat information.

And it was now Janus's turn—and he drew his card. As he did this, Tour of Doom's coin appeared. "It's your Standby Phase, so Tour of Doom activates," said Usagi. "I predict that for the coin toss, the result will be tails."

The coin was flipped—and the result was indeed tails. "I will not be able to Normal Summon or Flip Summon next turn," said Usagi.

"Fine," said Janus. Now he eyed the card he'd drawn keenly, then turned his gaze back to Usagi. "What's wrong? Weren't you going to predict what card this is?" he asked.

"I would…but…something's blocking my ability to see what card you've drawn…" Usagi replied carefully. "Perhaps it has to do with whatever influence you're using right now…?"

Only then did Janus become aware of the bright glow that still surrounded his body, although now it was dimmer than it had been before. He eyed the Shadow Charm Pendant with some faint amusement. _I see…so somehow, this trinket of mine cancels out or blankets certain special abilities of a magical or spiritual nature… _His smile grew deeper. _So, even though my alter ego's little gambit to lure Usagi in and use Mirror Gate didn't quite work out, in that plan's stead the Pendant's power has pulled us through…and…_ He eyed the card he'd just drawn. _And has given us a shot at taking back this duel! All right—in that case, here we go!_

"I activate the Magic card, Pot of Greed, and thus draw two cards!"

With that said, the famous green pot appeared on the field and spouted out two cards for Janus; now he held a total of five cards in his hand. "Well, Usagi…I'll say this about you," he said. "You're certainly a powerful opponent. Even without your fortunetelling abilities, it's easy to see why Drake would've chosen you as a member of his House of Cards. But as strong as you are…I'm holding a couple of cards that will start me on the path to defeating you."

"What? That cannot be—that's not in my prediction!" Usagi exclaimed.

"Then consider this the first time someone's actually managed to defy the destiny you've seen." Janus held up one of his newly-drawn cards. "I summon Elemental Hero Neos Alius (ATK 1900, DEF 1300) in Attack Mode!"

A flash of light erupted on Janus's side of the field, and then seconds later out came a white-bodied warrior with blue and red markings on his body, black hands and feet, and a solid yellow diamond on his forehead—Neos Alius. Usagi frowned on seeing him. "Strange being…he's like your trademark monster, Elemental Hero Neos," she commented.

"You could say he's kinda like that," Janus agreed. "Now, I set a card facedown, and then I end my turn."

Usagi said nothing as she took her turn and drew a card. _Odd that I couldn't see what his card was that he'd drawn, just now,_ she mused to herself. _And, for that matter…_ She frowned a little as she looked at Janus's facedown card. _My fortunetelling power won't let me see what his facedown card is, either…all I can tell for certain is that it's a Trap card of some sort, but which one it is, I can't see…_

She looked up at Janus. _Incredible…to think that this boy can actually block my power of clairvoyance to this degree…hmm. Perhaps…maybe, just maybe…if he can stand a chance against my power, then perhaps he can somehow alter Drake's destructive destiny…_

But then Usagi shook her head. _But no—even if he can block my power, it won't change my earlier prediction. If I can't rely on clairvoyance, then I'll just rely on raw skill. Let's see how he'll defend against THAT! _Again she looked at Janus's facedown card. _That being said…I can see Elemental Hero Neos Alius's card statistics from here. Its info says it's a Gemini monster…ah, so it's one of the Gemini monsters that Industrial Illusions recently released for sale to the general public. Except, this one wasn't released for sale…could this be a special collector's item card that Maximillion Pegasus created?_

Lowering her hands a little, she closed her eyes…and immediately flashes of images swept before her eyes. _Ah…I see…so Pegasus DID create that card—and three copies of it, to boot, all for this boy…and they were given to Janus by that girl, the Jewel Duelist, along with that mysterious pendant of his. And…_ She opened her eyes. _Like the other Gemini monsters that have been released to the public, Neos Alius is treated as a Normal monster while on the field or in the Graveyard. Additionally, all Gemini monsters have a power called 'Second Summon' that allows them to be Normal Summoned while on the field, in order to gain incredible powers…in Neos Alius's case, his name will then be treated like the regular Elemental Hero Neos. _She eyed Neos Alius. _He's just come onto the field, so his Second Summon hasn't been activated yet and he's still being treated as a Normal monster. And, if that is the case…_

Again she closed her eyes—and this time images of Janus's known cards flashed before her. _Ah, yes…these are cards he has been known to wield in past duels, as well as additional cards he's always had with his deck…so, by the old process of elimination, and with the knowledge that his facedown card is a Trap card, I can hazard a guess as to what it may be…hmm…yes, that IS the most likely answer…_

"Sorry to hurry you up, but…I'm getting a little bored here," Janus spoke to her.

"My apologies," said Usagi. "I choose not to attack. Instead, I'll just end my turn."

"Oh? Not attacking?" Janus gave an impish grin. "Scared of my facedown card, are you?"

"Just being cautious," Usagi answered. "Somehow, the mysterious power that influences you is still blocking my ability to see your cards that haven't been revealed to me. Why should I rush in blindly if I don't have to?"

"Oh, okay. Makes sense." Janus shrugged. "Anyway—my draw!" And he drew, so he now held four cards.

"Tour of Doom activates," Usagi reminded him—and the Tour of Doom's coin was flipped. "I predict the heads result." Then the coin landed—and indeed it was heads.

"So I can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon." Janus shrugged. "Oh, well. Now—I activate the Magic card, Future Fusion!"

Suddenly, all around the players there sprouted numerous futuristic-looking skyscrapers. "Here's how it works," Janus continued. "From my deck to the Graveyard, I'll send Fusion-material monster cards that are listed on a Fusion Monster in my Fusion deck. Then, during my second Standby Phase after this card's activation, I'll Special Summon a Fusion Monster from my Fusion deck that's got the same name as the one I picked, and that summoning is counted as a Fusion Summon. So, I'll pick Elemental Heroes Avian (ATK 1000, DEF 1000) and Burstinatrix (ATK 1200, DEF 800) from my deck…" He swiftly thumbed through his deck, found the two selected cards, and discarded them to the Graveyard. "…in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK 2100, DEF 1200) in two turns. Now, I end my turn."

"My draw!" Usagi drew her next card, so she now held five. "And I will put a dent in your plan by activating the Magic card, De-Spell! Now, say _sayonara_ to your Future Fusion card!"

The next thing Janus knew, his Future Fusion card exploded into numerous pixels and the futuristic skyscrapers around them vanished. "Crap…!" he muttered between clenched teeth.

"So you sent your two monsters to the Graveyard for nothing, and you won't be summoning any Fusion Monster in the next two turns." Usagi nodded. "Your bravery is admirable, but that is all it is—because it will not sway me. Now, I end my turn…your play."

Janus glanced down at the cards in his hand. _This is getting really bothersome…I haven't got anything right now that'll let me do any significant damage to Usagi's monsters or life points; but at the same time, she won't attack my Neos Alius because of my facedown card, even though her monsters are way stronger. And…if I use the Second Summon ability on Neos Alius, I'll probably throw away my edge that I've got over her now. Oh, well—the best I can do is stall for time until I can get something that'll REALLY plow right through her. Well, then…_

"My turn!" he announced, drawing his next card. "I wonder—are you able to see what this one is, or am I still blocking your vision?"

Usagi frowned. "Hmm…yes, you're right. My clairvoyance is still being snuffed by whatever influence you're under." To herself she added, _All I can see is that it's an Effect Monster, but not which one it is…_

The Tour of Doom card activated at that moment, its coin flipping. "For Tour of Doom's effect, I predict the heads result," Usagi spoke up—and moments later the coin landed, and its result was heads. "You cannot Normal Summon or Flip Summon this turn."

"I wasn't planning to," said Janus. "I'll just set this monster in Defense Mode, and call it a turn."

Usagi drew her next card. _I've already hypothesized what his facedown card may be, but just to be sure… _"Now I shall attack! And I choose to target your facedown monster—with Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon!"

The Moon thrust one of its tentacle-limbs forward, hitting Janus's facedown monster hard and revealing it to be a painfully flinching Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200) even as he exploded into numerous tiny sparks. Because the Moon was still equipped with the Fairy Meteor Crush card, Janus's life points depleted to 1000.

**JANUS: 1000; USAGI: 8000**

"As I expected," Usagi remarked. "You did not activate your facedown card when I attacked your facedown monster…which most certainly means you could only activate it under very specific conditions. And as I'm sure you realize, up to now I haven't attacked your Neos Alius since he came on the field, and you haven't used his Second Summon ability on him yet." Her eyes narrowed as she continued to speak. "Which means that your facedown card must be the Justi-Break trap card, which can only be activated when I select a face-up Normal monster you control as an attack target; then all Attack Mode monsters, except for Normal monsters, will be destroyed." She gave Janus an even gaze. "Am I right?"

Janus returned the even gaze. "Whether you are or not, do you really think I'd just tell you?" he answered. "You're the fortune-teller. You tell me if you're right or wrong."

"Hmm. I see. Very well, then." Usagi nodded. "I'll just end my turn, then. No harm in playing it safe."

Janus prepared to draw his card…but now his thoughts were troubled. _Even if she couldn't use her fortune-telling to do it, she still managed to guess my plan… _He glanced at his facedown card. _My Justi-Break card…if only she were to attack Neos Alius while he's being treated as a Normal monster right now, I could get rid of both of her monsters in one shot…but that isn't going to happen now._ He drew from his deck, so now he held four cards. _And if I put any monster in Defense Mode, she'll just attack with her Arcana Force XVIII monster…and even if the attacked monster is a Normal monster, if it was in facedown Defense Mode, then Just-Break won't work. And if I make one wrong move now, she'll wipe out the rest of my life points…I mean, I won't be in danger of being kicked out of the tournament itself, but still…_

"You just drew, so now it's your Standby Phase…and Tour of Doom activates," Usagi's voice drew him back to the duel. At once Janus saw the coin being tossed. "I predict Tails for this result." Then the coin landed—heads—and Tour of Doom's reaper slashed at Janus's side of the field. "I can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon during my next turn."

"Maybe not…but _I_ can summon during this turn. Including…" Janus held up the card he'd drawn. "Fusion Summon—using the Magic card, Miracle Fusion!"

"Miracle Fusion…a Magic card that lets you remove from play from your side of the field or your Graveyard, Fusion-material monsters that are listed on an 'Elemental Hero' Fusion monster, and then Special Summon that Fusion monster while treating its summon as a regular Fusion Summon…" Suddenly Usagi's eyes widened. "Oh, no—! There's just one monster you need to summon this way that'll allow you to significantly take an advantage…!"

Now Janus smiled widely. "It seems you've managed to predict what monster I'll summon. Well, watch and see, anyway." He reached for his Graveyard slot and pulled out two cards from it. "I'm removing Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix from play…to call out…Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

The silhouetted forms of Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on the field and swirled together into one image…resulting in the famous Flame Wingman with his single white wing and his red dragon arm. "But that's not all, nope," Janus continued. "Now, I can make full use of these three cards I've got left in my hand. First, I activate the Magic card, Hero Mask—and by picking one monster I control, I can send one 'Elemental Hero' from my deck to the Graveyard and treat the selected monster's name as the sent monster's name till the end of this turn."

Usagi scowled. _And knowing what cards he's been holding this whole time, I don't need to guess what monster he'll send from his deck to the Graveyard for that effect…_

"I pick Flame Wingman, and I send my Elemental Hero Neos (ATK 2500, DEF 2000) from my deck to the Graveyard!" Janus swiftly searched through his deck, found the card in question, and shuttled it off to the Graveyard. Immediately Flame Wingman's own face got covered in a mask that resembled Neos's face. "Now, Flame Wingman's name will be treated as Neos's till the end of this turn…and since that's so, I'll equip Flame Wingman with Neos Force, increasing his ATK by 800 points!"

Flame Wingman's dragon arm began to glow brightly, even while his ATK rose to 2900. "Now he's strong enough to bring down your Moon!" Janus announced. "Flame Wingman, attack with Dragon-Arm Strike!" And Flame Wingman swiftly took flight, blasting a bright ball of fire from his dragon-arm and incinerating Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon on the spot while lowering Usagi's life points very slightly.

**JANUS: 1000; USAGI: 7900**

"Now, two effects are going to come into play," Janus told Usagi. "There's Flame Wingman's own natural effect—when he destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you get damage equal to the original ATK of that destroyed monster. And since my Hero Mask magic card is treating Flame Wingman's name as Neos right now, Neos Force's effect will activate as well—when the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, damage is inflicted to you equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster."

"So the Moon's ATK will be doubly deducted from my life points…its ATK was 2800…and 2800 times two is…!" Usagi gritted her teeth and braced herself—right as Flame Wingman fired another blast of fire from his dragon-arm and covered her side of the field in pure flame.

**JANUS: 1000; USAGI: 2300**

"Nice…down to less than half in one turn!" Janus chuckled. "Well, all right. I'll tribute both Neos Alius and Flame Wingman, and set this monster in Defense Mode," and as both of his monsters vanished from the field, in their place appeared a facedown card. "And that ends my turn."

Usagi gave a small nod on seeing this. _Good move…he Tribute Set his Elemental Hero Bladedge that he had in his hand from before…if he'd left Flame Wingman and Neos Alius on the field, I likely would've attacked Flame Wingman with the Light Ruler, and because Flame Wingman is both a Fusion Monster and an Effect Monster, if his facedown card was truly Justi-Break, then it wouldn't have saved him, and I'd deplete his remaining life points and win the duel. As it is, he's at least bought himself one more turn, since I can't Normal Summon or Flip Summon during my upcoming turn thanks to the effect of my Tour of Doom trap card…that means that the Light Ruler will be the only monster I control on the field until my next turn. But that's fine—there's nothing he can summon at this point that'll give him a chance to win anyway. So, it's just a matter of waiting. And…_

She closed her eyes. _Hmm…his immediate fate regarding his next turn still appears blurry to my foresight…but it matters not. Whatever card he draws, I'll finish him off!_

"I draw!" She took her turn and drew her card, so now she held six in hand. "Now, I attack! Light Ruler, obliterate his facedown monster!"

The Light Ruler's two dragon-heads fired up white energy deep in their throats, then blasted it all at Janus's facedown monster, showing it to be Bladedge as his iron armor melted right off his body from the attack, before the rest of his body was burned away. Then Usagi held up another card. "And just so you don't get any further ideas, I activate the Magic card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your facedown card," she told Janus—seconds before a mighty gust of wind forcefully blew from her card, flipping Janus's card face-up and revealing it to be the Justi-Break trap card before ripping it to shreds.

"Damn…!" Janus flinched at the sight of his destroyed Trap card.

"So, my view of your strategy earlier was true," Usagi noted. "Now, without that card, if you happen to summon any Normal monsters to the field, they will not be protected from my monsters' onslaught. Now, then, I end my turn. Make your move."

Janus clenched and unclenched his fist as he looked down at his deck. _All right, then…now she's clearly got the advantage over me…if I get a dead draw this turn, she'll finish me off next turn with her Light Ruler, if not another monster. It'll really take a miracle for me to win at this point, no getting around that…_

He readied himself to draw. _In that case…show me a miracle…!_

On the other side of the field, Usagi's eyes widened a little. _What—! What is this—this overwhelming resolve coming from Janus all of a sudden? I've never felt anything like THIS from any duelist before! But…how can he possibly be so confident when his back is to the wall?_

Then Janus drew, and he held up his new card. "Usagi, check it out!" he said happily. "A special Magic card of mine—one called Fifth Hope!"

"What…?" Usagi frowned.

"It's a Magic card that allows me to select five Elemental Heroes in my Graveyard and return them to the Graveyard, after which I get to draw two cards," said Janus. "However, if I don't have any other cards on my side of the field or in my hand when I activate this card, then I draw three cards instead. So, first of all, let's check my Graveyard, shall we?"

Then, with a flourish, he pushed his Graveyard information button, revealing all of his cards resting there moments later. "All right—I'll return Elemental Heroes Clayman, Sparkman, Neos Alius, Bubbleman, and Bladedge to the deck…" He took the five named cards out of the Graveyard and shuffled them back into his deck. "…and since I don't have any other cards on the field or in my hand, Fifth Hope's effect will let me draw three cards instead of only two." Then he drew three cards from the deck. "And what do you know—I've got just the cards I need to beat you but good!"

Now Usagi scowled. "Impossible!" she barked.

"Oh, really?" Janus grinned. "Then let me show you what I've got! Now…I activate the Field Magic card, Skyscraper!"

Just then, all around them arose numerous skyscrapers from the ground. "Next," said Janus, "I activate another Magic card, Monster Reborn—and I'll revive my Elemental Hero Neos in the Graveyard, in Attack Mode!" And a moment later the famous Monster Reborn ankh of light shone on the field, and Neos emerged from it, shadow-boxing as he did.

"Huh…Skyscraper's power is such that if you attack with an Elemental Hero monster, and the attack target's ATK is higher than that of the attacker, then during that damage calculation only, the Hero's ATK will be increased by 1000 points," Usagi noted. "But even with that, your Elemental Hero Neos can't take on the Light Ruler. At most, he could try attacking my facedown monster—but what good will that do?"

"Watch and see what else I've got—I've still got one more card left to play!" Janus held up the last card in his hand. "I activate one more Magic card—a card called Hidden Armory!"

To Usagi's surprise, a large hole in the fabric of space and time appeared right next to Janus. "What is this…?" she exclaimed.

"Oh, this?" replied Janus. "It's the effect of my Hidden Armory. What it does is, it has me send one card from the top of my deck to the Graveyard…" Which he did at a moments notice. "…then, I add one Equip Magic card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand, and I'm going to fish around in my Graveyard for the one I want…which is Neos Force!" He promptly pushed his hand into the strange hole, and a moment later pulled out the desired card. "Of course, I can't Normal Summon or Set during the same turn I use Hidden Armory's effect, but I don't need to, anyway…now that I'm going to equip Neos Force onto Neos himself!"

Immediately Neos's fists glowed bright white as his ATK rose to 3300. "And as you already know, when a monster equipped with Neos Force destroys a monster in battle, that destroyed monster's ATK is deducted from my opponent's life points," Janus told Usagi. "And combined with the effect of Skyscraper…well, I'd say you're just about done."

"NO!" Usagi cried in dismay. "My prediction…it failed me…!"

"Come on, Neos! Destroy the Light Ruler with Neo-Spacian Justice Rampage!" Janus shouted. In response, as Skyscraper raised his ATK to 4300, Neos leaped skyward and flew straight down onto the Light Ruler, his fists a blur as he punched repeatedly at the Arcana Force monster. Hundreds of fist impressions emerged all over the Light Ruler's body—and then Neos drew one fist back and slammed it straight into the other monster's green eye in the center of its head. The Light Ruler instantly exploded with a gigantic BANG!

**JANUS: 1000; USAGI: 0**

"And that's THAT!" Janus cheered as the Duel Monster images disappeared from the field. He then looked down at his Duel-Disk; his life points were now replaced by his tournament points, which were increasing to 4000. "All right! Another 1000 points, and I'll be ready to bet any amount I want with any duelist that's got enough points of their own!"

Across from him, Usagi steadied herself even as her own tournament points dropped to 2000. "Astounding…to think that you could have blanketed my ability to foresee your actions, let alone for you to defy my predictions…it's simply astounding."

"Don't sell yourself short, Usagi…fortunetelling or not, you were a really tough opponent," Janus admitted. "You're a definite candidate to win this tournament, no doubt."

"I appreciate your kind words." Then Usagi's face became grave. "Now, as per our arrangement…you've shown me your other half…now I must tell you what I know."

"Wait—don't you want to know the details of, well, the other me?" Janus asked.

"It doesn't matter where your other half came from or how it came to be," Usagi answered. "Janus is Janus. That's all I need to know about that. My knowing anything more than that is, at this point, immaterial. Anyway, my information is much more important at the moment."

"I see." Then the Shadow Charm Pendant glowed a little—and Janus's physical features were back to normal. "All right, then. You said you'd tell me what you know of the goings-on of the House of Cards here in this tournament."

"That I did," Usagi acknowledged. "First, let me expound on what you've already been told. You were told that three of the eliminators in this tournament are former members of the Zodiacs, and another uses an Archfiend strategy, yes?"

"That's what Kent West said," Janus confirmed.

Usagi nodded. "The three Zodiac members are Chris Gear, Victor Greaves, and Felix Sanchez. Following the Dueltropolis tournament, they were staying with Maximillion Pegasus—until Drake hired them as eliminators for the Phoenix Herald Crown. His likely hope was that, since they had incredibly strong dueling power from their time with the Zodiacs, their strength would be useful in wiping out the tournament entrants here. By now, however, all three of them have been defeated."

"And what about the other guy—the Archfiend duelist?" Janus pressed.

"His name is Jan Shimizu," said Usagi. "I witnessed his skill for myself, when Drake first brought him into our group. He is incredibly powerful as a duelist…and he has dangerous energy swirling around him. But I've been able to sense, at least, that his loyalty is not completely toward Drake…given the right incentive, he could break away from the House of Cards."

"Okay, then…" Janus looked thoughtful. "Who's his next opponent in the tournament going to be? Were you able to predict that?"

"No, I was not. However…I was able to see something else." Usagi now spoke very seriously. "Drake has made a deal with some very dark forces…forces that, apparently, have been backing his plot of revenge for some time now. If he wins this tournament, he'll have the power of these forces behind him in all future endeavors. But…whoever or whatever these forces are, if they are allowed to fully manifest in Drake's life, the results will be catastrophic for all who're closely involved with him, to say the least."

"So what can I do about it?" asked Janus.

"I can suggest the first step for you," said Usagi. "Remember the fellow we bumped into when we were leaving the hotel to come here for our duel—the man who had the weird hair, as you put it?"

Janus was puzzled. "Oh, that guy? What about him?" he asked.

"Well…you wouldn't be expected to know by virtue of your young age. But that man was the Duel Monsters World Champion before Reno Dawkins and Seta Kaiba, ten years ago—Gabriel Roman is his name." Usagi nodded meaningfully. "From what the cards have told me, Drake intends to use him as a pawn in his game against you. And Gabriel is classed as a legendary duelist—that's how powerful his dueling skill is. Had he competed in Dueltropolis at full strength, there is no doubt in my mind that he would surely have won the whole thing—and I'm not saying this as a fortuneteller. But ten years ago, he quit Duel Monsters because of…personal reasons…and now Drake is planning to force him back into the profession. Gabriel will have to make a choice…and if help does not come to him very soon, much suffering will result from it."

Usagi narrowed her eyes. "I haven't been able to predict who the winner of this tournament will be—that was veiled from my eyes during my fortune-reading. But let me give you the bottom line, Janus: it is my belief that Drake should not be allowed to win the final duel of the Phoenix Herald Crown—for his own sake as well as for the sake of everyone else. So whether it's you, or one of the other players, who'll get to the Dark Lord Castle…Drake must be defeated, at all costs. He must be saved from himself!"

"I hear you." Janus nodded. "But what to do right now? Based on what Drake said in his announcement earlier, there's only six of us left in the competition, including the two of us; and given the way the tournament's being run, it might take forever to get the necessary tournament points to challenge Drake directly. At this rate, it might really take until tomorrow before anybody takes Drake on."

"Not necessarily," said Usagi. "Since there are four official players and two eliminators left, perhaps Drake will make some kind of special amendment that will allow for the tournament to end more quickly. Given his nature, that just may be what happens. Till then, we'll just have to continue obeying his tournament rules and hope the competition isn't dragged out too long."

"Got it," said Janus. "In that case, I'd better run and get more tournament points on the double! Thanks for the heads-up, Usagi! Good luck!" And he turned and ran off in one direction.

"Yes…good luck to you too, Janus Yuki," Usagi murmured, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.

----------

From the trees near Janus and Usagi's dueling site, Adam shook his head. _This is a bit much to take in all at once. First Janus displays some really weird power of some sort, and now to hear from that fortune-teller that Drake's being up to no good even more than I'd expect of him…_ Underneath his helmet's visor, his eyes knitted with determination. _I think I'd better pay a visit to the Dark Lord Castle…see what I can find out there…_

----------

Meanwhile, just outside the Dark Lord Castle…

"Ow…ow…ow…" Vasha rubbed the back of her neck gingerly as she and Calhoun walked along the tree-trail toward the castle. "That guy could sure HIT!"

"Yeah…I'm just surprised my head's still connected to my body," Calhoun grumbled, also rubbing the back of his neck. "But that punk just got in a lucky shot, is all. If he and I'd been going _mano a mano, _he wouldn't be able to stand back up!"

"In any case, we'd better go put some ice on our bruises…too bad they don't have anything for injured pride," Vasha said ruefully.

Calhoun was about to agree, when suddenly something caught his eye. "Hey, Vasha—over there," he beckoned to her. "Somebody's beat us to the castle."

Looking in the direction of Calhoun's pointing finger, Vasha beheld two male figures walking up the track toward the castle's front entrance. "Hey—that's Reno Dawkins, right there," she whispered. "But who's the cutie with him?"

"Cutie? Yeah, right," Calhoun shook his head. "But that guy does look pretty familiar. What say we go in and find out what's what?"

"All right," Vasha agreed. "Let's give them a couple of minutes, and then we'll go in after them. If we're going to tail them, we have to do it right."

----------

Reno Dawkins and Gabriel Roman appeared in the castle's front hall, Reno with a triumphant smirk, Gabriel with a sharp scowl. "I'm back!" Reno yelled. "And guess who I got to come back with me, eh, Phoenix? That's right—our bestest buddy and pal, the one, the only—"

"Gabriel Roman. Welcome." Drake's voice sounded from the top of the staircase. Looking up, the two saw him standing there, a pleased expression on his face. Now he began to make his way down to the landing. "I'm glad you decided to accept my hospitality."

Gabriel snarled, showing his clenched teeth. "Drake Phoenix," he said, with a great deal of his hostility in his voice. "Let me make one thing absolutely clear right now. I'm only here to safeguard my relatives from anything you might do if I don't comply with whatever you want of me. But don't, for ONE second, think that anything I'll do here is with my consent or of my own free will."

"Your family, huh?" Drake cast a sideways glance at Reno. "Must've been some pretty strong persuasive tactics you used, Dawkins."

"Well, _you_ said you didn't care how I got him here, just as long as I did, remember?" Reno said good-naturedly.

"True." Drake chuckled, then turned his attention back to Gabriel. "All right, Mr. Roman, how about this? All I want you to do is one simple task for me. One task, and you'll have your chance to free yourself and your family."

Gabriel didn't miss a beat. "I'm listening."

Drake nodded. "At present, out there in Kaiba Land there are six duelists remaining in my Phoenix Herald Crown. Four are officially registered competitors—Yugo Muto, Seta Kaiba, Janus Yuki, and Usagi Saiou. The other two are specially-designated player eliminators—Jan Shimizu and my sister, Jessica Phoenix. Once one of the duelists defeats all the others, he or she will have to come here to the Dark Lord Castle to face me for the right to be the winner of the tournament. What I want _you_ to do…" His eyes twinkled. "When that player comes here, I want you to duel them—and win. After that, you can either face me personally, or forfeit, as you choose—I don't care either way."

"I see. So you want me to be the penultimate fight to test the player's right to face you," said Gabriel.

"I don't want you to _test_ them—I want you to _destroy_ them." Drake smirked. "That's what you're famous for doing back in your hey-day, isn't that right? What was it they used to call you back then?...ah, yes. 'Gabriel the Gladiator.' Because you'd never ONCE lost a duel from the first official match you ever took part in to the day of your retirement, isn't that right?"

"You researched me. That much is clear. So you should know." Gabriel's face was stony.

"Hmm." Drake glanced at Reno, then turned his gaze back to Gabriel. "Well, Mr. Roman, I recommend you make yourself comfortable here. Reno will go back and…tend to your family to make sure you stay compliant with my offer."

"Got it," Reno nodded. Gabriel shot him a dirty look as he said this, but he only smiled in response.

"Good." Drake nodded back. "I just hope your dueling skills haven't rusted since your, well, _premature_ retirement, Mr. Roman. I'll be expecting much of you."

Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Reno." He nodded toward the entrance.

Reno gave a slight nod in response. Loudly he said, "Well, Drake, I guess I've done my duty here, so I'll be on my way…" He stepped backwards toward the entrance—then spun around and dashed toward it. "COME HERE, SPIES!"

"Yipe!" someone yelped—and then Calhoun and Vasha sprinted from their hiding place near the entrance and raced off for their lives, Reno stampeding after them at top speed.

Drake grunted in annoyance. "It was _those_ two? Geez, so useless…why'd I even let them join my group?" He shook his head. "Anyway, come on, Mr. Roman. I'll show you to your room."

Gabriel glanced back at the entrance where Calhoun and Vasha had just been. He let out a resigned sigh before turning and following Drake up the staircase to the next floor.

----------

Calhoun and Vasha continued running through the forested area near the Dark Lord Castle, with Reno mere meters behind them and closing in fast. "What's the big idea, dude? Can't we talk about this?" Calhoun flung over his shoulder.

"Stop running right now, or else—" Reno reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, attaching a silencer to the nozzle. "Or else I'll put a bullet in your backs!"

He took aim and fired. The bullet whizzed between Calhoun and Vasha, ricocheting off a rock right ahead of them. Seeing this, the duo promptly stopped where they were and held up their hands in surrender. "A gun? This guy was packing heat all along?" Vasha quavered.

"Quiet!" Reno snapped, coming up to them. "Now, then…I don't know how much you heard back there, but I'm not about to take any chances. Drake might've let you two bozos into the House of Cards, but oh well…all good things must come to an end." He walked in front of them and motioned back toward the Dark Lord Castle with his gun. "Now turn around and walk back that way. Move it!"

"Reno Dawkins, the former World Champion…oh, how the mighty have fallen."

All three glanced around wildly at the sound of the voice. "Who is it? Who's there?" Reno demanded angrily. "Come on out here where I can see you!"

The tree branches above them rustled—then suddenly something heavy fell down hard on Reno's shoulders, causing him to fall flat on his face. The gun was jerked from his grip and flew a few feet away, while the object—or rather, the person—that had fallen on top of Reno bounced up and away with ease, grabbing the deadly weapon a moment later. "You two—get out of here now!" the stranger addressed Calhoun and Vasha, with a female voice.

"Uh…thanks," Vasha said hurriedly, while she and Calhoun wasted no time beating a hasty retreat.

Reno, meanwhile, struggled to his hands and knees…and beheld the stranger, dressed in a hooded jacket with a small mask over the lower half of her face, training his own gun on him. "Aw, crap," he grunted. "You gonna shoot me with my own gun?"

The newcomer's grip on the gun tightened—and then abruptly, she un-cocked the weapon and took the bullets out of it. "That would be too good for a bastard like you," she hissed. "I'll give you my own brand of justice instead. As for these dangerous little toys, I'll see to it that they go to the proper authorities after I'm through with you." She put the bullets in one pocket of her jacket and the gun in another.

Now Reno was back on his feet, eyeing the stranger warily. "Who the hell are you, bitch?" he demanded.

"That's not your concern," the girl replied. "On the other hand, I know who _you_ are." Her eyes narrowed. "Reno Dawkins, the Duel Monsters World Champion before Seta Kaiba…after your defeat to him, you turned to crime to get back the glory you'd lost. In the years since then, you've hired yourself out to various crime families as a mercenary-for-hire…you'll work for anyone who'll pay you right. Oh, you keep that shady aspect of your life a secret from the general populace that knows about your exploits in Duel Monsters by staying out of the limelight as much as possible…however…"

Here she reached a hand into her jacket and pulled out a jewel-studded Duel-Disk. "Even if justice has been slow to catch on to your evil ways, I, justice's seeing-eye dog, have kept a close watch on you and your activities for a considerable amount of time. Taking you down was on my list of things to do…I just didn't think I'd get to do it this soon. Oh, well…the sooner your poisonous influence is cleared out of this amusement park, and is placed in a holding cell where it rightly belongs, the better things will be for everyone."

Reno eyed the girl's strange Duel-Disk. "A jewel-studded Duel-Disk…" Suddenly he grinned. "Oh, I see. You must be that Jewel Duelist girl that the entire underworld's been blabbing about. I've been hoping for a chance to meet you." He twirled his neck, cracking the joints a little. "You know, there's a pretty big bounty on your head in the underworld by now…10 million dollars to anyone who kills you and brings proof of the kill, double that to anyone who brings you to any one of America's or Japan's major crime families alive. For a little girl, you sure get around the world pretty easily…and make as many enemies as easily."

"I'm pretty popular these days," the Jewel Duelist answered. "It just so happens that Drake Phoenix is the latest in the long line of people who want me alive for their own purposes. To find you working for his little social club while moonlighting as crime's muscle…you must be real proud of yourself."

"It pays the bills," said Reno. "So, what—you're going to bring justice to me by dueling me? You'd have been better off if you'd just shot me when you got my gun."

"I'm not a killer…unlike _some_ people," said the Jewel Duelist. "Now, Reno Dawkins, ready yourself…for justice is going to take you down."

"Ha, ha, ha! You're an amusing chick!" Reno reached into his own jacket and pulled out his Duel-Disk, slotting his deck into it a moment later. "All right—let's see how you think dueling me is going to bring me to justice, as you claim! Before I'm done with you, I'll make you sorry you interfered with me!"

"Come, then." The Jewel Duelist's eyes were resolute.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Here's the deal, as it's already been stated earlier in this story: A while back, I stumbled across the TV Tropes website. And as you all already know, I've asked you to tell me which tropes you think apply to my stories "Forever," "Eternal" (this one you're currently reading) and "Fifteen Years Ago.". The ones that I can personally think of from that site that could apply to this series of Yu-Gi-Oh fan-fics I've written include: "Calling the Old Man Out," "Crowning Moment of Awesome," "Oh Crap," "Lampshade Hanging," "Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him," "What the Hell Hero," "Crowning Moment of Funny," "Hot Shonen Mom," "Les Yay," "Foe Yay," "The Big Bad," "The Dragon," "Mama Bear," "Papa Wolf," "Missing Mom," "Crowning Moment of Heartwarming," "Not So Harmless," "Beware the Nice Ones," "Shower Scene," "Nightmare Fuel," "High Octane Nightmare Fuel," "Fetish Fuel," "Shout Out," "The Rival," "Crouching Moron Hidden Badass," "Berserk Button," "Author Appeal," "Your Mileage May Vary," "Curb Stomp Battle," "No Holds Barred Beatdown," "Anime Hair," "The Syndicate," "Tranquil Fury," "Face Heel Turn," "Heel Face Turn," "Redemption Equals Death," "Nakama," "Action Girl," "A Day in the Limelight," "Badass Longcoat," "Big Eater," "Draco in Leather Pants," "I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight," "The Stoic," "The Reveal," "Squick," "Dark and Troubled Past," and "Took a Level in Badass" …and that's not even the complete list at the site proper. To get an idea of what each of these means, go to TV Tropes' site (I can't give the URL here since it won't show, so Google it) and look them up. If you do, let me know which, if any, of these may actually apply to any of the three Yu-Gi-Oh fics on my profile. Thanks in advance for those of you who intend to do that!

And with regard to this latest turn of events in the fic itself…the Jewel Duelist and Reno Dawkins prepare to face off! Who will win? Stay tuned!


	67. Jewel's Justice

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: The Jewel Duelist strikes! And sadly, Neomage doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or jewels of any kind…except the "family jewels." Yes, THOSE are the only jewels he's got.)

**CHAPTER 67 – Jewel's Justice**

KAIBA LAND, 7:55 p.m.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 8000**

The two duelists' life points rose to 8000 apiece as they drew their first five cards. "We're not playing by this tournament's rules now—let's flip a coin and see who goes first," Reno offered. "I call tails!"

The holographic coin was flipped…and when it landed again, its result was indeed tails. "Now, prepare to suffer!" Reno boasted, drawing his sixth card.

"I think not," the Jewel Duelist said calmly. "Just go."

"Hmph…fine, then." Reno selected a card from his hand. "I activate the effect of a Monster card from my hand—Hardened Armed Dragon (ATK 1500, DEF 800)! By discarding a Level 8 or higher monster from my hand, I can Special Summon this dragon to my side of the field—so, from my hand goes Felgrand Dragon (ATK 2800, DEF 2800), a Level 8 monster…" He discarded the picked card to the Graveyard. "…and to my field comes Hardened Armed Dragon!" And then, moments later there appeared on his side a winged dragon with bone coverings all over its body, even on its wings, and only very faint traces of muscle in between the bones.

"Next," continued Reno, "I'll use my Normal Summon to bring out Herald of Creation (ATK 1800, DEF 600) in Attack Mode!" Then, next to Hardened Armed Dragon, there appeared a young woman clad in white robes and with a headdress fitted with a mask that covered the lower half of her face, and she was armed with a stylized gold staff. "And I'll use her effect right now! Once per turn, I can discard one card from my hand to add one Level 7 or higher monster from my Graveyard to my hand. So, out with this card…" He discarded one more card from his hand. "…and back in with Felgrand Dragon!" He fished the named card from his Graveyard. "And now, I'll set one card facedown and call it a turn for now."

"Hmm…a strong start, I'll grant you that," the Jewel Duelist admitted as she drew her card. "And to answer it, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

"Pfft! Only one monster in Defense Mode? Poor girl!" Reno laughed loudly. "My draw!" He drew his card. "I tribute both Herald of Creation and Hardened Armed Dragon to summon my great dragon…Felgrand Dragon, in Attack Mode!"

Both of Reno's monsters exploded in a shower of starry sparks…then those sparks formed together, framing the shape of something massive…and then that something emerged in plain view: a pale-gold dragon with sharp blade-like wings. As the dragon appeared fully, it lowered its head slightly and snarled at the Jewel Duelist. "Behold my mighty dragon and tremble!" Reno boasted. "Oh, and before I forget, another effect of Hardened Armed Dragon's activates: if it's tributed for the summon of a Level 7 or higher monster, that monster becomes immune to card effects that would otherwise destroy it! Which means that no matter what kind of card effects come against my Felgrand Dragon now, if they would've otherwise destroyed him, now he'll just shrug them off!"

The Jewel Duelist narrowed her eyes.

"Now, Felgrand Dragon, attack! Dragon Emperor Shockwave!" Reno cried. In response, Felgrand Dragon let loose with a terrific roar that shook the field and forcefully flipped the Jewel Duelist's monster face-up. That monster soon proved to be Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise (ATK 600, DEF 2000), but it just as quickly shattered into pieces—and reformed as a solid green gem on the girl's side of the field.

"My Emerald Tortoise's Crystal Beast effect," the Jewel Duelist explained. "If he's destroyed while he's a monster, I can place him face-up in my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card, instead of sending him to the Graveyard."

"For all the good that'll do you," Reno scoffed. "Take your turn. I'm done."

The Jewel Duelist obliged, drawing her card from her deck. _Interesting…so Hardened Armed Dragon's second effect is a lingering effect that basically makes Felgrand Dragon invincible against all types of destruction, save through battle. _She examined what she was holding. _In that case…_

"I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (ATK 1600, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode!" She then called forth her snarling tiger, while the topazes on either side of his neck glistened bright yellow. "And I equip him with the magic card Crystal Release, to increase his ATK by 800 points!" And as glittering sparks suddenly appeared all around the tiger, his ATK rose to 2400.

"And that's going to help you, how exactly?" Reno wanted to know.

"Topaz Tiger has an effect that's aside and apart from his Crystal Beast power," said the girl. She paused and glanced at the tiger; he, in turn, looked back at her briefly and nodded. "As I was saying," she continued, "when Topaz Tiger attacks a monster, his ATK is increased by 400 points during that damage step only. So that'll put him on par with your Felgrand Dragon…even though it'll mean both of them are destroyed."

"Really, now?" said Reno. "Well, in that case, I'll activate a Trap card—Proof of Powerlessness!"

All at once, Topaz Tiger flinched—and exploded! "What the…!" the Jewel Duelist seemed surprised.

"Proof of Powerlessness is a Trap card that can only be activated when I control a Level 7 or higher monster," Reno explained. "Then, all Level 5 or lower monsters you control will be destroyed, at a cost of me not being able to attack with any monsters during the same turn…but since it was activated during your turn, the second part of the effect doesn't bother me."

"But maybe this will," said the Jewel Duelist. "When Crystal Release is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can place one 'Crystal Beast' monster from my deck into my Magic/Trap zone, face-up, as a Continuous Magic card—and the one I select is Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (ATK 300, DEF 300)." Then a shiny ruby appeared on her side of the field. "Plus, since Topaz Tiger was destroyed while he was a monster, he can go into my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card, too." And a great yellow gem emerged in her Magic/Trap zone as well.

"But now you're completely wide open," Reno sneered. "Some strategy."

"For which I have the cards to back it up," the girl countered, holding up another card from her hand. "Like this Magic card—Crystal Beacon! If there are two or more Crystal Beast monsters being treated as Continuous Magic cards on my side of the field, and you see I have three, I can Special Summon one Crystal Beast from my deck—and the one I select is Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (ATK 1800, DEF 1200), in Defense Mode!"

A large round sapphire emerged on the Jewel Duelist's side of the field, shining and sparkling brightly—and then shattered into pieces, revealing the winged horse kneeling in a defensive stance with his wings wrapped protectively around himself. "Now, Sapphire Pegasus's effect activates," the Jewel Duelist continued. "When he's summoned, I can select one Crystal Beast monster from my hand, deck or Graveyard and place it face-up in my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card. And the one I select is Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle (ATK 1400, DEF 800), from my deck." And as soon as she finished speaking, Sapphire Pegasus's forehead horn glowed brightly, and moments later a cobalt gem emerged in her Magic/Trap zone. "That is all from me for now."

"Pfft. My draw." Reno drew his next card, giving him a total of three in hand. "Now, it's time to put Felgrand Dragon in the domain where dragons rule and are at their absolute strongest! I activate the Field Magic card, Mountain!"

The landscape around them suddenly made a dramatic change: The forest they were in vanished from sight, replaced moments by towering, ominous-looking mountain peaks. "Mountain increases the ATK of all Dragon, Winged Beast, and Thunder-type monsters by 200 points," said Reno. "Observe!"

At once Felgrand Dragon unleashed a furious howl as his ATK and DEF each rose to a devastatingly high 3000. "In the mountains, the dragons reign supreme!" Reno shouted. "Felgrand Dragon, show that winged horse why you're unbeatable! Dragon Emperor Shockwave!" And in turn, Felgrand Dragon let out a bellow that caused the mountains themselves to tremble, and in turn violently vibrated Sapphire Pegasus's body to the point of causing it to break apart. Almost as quickly, though, a sapphire appeared in the Jewel Duelist's last remaining Magic/Trap slot.

"You're still a LONG way from touching my life points—you do realize that, right?" said the Jewel Duelist.

"But now you'll never get anywhere near mine, either!" Reno shot back. "Not with my Felgrand Dragon dominating the field!" And the dragon roared its agreement with that sentiment. "Plus, all your Magic/Trap slots are used up now—all you'll be able to do from here on out is defend with monsters…monsters that'll be perfect food for my dragon emperor right here!"

The Jewel Duelist shook her head. "Are you done? Because I'd like to get on with this duel, if it's all right by you."

His face bearing annoyance with her cool demeanor, Reno nonetheless looked at his hand. "Yeah, sure, I'm done. Nothing much else I can do…not that I need to, anyway."

Without missing a beat, the Jewel Duelist drew her next card. "Dawkins…I'd like to make one correction to a statement you made a moment ago," she said to him. "Not all of my Magic/Trap card zones have been used…I still have one left to use."

"What?" Reno stared blankly at her—then it dawned on him. "CRAP!"

"'Crap' is right." The Jewel Duelist held up a card from her hand. "Field Magic card, activate! Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins!"

The holographic image of the mountains exploded into numerous sparkles…and was replaced by the Jewel Duelist's coliseum with a rainbow visible overhead, even as Felgrand Dragon's ATK and DEF dropped back to normal from the change of scenery. "No! You'll pay for that!" Reno seethed.

"We'll see," the Jewel Duelist said indifferently. "Now…my Rainbow Ruins field magic card gets certain effects, depending on the number of Crystal Beast cards in my Magic/Trap zone. Right now, there are five of them there, so…if I have four or more, then once per turn during my Main Phase, I can draw one card." This she did, so she now held four cards in hand again. "And then, I'll use another effect—if there are five Crystal Beast cards in my Magic/Trap zone, then once per turn during my Main Phase, I can Special Summon one Crystal Beast from my Magic/Trap zone. And I pick Ruby Carbuncle, in Defense Mode."

The ruby on her side of the field shifted from the Magic/Trap zone to the Monster zone—and broken apart, revealing the cute little fairy creature. But Reno snorted in disdain at the new arrival. "And THIS is supposed to impress me? It's got the weakest stats of all the monsters you've summoned so far!"

"That may be," the Jewel Duelist admitted. "But Ruby Carbuncle has an effect that more than makes up for its physical weakness. When it's Special Summoned, its effect allows me to Special Summon as many Crystal Beasts as possible from my Magic/Trap zone—and I have four others to call upon, plus four empty Monster card zones, so…rise up, my Crystal Beasts, all of you in Defense Mode!"

The ruby on the tip of Ruby Carbuncle's tail shone brilliantly…then an emerald, a sapphire, a topaz and a cobalt gem showed up next to it, materializing seconds later into Emerald Tortoise, Sapphire Pegasus, Topaz Tiger and Cobalt Eagle, in that order; and all of them were crouched together in defensive positions. "Sapphire Pegasus was Special Summoned, so its effect activates once again," the girl pointed out. "I select another Crystal Beast from my deck and place it in my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card…and the one I choose is Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat (ATK 1200, DEF 400)." Then as Sapphire Pegasus's horn shone again, a purple gem shone behind the Crystal Beast monsters, signifying Amethyst Cat's presence and status. "And next, I activate Cobalt Eagle's effect: once per turn, I can return one 'Crystal Beast' card that I control to the top of my deck…so I choose Sapphire Pegasus."

Cobalt Eagle reared itself up and flapped its wings furiously, creating a wind so strong that Sapphire Pegasus, transforming into its signature gem, was blown off the field and its card sent right back into the Jewel Duelist's hand; she neatly placed it back on top of her deck. "Finally, I'll set one card facedown, and call it a turn."

"About frickin' time," Reno grumbled as he drew his card. "I activate the Magic card, Trade-In! By discarding one Level 8 monster from my hand, I get to draw two cards!" He held up one of his remaining hand-cards, showing it to be Montage Dragon (ATK ? DEF 0), then discarded it and drew two new cards. "Now, I'll set one card facedown…and now, Felgrand Dragon, rip her Topaz Tiger to pieces!"

Felgrand Dragon flapped its wings once, then flew forward at blinding speed and brutally mauled Topaz Tiger till nothing was left of it but bits of flesh; in the same moment, as per the tiger's effect, the glittering topaz appeared in the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap slot. "Sure, maybe my destroying your Crystal Beasts while they're monsters will turn them into Continuous Magic cards instead, but at least I'll clear your defensive line so I can finally get a shot at your life points!" Reno laughed loudly. "Take your turn—I'm done!"

"As you wish." The Jewel Duelist drew the Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus card from the top of her deck. "I summon Sapphire Pegasus to the field." And once more, the winged horse appeared, snorting disdainfully at Reno and Felgrand Dragon. "And its effect activates—"

"And is countered by my Trap card—Overwhelm!" Reno retorted, as his facedown card flipped face-up. Almost instantaneously, Felgrand Dragon let out such a frightful bellow that the shockwaves tore through Sapphire Pegasus, causing its body to shatter into pieces—and then reform into its signature blue gem, as per its effect, in the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap slot.

"What is this? What just happened? Explain!" the girl demanded.

"As you wish," Reno said mockingly, repeating his opponent's own words. "Overwhelm is a Counter Trap card that I could only activate while controlling a Level 7 or higher monster that had been Tribute Summoned. Since my Felgrand Dragon fulfilled both requirements, I was then able to negate the activation of either a Trap card or Effect Monster's effect, and destroy that card—hence, your Sapphire Pegasus's effect got negated before it could even come into play."

"I see." The Jewel Duelist narrowed her eyes. "Then I suppose I'd better just use this card that I have…" She selected one of the three remaining cards that she held. "The Magic card, Crystal Promise."

"Huh?" Reno looked bewildered.

"Crystal Promise lets me select one Crystal Beast in my Magic/Trap zone and Special Summon it as a monster," said the Jewel Duelist. "And naturally, I select Sapphire Pegasus…this time in Attack Mode." And the sapphire broke into pieces, with Sapphire Pegasus bodily reforming in the Monster card zone seconds later. "And now, Sapphire Pegasus's effect activates once more—and this time, I choose Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (ATK 1700, DEF 1600) from my hand, to be placed in my Magic/Trap zone."

Once again Sapphire Pegasus's horn shone, and an amber gem appeared in the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap zone. "Now, everything's in place," said the Jewel with a look of satisfaction in her eyes. "All in place for me to activate my Trap card…" She gestured toward her facedown card. "Rainbow Gravity!"

Suddenly, before Reno's startled eyes, the four Crystal Beasts in the Monster card zones had their respective gems glow brightly, while the topaz, amber and amethyst gems in the Magic/Trap zones shone with sparkling intensity. "Rainbow Gravity could only be activated when I had these seven Crystal Beasts together on the field or in my Graveyard," the Jewel Duelist explained. "Now, I am able to Special Summon my most powerful creature from either my deck or Graveyard, while ignoring the summoning conditions it usually has…and so, I will call it forth from the deck! Now…" Her eyes narrowed. "Come forth—Rainbow Dragon (ATK 4000, DEF 0)!"

A sparkle of numerous colors exploded all over the Jewel Duelist's field—and then the mighty dragon appeared, towering over everything else. "Suddenly your Felgrand Dragon doesn't look so high and mighty, does it?" the Jewel Duelist asked pointedly. "I'll shift all my other monsters that are defending into Attack Mode…and now, Rainbow Dragon! Attack with Rainbow Judgment Burst!"

The seven jewels on the side of Rainbow Dragon's neck lit up brightly, even as it fired a multi-colored beam of light from its mouth that completely incinerated Felgrand Dragon.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 6800**

"Now, my Crystal Beasts, attack!" the Jewel Duelist ordered; and in turn, Ruby Carbuncle flew up to Reno and slapped him across the face with its tail, Emerald Tortoise slunk into its shell and then spun said shell toward Reno so fast it hit him in the knees, Cobalt Eagle flew over Reno's head and clawed at him with its talons, and Sapphire Pegasus galloped toward him and butted him with its horn. From this combined assault Reno flew backwards and landed head-over-heels.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 2700**

"Now, I'll go into my Main Phase 2, in order to activate a few effects," the Jewel Duelist continued. "First, Emerald Tortoise's effect—once per turn, I can change one of my monsters that attacked this turn to Defense Mode…so I'll have it use that effect on itself." And Emerald Tortoise promptly hid itself in its shell. "Then I'll activate Cobalt Eagle's effect, and send Ruby Carbuncle back to the top of my deck." And Cobalt Eagle flapped its wings hard, sending Ruby Carbuncle off the field even as the Jewel Duelist placed the card back on the top of her deck. "And with that done, I'll end my turn for now."

Reno swallowed, even as he stood back up and steadied himself. _No doubt about it, this chick earned her rep…she's managed to safeguard her two weakest monsters by putting one in Defense Mode with its own effect and putting the other back to her deck with another effect…and besides that, she's got this…thing…_ He looked up at Rainbow Dragon's looming figure. _This monster, with 4000 ATK…how do I beat something like that? Especially since I haven't got a lot of life points left, either…_

He drew his next card, then scrutinized it and the other two cards in his hand. _Hmm…maybe I could still have a chance…if I were to…all right, then! Nothing tried, nothing done!_ "I'll set one card facedown—and then I summon Decoy Dragon (ATK 300, DEF 200) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought forth a cute-looking aqua-blue dragon. "And that's it for my turn."

At this, the Jewel Duelist frowned. _Strange…it's far too obvious that this is a trap…but if it was, wouldn't he try to cover it up a little better than this? He wants me to attack, that much is sure…I wonder, hmmm…_ "My draw," she said aloud, and here she drew the Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle card from her deck so now she held two cards in hand. "And I think I'd like to examine a few cards on the field and in the Graveyard, if you don't mind."

"Whatever," Reno shrugged.

Nodding, the Jewel Duelist touched a button on her Duel-Disk, and a moment later Decoy Dragon's card stats came up fully before her eyes. _I see…so, when Decoy Dragon is designated as an attack target, its controller can select one Level 7 or higher Dragon-type monster from their Graveyard and Special Summon it, and then the attack target is changed to that monster._ Then she touched another button, and Reno's Graveyard information appeared. _And what's in his Graveyard? Hmm…Felgrand Dragon, Montage Dragon, Hardened Armed Dragon, Herald of Creation, Mountain, Trade-In, Proof of Powerlessness, and Overwhelm, and…ah, yes, one more card, Serpent Night Dragon _(ATK 2350, DEF 2400)_…so, that must have been the card he discarded for Herald of Creation's effect earlier in the duel._

She looked up at Reno. _So, that's the strategy he's going for…if I attack Decoy Dragon with Rainbow Dragon, he'll use Decoy Dragon's effect to Special Summon his Felgrand Dragon and make it the attack target instead…and when Felgrand Dragon is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, its effect will increase its ATK by an amount equal to 200 times the level of one monster in his Graveyard. So…using that effect, he'll probably use Montage Dragon's level to increase Felgrand Dragon's ATK to 4400, enough to defeat Rainbow Dragon's current ATK…or, if I attack with either of my other two monsters, he'll use Decoy Dragon's effect to Special Summon either Hardened Armed Dragon or Serpent Night Dragon—and depending on whether I attack with Sapphire Pegasus or Cobalt Eagle, the monster he'll summon will be strong enough to repel that attack. And furthermore, there's his facedown card to consider…maybe it's got an effect that he's waiting to spring until I actually launch an attack…_

"I'll end my turn for now."

"Oh? Not doing anything?" Reno sneered. "Are you THAT scared of Decoy Dragon, hmm?" And as if to add to the insult, Decoy Dragon stuck out its tongue at the Jewel Duelist and blew a raspberry.

"Its very name is a dead giveaway for your strategy, Dawkins," the Jewel Duelist answered. "I'm just being cautious. The rules don't say I can't do that."

"Maybe not—but that caution will be your undoing if you don't keep both eyes open. Now, my draw!" Reno drew his next card. "Now, I'll just shift Decoy Dragon into Defense Mode…" Decoy Dragon curled up into a protective ball. "And I'll call it a turn for now. So…still not going to attack?"

Instead of replying immediately, the Jewel Duelist took her turn and drew her next card. Then she looked up at Reno. "Why should I attack now…when I can just bide my own sweet time and continue playing it safe?" she queried. "So with that in mind, I think I'll set one card facedown, one monster in Defense Mode…and that's it."

Now Reno frowned a little as he drew another card. _What IS she up to? Even if she's seen through my little plan with Decoy Dragon here, at least she could do SOMETHING! Ah, well, at least I've got this little thing here to fall back on…_ He eyed his facedown card. _If nothing else, this little trinket will let me devastate her forces…but I've got to play it right, or else she'll kick my ass to the curb…_ "I'll end my turn for now."

"And while it's still your End Phase, I'll activate my Trap card!" the Jewel Duelist spoke up suddenly. "Activate—Gem Flash Energy!"

"What…!" But Reno barely had any time to react further, for all of a sudden the field was surrounded by four walls lined with numerous gems. "What the hell is this?"

"Gem Flash Energy is a Continuous Trap card with life-draining power," said the Jewel Duelist. "Your life points, that is. During each of my Standby Phases, you lose life points equal to 300 times the number of Continuous Magic cards there are on the field…and as you should already know, my Crystal Beasts have the effect that lets them be treated as Continuous Magic cards when destroyed while they're monsters. So, my Amber Mammoth, Amethyst Cat and Topaz Tiger are here, waiting in the wings as Continuous Magic cards…three of these cards, times 300…"

Reno snarled in frustration. "This is bull!" he yelled.

"One person's opinion," the Jewel Duelist shrugged. "In any case, you have only three turns left before my trap card will finish you off completely. And the first turn starts…now. My draw." With that, she drew her next card—and gem shards shot out from the walls surrounding them, hitting Reno hard and causing him to stagger in pain.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 1800**

"Now," the girl continued, "I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn." She looked coolly at the flinching Reno. "Two turns left."

"DAMN YOU!" Reno roared, violently drawing his next card so he now held four in hand. "All right—you wanna play that way? Fine! I can play rough, too—and it just so happens that I've got just the right card combo to put you in your place!"

"Oh? So, what—you just got a lucky draw, and suddenly everything's right with the world again?" the Jewel Duelist asked.

"You better believe it!" Reno shouted. "You actually think I'm just going to stand here and wait for you to grab victory? Well, think again, little missy! I reveal my Trap card—Burst Breath!"

Reno's facedown card at once flipped face-up. "Now, to activate this card, I must offer one Dragon-type monster I control as a tribute," he said. "Then I can destroy all face-up monsters on the field whose DEF is equal to or less than the ATK of the tributed monster—and to begin the full activation of Burst Breath, I tribute my Decoy Dragon!"

Decoy Dragon burst into flames and burned to ashes—but then the Jewel Duelist spoke up. "And as you should recall, my Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins is still active, so I can use its effect," she told Reno. "If I have three or more 'Crystal Beast' cards in my Magic/Trap slots as Continuous Magic cards, then I can send one Crystal Beast monster I control to the Graveyard to negate the activation of a Magic or Trap card and destroy it. And so, to stop your Burst Breath from activating, I send Cobalt Eagle to the Graveyard."

Cobalt Eagle turned into its signature gem, which then shattered into millions of pieces—and the Burst Breath trap card promptly vanished harmlessly into thin air. "WHAT!" Reno screamed.

"You sacrificed your dragon, the one thing keeping you afloat, in a desperate attempt to take away the edge I currently have," said the Jewel Duelist. "But since your trap card's activation was stopped, you basically tributed the dragon for nothing."

"Why, you…!" Reno was livid. "Don't look down on me! I told you I have the right card combo—now I'll prove it to you! I Special Summon a monster from my hand…Vice Dragon (ATK 2000, DEF 2400) in Defense Mode!"

In a moment a large purple dragon with huge green wings emerged on Reno's side, crouched in a defensive stance—and its ATK and DEF inexplicably dropped to half their respective values. "If you control any monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand, but in exchange its original ATK and DEF are halved," Reno acknowledged. "Next, I activate the Magic card, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon! This will allow me to return one Level 5 or higher Dragon-type monster that I control to my hand and destroy all Magic and Trap cards!"

The Jewel Duelist didn't miss a beat. "And I counter with my Trap card, Crystal Raigeki," she said calmly, even as her facedown card flipped face-up. "By sending one Crystal Beast card from my Magic/Trap zone to the Graveyard, I destroy one card you control—and I choose to send Amber Mammoth to the Graveyard to destroy your Vice Dragon, in order to make the effect of your Magic card worthless."

As Amber Mammoth's gem shattered in the Jewel Duelist's Magic/Trap slot, a burst of lightning shot down from the sky and ripped through Vice Dragon, literally tearing its body in half. "Ack!" Reno winced at the sight. "Crap…now my Wingbeat of Giant Dragon card's effect is useless…!" He looked desperately at the two cards he held. "And these cards can't…!"

"It would seem, Reno Dawkins, that you're out of options now." The Jewel Duelist eyed him. "So, if you don't mind, I'll be taking my turn again."

"Grr…fine, then, bitch! I end my turn!" Reno glowered.

Unfazed at the derogatory insult, the Jewel Duelist drew so that now she held three cards—and immediately more gems shot out from Gem Flash Energy's jewel field, hitting Reno hard. "Ungh!" he grimaced, falling to one knee.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 900**

"I Flip Summon my facedown monster—Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle, in Attack Mode," the Jewel Duelist announced—and then, as the monster card got flipped face-up, Ruby Carbuncle emerged in a brilliant flash of red, hissing a little at Reno as it showed up. "And I seem to recall that earlier, you weren't speaking very highly of Ruby Carbuncle. How ironic, then, that it's the very monster I'll use to defeat you. Now…I shift Emerald Tortoise into Attack Mode." The tortoise appeared from its shell. "Now attack, Emerald Tortoise!"

Emerald Tortoise slipped back into its shell again—but this time the shell spun rapidly toward Reno, slamming into his knees and causing him to topple over, his life points dropping to 300.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 300**

"And now, Ruby Carbuncle, your turn! Attack directly!" the girl commanded—and the little fairy flew over to where Reno lay and swung its tail at his face, the ruby-tip smashing into his jaw hard and flipping him over violently.

**JEWEL DUELIST: 8000; RENO: 0**

Reno, now flat and facedown on the ground, slowly lifted his face from the grass; he promptly spat out a little blood from his mouth, at the same time gingerly putting a hand to his jaw where Ruby Carbuncle had struck him. "Ow…damn thing broke my tooth…" he muttered, flinching as he spoke.

"In a moment, you'll wish a broken tooth was the worst of your problems."

"What?" Reno looked up out of blazing eyes at the Jewel Duelist.

In response, the girl switched off her Duel-Disk, and all of her card images disappeared from play—but to Reno's disbelief, Rainbow Dragon was still bright and visible. "Hey! You just turned off your Duel-Disk, didn't you?" Reno shouted—then grimaced at the pain in his tooth.

"So why hasn't Rainbow Dragon disappeared too—right? That _is_ what you'd like to know, isn't it?" the Jewel Duelist asked. "Well, I'd explain that little phenomenon, but you wouldn't get it at all. Suffice it to say that right now, Rainbow Dragon will be the instrument by which I mete out justice long overdue to you." She raised a hand till it was at shoulder-height. "Reno Dawkins…in the name of justice, I find you guilty of involvement with the criminal underworld, accepting blood money, and just now, attempted murder—plus a whole other bunch of stuff I won't bother to spell out. The sentence—judgment by my Rainbow Dragon."

As she finished speaking, she dropped her hand. Rainbow Dragon promptly lurched its head forward…and reflected in its eyes was the swiftly-rising expression of realization on Reno's face…

----------

ELSEWHERE IN KAIBA LAND, 8:20 p.m.

Jillian Uriah tramped along, the hotel coming into closer view with every step she took. "Haven't seen any more duels all evening…just how well do the competitors hide themselves from public view when they duel?" she asked aloud. "And Kaiba Land's property isn't really that wide in and of itself…oh, well, at least I'm back here now…"

At length she passed through the hotel's front entrance and made her way to the dining area. Glancing around as she came in, she noted that a number of the hotel guests were helping themselves at the buffet line—but no sign of who she was looking for. She sighed deeply. _So Clyde and D.J. and their mom must've eaten already…I really spent too much time out in Kaiba Land looking around after I lost to Diane Chill earlier…_

"Jillian! Is that you? What's up?"

Hearing the hail from somewhere in the dining room, Jillian looked around. To her left she sighted Honey and Raven sitting together at a table with Buck Morgan. "Come join us!" Honey beckoned to her. "We've finished dinner already, but the boys are thinking of going back to the buffet line for another round. Care to join us?"

"The food's good, Jillian; trust me on that," Raven spoke up, grinning.

Jillian shook her head. "Thanks for the invite, but I'm supposed to meet with a few people here…and there's still no sign of them around…hmmm…"

"Well, I'm sure they'll show up when they're good and ready," Buck suggested. "Meantime, come sit with us—let's all share our experience in the tournament today!"

Jillian considered it a moment. "Huh…well, why not?" she answered, and she crossed over to the trio's table.

"So, how many tournament points have you racked up?" Honey inquired.

But Jillian shook her head. "Actually, I lost my first and only duel in the tournament—it was against Diane Chill," she admitted. "So much for making a storm here. What about you guys?"

"Buck and I both lost to Jessica Phoenix—she's an eliminator," Honey spoke up. "Although I still wish her deck strategy wasn't what it was…" She shuddered at the memory.

"One of the other eliminators took me out," Raven confessed. "That guy was real strong…too bad I never got his name."

"What did this guy look like?" Jillian queried.

"A big guy…reddish trench-coat…oh, he had spiky blue hair, too," Raven described the individual.

"…I see." Jillian wasn't smiling now. "No wonder you lost, Raven. That man you're talking about…" She glanced over at Buck for a moment. "That was Jan Shimizu…Kyo's brother."

Raven and Honey stared at her. "That guy was Kyo's brother?" Raven asked in surprise.

"Who'd have thought…Kyo's brother, here in the competition," Honey remarked.

Buck looked puzzled. "Uh, who?"

"Oh—Kyo's one of our friends back in Domino City," Honey clarified.

"Oh." Buck leaned back in his chair. "So, I guess y'all have quite the history, huh?"

"You could say that," said Jillian. "But in any case, if Jan Shimizu is an eliminator here, the other competitors out there will have a serious challenge. Even Drake Phoenix might run into some difficulty against him."

"Wait—can eliminators even challenge Drake?" Honey asked.

"Far as I reckon, the rules don't say they _can't,"_ Buck reasoned. "After all the rest of the competition's taken out, there'd have to be someone to duel Drake for the prizes, right?"

"And yet, so many have been weeded out in such short time—we aren't even into the appointed second day yet," Raven noted. "The duelists that are left must be having a field day seeking each other out and challenging one another for their tournament points."

"And I should still be among them…"

The quartet looked up as one at the sound of the voice. Then Jillian smirked. "Well, well, well…I guess you got axed, right?"

Standing over their table was Diane Chill. "Sure, sure, laugh it up all you like," she growled at Jillian. "Doesn't change the fact that I kicked your worthless ass."

"ANYWAY," Buck said loudly, putting a hand on Jillian's shoulder to keep her from jumping up out of her seat to confront Diane. "Where are the other pro leaguers, Lady Chill? Any idea?"

Diane scoffed. "I saw that loser Brodie leaving the hotel a few hours ago—good riddance to her," she answered. "That idiot Link was here earlier, too, and mad as a wet hen; he went upstairs, grabbed his stuff out of his room, and left. Wouldn't even stick around to leave a tip with the baggage boy. West and Altair," and here she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, indicating a table several meters away where Kent and Gaston were sitting and eating together, "are having the time of their lives with the buffet line; I'm guessing they plan on sticking around to see this tournament's finale in person. Dawkins—well, who the hell knows _what_ he's up to? I haven't seen him leave the place, so he's probably still around somewhere. As for our resident fortuneteller—she's still in the tournament, I gather."

"And you and I are here," Buck finished. "Chin up, Lady Chill. There's always next time."

"Whatever," Diane cast a disdainful look at him. "If nothing else, at least I can get some satisfaction out of seeing the three upstarts get put in their place by Phoenix."

"Excuse me—Seta won't lose to anybody, even Drake Phoenix!" Honey spoke up with some heat in her voice. "He was the World Champion, you know!"

_ "Was,"_ Diane emphasized.

"Never mind—at least the rest of the tournament should be fun," said Raven.

Diane turned her back on them. "Do as you like. Me, I'm going to my room to grab my stuff. Since I'm not in the tournament anymore, there's no point in me sticking around. Later, chumps." And she walked away.

"What's _her_ deal?" Honey complained.

"Let it go, little lady, let it go," Buck counseled.

----------

Back out in the dueling field that was Kaiba Land's expanse…

Two of the amusement park's security detail tramped along, stony expressions on their faces. "All's clear here, so far," said one. "So do we head back to the castle?"

"No—let's stick out here a little while longer," the other advised. "You never can tell what might happen, and Mr. Phoenix will have us sacked if we shirk our duty."

The first guard snorted in disgust. "Listen to you—styling that pushy little brat as 'Mr. Phoenix,'" he muttered. "Who does he think he is—Mr. Kaiba's replacement?"

"Shut it, moron!" the second guard snapped. "Or maybe you've forgotten there are security cameras around the place that link right back to the Dark Lord Castle? If Mr. Phoenix sees you on one of those feeds and hears you talking like that, you're done!"

"Well, _he_ can't fire me—Mr. Kaiba's the only one who can do that, since he hired us," the first guard answered defiantly.

They were walking near a large clump of bushes at that moment—and just as the second guard was about to retort, something heavy stumbled out of those bushes and right into their path! "Whoa!" the first guard exclaimed.

The strange figure now collapsed at their feet. "Hey…it's Reno Dawkins," the second guard remarked, getting his bearings back. "But what happened to him? He looks like he came out of hell!"

Indeed, Reno's clothing was torn and shredded, and he sported several bruises and bleeding lacerations on his body. And…something in his belt caught the guards' eyes. "What…?" The second guard stooped down to look at what the item was. "Oh, hell—this guy's packing heat!" He reached into Reno's belt and pulled out a gun.

"Restrain him, quick! Don't let him escape!" the first guard commanded.

"Uhh…holy crap…such beautiful lights…" Reno mumbled as the guards pinned his arms behind his back and roughly hoisted him to his feet. "Hey, hey, go easy, would ya?" he complained in a slurred voice, his eyes glittering crazily.

"You're coming with us, tough guy," the second guard said sternly, pocketing Reno's gun. "Visitors to Kaiba Land aren't allowed to carry any kind of dangerous weaponry on them—so you'll have a lot of explaining to do!"

"Aw, guys, I just survived being eaten by a jeweled dragon—cut me a break, would you?" Reno protested, still slurring his words.

"Yeah, sure, pal, whatever you say," the first guard replied sarcastically. "Now move it!"

The second guard pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke rapidly into it. "Home base, this is Security Team Gamma. We've just found tournament competitor Reno Dawkins with a firearm, and he's also got several injuries. Get the park medics on standby, and call the local authorities as well."

And as the guards marched Reno off…further in the bushes, the Jewel Duelist nodded grimly. "I've no use for your gun, Reno Dawkins…better to give it back to you, so it can incriminate you," she said softly. "Too bad I don't have any other evidence to tie you to your mob activities that I could've left on you for the authorities to find, but one small step for justice is a step in the right direction nonetheless."

"Playing vigilante again, were you?"

Glancing over her shoulder, the Jewel Duelist beheld the familiar figure in motorcycle gear with his helmet on his head. "Hi, Adam. What brings you this side now?"

"I was actually on my way to Drake's humble abode," Adam answered, nodding his head in the direction of the Dark Lord Castle. "I've a few questions for him that I want answered. But—what was up with that just now, with Reno Dawkins and those guards?"

The Jewel Duelist's eyes flashed. "Why don't you and I take a walk, Adam? I'll explain on the way," she offered. "Besides, now I've got a mind to go have another chat with Drake, myself."

"Another chat, huh?" said Adam. "Well, lead the way, my lady."

----------

_**Neomage:**_ And so, the Jewel Duelist and Adam go to the Dark Lord Castle for a showdown…what will happen next, eh? Review soon, please!


	68. Infiltration

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Christmas, April Fool's Day, Easter, or any of the world's other holidays, but I do own my birthday. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in the world who was born on December 30…)

**CHAPTER 68 – Infiltration**

KAIBA LAND, 8:42 p.m.

At the Dark Lord Castle…

Gabriel Roman lay flat on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, a dark expression in his eyes. Nearby, on the side-table lay a tray bearing a hamburger, fries and a soda—all untouched.

But then again, food was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

_Aunt Celina…Clyde…D.J....because of me, you've all gotten into trouble._

He closed his eyes and flinched as though he'd been struck. _That's it, isn't it? I'm cursed…I'm a walking curse…any loved one of mine always gets hurt because of my negligence…damn it all, I never should've left them alone! If only I'd been there, they wouldn't be…_

He ground his teeth together. _If I'd been there…when SHE needed me…she wouldn't have…_

----------

"…and that's the basic story."

Adam stared incredulously at the Jewel Duelist. "So the rumors are true, then? Reno Dawkins really is involved with the mob?"

"Oh, would that I had evidence to make it stick—but not all wishes come true in this world, my dear," the Jewel Duelist sighed. "At least now, though, he'll be out of the way. He'll have a hard time explaining that gun to the cops when they get their hands on him." Then her eyes narrowed. "As for what you've told me…"

"Yeah." Adam nodded, the black visor of his motorcycle helmet flashing for a moment. "I heard Usagi Saiou telling Janus after their duel—Drake wants to use Gabriel Roman's strength to give himself an edge in keeping a grip on the tournament."

"Whew." The girl whistled. "I wouldn't have expected Gabriel Roman to even be here at Kaiba Land, truth to tell—he's kept himself out of the limelight for so long since his retirement ten years ago. But if what you say Usagi told Janus is true, then…"

"Then we need to put Drake in his place for that—and also for having a guy like Reno running loose with a gun, shooting at people." Adam shook his head. "Those two Reno was chasing when you ran into him—are they all right?"

"I don't know—I told them to escape, and they did," the Jewel Duelist confessed. "They're probably still scared out of their wits by now, wherever they are—they _were_ being chased by a gunman, after all."

"I can imagine," Adam agreed. "All right—that's Drake's headquarters up ahead, isn't it?"

Looming just before them was the Dark Lord Castle. "That's it," the Jewel Duelist confirmed. "Let's go pay Drake a visit, then."

The two strode toward the castle. Then Adam turned his head slightly to look at his companion. "By the way…I said I'd notify you when next we meet…about the question I was to put to Janus. I doubt I'll have another opportunity to ask after this, so…"

"Hmm?" The Jewel Duelist looked back at him.

Adam cleared his throat. "Recently I've seen some really strange stuff happening. First, one of Janus's monsters materialized out of thin air and conversed with him, even though he hadn't summoned it on his Duel-Disk…then just a little while ago during his duel with Usagi, he used some weird power of some sort…I don't know what that's all about, but I want to find out what's going on with my cousin."

The girl chuckled at that. "Well…your first concern, I can address right now," she answered. "Janus talking to one of his Duel Monsters even though he hadn't summoned it—what you saw was probably a Duel Monster spirit."

"A Duel Monster spirit?" Adam cocked his head to one side.

The Jewel Duelist nodded. "Sometimes, duelists can be so in-tune with the world of Duel Monster spirits, they can actually see them from time to time; they may even be able to interact with them. Some duelists have close bonds with particular monsters in their decks, and thus the card's spirit manifests itself before them. In fact, I'll even give you a demonstration of what I mean—once we get close enough to the castle."

"Okay…" Adam cocked an eyebrow under his helmet.

----------

A few minutes later, inside the Dark Lord Castle…

Drake was back in his room, idly flipping through the various security camera channels. "Boring…boring…boring…" he muttered. "Pfft…whatever…whatever…"

Suddenly there was a loud rapping at the door. "What is it?" he called absently.

Instead of replying, the knocker rapped again. Now Drake looked toward the door with annoyance. "What is it, I said?" he repeated.

Yet again the knocking sounded. Aggravated, Drake jumped up and strode for the door. "I swear, if this isn't important…" he seethed as he opened it.

A peculiar sight greeted him—a blue-furred creature with a ruby-tipped tail, floating on air while giving him a spiteful look. "What—!" Drake exclaimed. "This is…!"

"Come on back, Ruby Carbuncle. You've gotten his attention."

As the creature floated away and then vanished into thin air, Drake rushed to the railing and looked down to the ground floor. "You!" he spat, glaring in recognition at the Jewel Duelist standing down there.

"Indeed." The Jewel Duelist turned a scathing gaze on Drake.

"You have some nerve." Drake made his way to the staircase and began to descend it, glaring at the two all the while. "Jewel Duelist, you've got some serious cheek showing yourself back here after how you disrespected me the last time you showed up unannounced."

The Jewel Duelist couldn't help but chuckle. "You must really not be paying the guards here enough, if I was able to slip myself past them for a second time in a row. Not that there was that much security detail out there to begin with, but even one guard should have the diligence of ten—isn't that so?"

Drake took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised—you're known for your slipperiness, after all," he told the Jewel Duelist. "But that you've done it twice in one day—I won't let you get away with it this time around. You are going down, even if I have to subdue you myself."

"The only one who's getting subdued here is you, Drake," said the Jewel Duelist. "I know all about what you've been doing since last I was here…and what you've been planning to do. Gabriel Roman…and Reno Dawkins walking around with a gun…what have you to say about that?"

"Pfft. I don't know what you're talking about," Drake scoffed.

"Don't lie, you brat. Usagi Saiou's already spoken out about your intentions for Gabriel Roman, and I know all about it," the girl revealed. "And I saw Reno trying to kill those two Duel Academy students. You can't say you didn't know anything about that—Dawkins has had a reputation following him, after all." Her eyes narrowed. "And here I thought my warning to you would've sunk in even a little—but I understand now that talking to you is like talking to a stone."

Drake scowled. "So what're you going to do about it?" he asked. "You can't prove that I know anything about Dawkins trying to kill anyone or whatever. And as for Gabriel Roman…whether I knew he was here at Kaiba Land or not, you've no proof that I'm planning to do anything with him. All you have to go on is the word of a fortune-teller whose credibility is already in doubt in some quarters. It's essentially your word against mine…and while you're a wanted vigilante, I'm from a reputable family with money and connections. Who are the authorities more likely to believe—you or me?"

"Yet if you strip away those things, what'll you be?" asked the Jewel Duelist. "Nothing but a little boy who's so spoiled rotten that he'll do anything to have his way—even turn a willingly blind eye so as to disclaim knowledge of crime."

"And again I ask, what'll you do about it?" Drake repeated.

"Well…talking to you isn't effective…so perhaps I should speak a language you CAN understand." The Jewel Duelist pulled out her trademark Duel-Disk and strapped it on. "The language of dueling."

"And why should I duel you?" Drake demanded. "I don't stand to gain anything by this. You've already made it clear that you're not going to work for me…unless…" Suddenly he smirked. "Are you going to go back on that word, after all?"

"No…but I'll give you something even more precious than my servitude." The Jewel Duelist pointed to her mask. "If I lose…this mask goes. You get to see the face under this mask…the face that a lot of people I've pissed off in the underworld would pay a million just to see."

One of Drake's eyebrows lifted. "So you're willing to stake your own secret identity just to try and stop my goal?" he asked.

"Worse sacrifices have been made in history. This one, in the bigger scheme of things, will be minor." The Jewel Duelist didn't flinch.

"…heh." Drake smirked again. "Very well. Wait right there." He turned and headed back up the staircase, toward his room.

----------

Unbeknownst to Drake, Adam was skulking about in the castle's shadows, his gaze darting from left to right and back again. _That girl…to think her explanation's getting a demonstration in action…I'm seeing it up close, but I still don't believe it…_

A few feet ahead of him there was the semi-solid form of Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat. The creature sniffed around a while, then turned its head to Adam, beckoning him to follow, and then it bounded off with silent strides.

_Huh…_ As quietly as he could manage, Adam trailed after the disembodied cat. _Just like with Janus and his Elemental Hero Neos…I guess there's really a lot I need to learn about Duel Monsters that goes beyond cards and holograms…_

----------

"Now, then…" Drake was standing back before the Jewel Duelist, his own Duel-Disk at the ready. "Perhaps I should thank you. I _was_ starting to get bored, not getting any of the action in this tournament myself…but at least now, I'll have an opportunity to test the strategy I'll be using as the final challenge in the Phoenix Herald Crown for whichever fool among the competitors manages to make it here."

"Pride goeth before a fall, Drake. Remember that," the Jewel Duelist warned, readying herself.

**DRAKE: 8000 LP; JEWEL DUELIST: 8000 LP**

"DUEL!" the two shouted.

They drew their first five cards each. "We aren't playing by the tournament's rules, so I'll call a coin toss to see who goes first," said Drake. "And I call tails."

The holographic coin appeared and was flipped…and its result was indeed tails. "I'll go first, then!" Drake crowed, drawing his sixth card. "And I'll tell you this right now—before I'm through, you'll regret ever opposing me!"

"Stop wasting my time and yours and just go," the Jewel Duelist grunted.

"Hmph. Very well." Drake looked at the cards he held. "I play the Magic card, D – Spirit! If I haven't got any Destiny Hero monsters on the field, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my hand—and I choose to summon Destiny Hero – Defender (ATK 100, DEF 2700) in Defense Mode!" And as he said this, his rocky warrior appeared a moment later, crouched in a defensive stance. "Then I'll use my Normal Summon to tribute Defender, in order to call out Destiny Hero – Dasher (ATK 2100, DEF 1000)!" Then Defender vanished from the field, and in his place Dasher revved into view, his wheels spinning fast. "Then I'll set a card facedown, for later. Your move."

Nodding, the Jewel Duelist drew her card. Then she studied one of the other cards she held. _Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat…your Duel Monster spirit is still guiding Adam through this castle, so I can't play you just yet…I'll have to buy Adam a little more time…_

She glanced up at Drake. _My gut tells me that if Drake really intends to have Gabriel Roman in his clutches, as Adam said Usagi Saiou had told Janus, then he's probably already taken measures to get Roman here—maybe he's even here already. Of course, Drake doesn't know Adam's here with me…_ Her eyes narrowed. _This duel is, for all intents and purposes, a distraction to keep Drake's attention completely away from Adam. This way, we can determine for sure whether Roman might already be here. If he isn't, then that's an edge we may be able to use against Drake…but if he is…_

"I summon Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle (ATK 1400, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" A bright shower of blue sparks shone on her side of the field—followed moments later by the noise of flapping wings as Cobalt Eagle emerged. "And I'll augment his strength with the Magic card, Crystal Release, increasing his ATK by 800!"

Rainbow colors shone all over Cobalt Eagle as it screeched a war cry, its ATK rising to 2200. "Battle, Cobalt Eagle! Destroy Dasher!" the Jewel Duelist commanded, and the eagle flew forward in response, slashing at Dasher's armor with its talons until the warrior was reduced to metallic ribbons.

**DRAKE: 7900 LP; JEWEL DUELIST: 8000 LP**

"Ungh…" Drake flinched a little at Dasher's destruction. "I activate my Trap card, D – Signal! Since my monster was destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can now Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my hand or deck—and I will summon, from my deck, Destiny Hero – Dunker (ATK 1200, DEF 1700) in Defense Mode!"

His Trap card instantly shone a bright searchlight with a stylized "D" in its center; a moment later Dunker came onto the field, crouched in a defensive stance. But the Jewel Duelist only shrugged at this. "All right. I'll set two cards facedown, and call it a turn."

"Don't think you can start getting cocky just because you scored damage against me first," Drake snorted as he drew his next card. "Now I activate the effect of Dasher in my Graveyard—one time only, while he's in the Graveyard, if I draw a Monster card during my Draw Phase, I can show it to you and then Special Summon it." He then held up the card he'd just drawn—Destiny Hero – Blade Master (ATK 300, DEF 600). "Using this effect, I Special Summon the Blade Master, in Defense Mode!"

Blade Master appeared next to Dunker, crouched in a defensive stance like his ally. "But it won't stop there," Drake went on. "Next I'll activate Dunker's effect—by sending one Destiny Hero from my hand to the Graveyard, I can inflict 500 damage to your life points! And I'll send Destiny Hero – Malicious (ATK 800, DEF 800) to the Graveyard for that effect!"

As Drake discarded the card from his hand, a ball of light appeared in Dunker's palm. Dribbling it like a basketball for a moment, he ten flung it at the Jewel Duelist; it promptly exploded on contact with her, causing her to flinch as her life points dropped below Drake's score.

**DRAKE: 7900 LP; JEWEL DUELIST: 7500 LP**

"Next," Drake continued, "I'll activate Malicious' effect from the Graveyard: by removing him from play, I can select another Malicious from my deck and Special Summon that one to the field—and I summon this second one in Defense Mode!" And as the spirit of the first Malicious floated out of his Graveyard, he thumbed through his deck, found a second Malicious, and summoned it moments later—and the horned and winged Destiny Hero emerged, defensively guarding himself.

"And lastly, I'll set this card facedown, and hand over to you." Drake smirked a little. "Not to worry—this is just a precursor for what's next. You may be infamous for dueling your enemies into submission, but before long I'll show you just WHY I'm the only one qualified to be the world's strongest duelist."

"No, Drake Phoenix—you're nothing but a traffic wreck waiting to happen. And unless you're stopped, others will get involved unnecessarily, more so than they already have. Now, my move." The Jewel Duelist drew her next card. "Hmm…I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn for now."

Drake promptly took his turn and drew his card again, replenishing his hand, and eyeing his opponent's side of the field all the while. _She probably didn't attack this time around because she wasn't sure of what my facedown card might be…likewise, I can't afford to be careless since she's got three facedown cards on her side. Still, one of us is going to have to slip up at some point—and I'll make sure it won't be me!_

----------

While Drake and the Jewel Duelist were still having their confrontation, elsewhere in the castle at that moment Adam was still following Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat's semi-solid form. Now the cat was running up several stone-cut stairs, with Adam in hot pursuit—and then somewhat abruptly, Amethyst Cat halted outside a door, meowed, and vanished into thin air.

"Eh? Is something here?" Adam wondered aloud.

Briefly looking around for any sign of security guards or cameras, he tried the door's knob. He smiled under his helmet as the door opened inward easily; then he stepped into the room beyond.

What he saw there astonished him. "So it was true then…"

Several feet from where he stood in the doorway was a side-table with a tray of food on it, and also a bed on which lay a red-haired man with yellow highlights in his hairdo. The man now looked up quizzically at Adam's intrusion. "Who're you?"

"Ah—you _are_ Gabriel Roman, aren't you? The former World Champion from ten years ago?" Adam exclaimed, rushing over to the other figure. "Then Usagi Saiou's info was right, after all!"

"Yes, I am Gabriel Roman," the redhead confirmed. "But again, who are you? And how'd you know I was here?"

"Right now, all you need to know is that I'm a friend," said Adam. "Drake brought you here against your will, didn't he? Well, I'm busting you out of here!" He placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder.

"No!" To Adam's surprise, Gabriel slapped his hand away. "I can't leave!"

"What? Why not?" Adam asked. "The info I got said you'd have been drafted here, if you weren't here already—and here you are!"

"Yes, that's true…but…" Gabriel looked away. "Like I said, I can't leave. If I don't do as that Phoenix kid asks, my family's safety won't be guaranteed."

"Your family's safety?" Adam queried, puzzled.

Gabriel nodded grimly. "The Phoenix kid sent that punk Reno Dawkins to threaten my relatives' lives unless I agreed to work with him. They're still at the hotel, but—if I try to leave now, their safety might get compromised. I can't take that risk."

If Gabriel could have seen Adam's face underneath his helmet at that moment, he would have seen that Adam's visage was a mask of anger. _Damn you, Drake…what have you DONE?_

"All right…freeze right there!"

Adam heard several safety catches clicking. Whirling around, he found himself face-to-face with several suited guards, all pointing their guns at him. "Awwww, sheeeeeeeeeeeeet…" he grunted as he slowly lifted his hands.

"All right, punk—how'd you get in here?" one of the suits demanded.

"Your mother brought me here." Adam couldn't resist a barb.

"Dude, they've got guns pointing at you. Insulting them doesn't seem to be the smartest thing to do right now," Gabriel warned him. Then to the guards he asked, "How'd you know he was here?"

"We didn't at first, Mr. Roman," another of the suits answered. "But we happened to be doing our regular patrol of this floor of the castle to check up on you like young Mr. Drake instructed us to do—just in time to find this scum-bucket here. Has he harmed you in any way?"

"No…no, he hasn't," said Gabriel. "In fact, he was just about to leave of his own accord…weren't you?" and he leveled a meaningful glance at Adam.

"Sorry, Mr. Roman, but we can't let this guy go just so—he did break and enter into the castle," the first suit countered.

Suddenly, before anyone could react, Adam shifted behind Gabriel and caught him in a hammerlock. "Ack—! What—!" Gabriel sputtered, automatically grabbing at Adam's arm around his neck.

"Just work with me here, dude," Adam whispered into his ear. Aloud he shouted, "Back the hell off, you goons! You want to shoot me—then go right ahead and shoot me! Let's see you explain to good ol' Drake how you had to blast through Mr. Big-shot Celebrity here just to apprehend little ol' me!"

The suits tensed at the sudden hostage situation. "Crap…!" the second suit who'd spoken muttered under his breath.

"Now just lower those guns, move away from the door, let us pass and we'll be good to go," Adam continued in a threatening undertone. "Otherwise…" His grip on Gabriel tightened slightly.

"Urgh…do as he says, damn it!" Gabriel rasped out. "Isn't Drake paying you to ensure my safety?"

Bristling, the guards reluctantly lowered their weapons and slowly moved away from the door. "Good…good…" Adam moved Gabriel toward the door, then eased past the guards while still keeping them in sight…

…and then his whole vision seemed to violently vibrate and colors flashed before his eyes as his body tingled with unwanted energy, before everything went black.

"Damn…" Gabriel muttered under his breath as Adam collapsed to the ground, a taser being held to his back by a guard who'd come up from behind.

----------

Back at the duel, Drake was studying the card he'd drawn only a moment ago. "Hmm…"

"What's wrong? Indecisive all of a sudden?" the Jewel Duelist queried.

"Don't rush me," Drake snapped. "All right…I can't do anything with this card I have, so I'll pass this turn. Do what you want."

The Jewel Duelist wasted no time, drawing her next card so she held three in hand—and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat card in her hand glittering slightly. "I see…you want to play now, huh?" she asked softly. "Very well." She held up the card. "I summon Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat (ATK 1200, DEF 400) in Attack Mode!"

Amethyst Cat soon appeared on the field, snarling at Drake. "Now, I'll take a chance and attack with Amethyst Cat!" the girl announced. "Its effect says it can attack you directly, but if it does so using that effect, the battle damage you'll get will be halved!"

On command, the cat bounded forward—but Drake countered, "Activate, Trap card—Mirror Force! Now your monsters in Attack Mode will be destroyed!"

Almost as Drake finished the statement, a force-field rose up in front of the three Destiny Heroes on Drake's side; Amethyst Cat crashed right into it and got catapulted back, slamming into Cobalt Eagle and destroying both monsters in the process. Soon afterwards, though, a cobalt gem and an amethyst emerged on the Jewel Duelist's side. "If my Crystal Beast monsters are destroyed while they're Monster cards, I can place them in my Magic and Trap zone as Continuous Magic cards," she told Drake. "And furthermore, when Crystal Release is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can pick one Crystal Beast monster from my deck and place it face-up in my Magic/Trap zone as a Continuous Magic card…but since my Magic/Trap zone is now full, I'll forego that effect."

"Uh-huh," Drake shrugged. "But now you've got no monsters on the field to protect you. What's to stop me from shifting my monsters here into Attack Mode and taking down your life points during my next turn?"

"How's this for an answer?" The Jewel Duelist pointed to one of her cards. "I activate the Trap card, Crystal Raigeki! By sending one Crystal Beast card from my Magic/Trap zone to the Graveyard, I get to destroy one card you control—and since your Dunker's got the highest ATK and DEF of all your monsters on the field, he'll be the one I destroy!"

Cobalt Eagle's representing gem broke into pieces—and a blast of lightning from somewhere above ripped through Destiny Hero – Dunker, reducing him to ashes. "With that, I end my turn for the moment," the Jewel Duelist finished.

But she continued an internal monologue, even while she looked at one of her two remaining facedown cards. _Radiant Mirror Force…it can only be activated if you declare an attack while controlling three or more monsters in Attack Mode. Then, all Attack Mode monsters you control will be destroyed…but then again, this will hinge on you having at least three monsters in play, and all of them in Attack Mode. Well, Drake, I can afford to wait…even if it means I'll take damage from your Malicious and Blade Master till you get a third monster in play, just the fact that I've got my life points wide open like this should be too good for a greedy boy like you to pass up. And I've made you use up your Trap card, so you won't have much else to hide behind when it's time for me to deliver my counterattack. So, come on…come on…!_

"My turn!" Drake drew his card; now he held two in his hand. "I activate the Magic card, Destiny Draw! By discarding a 'Destiny Hero' card from my hand, I draw two cards!" He then held up his remaining hand-card, showing it to be Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?), before discarding it and drawing two new cards to replenish his hand. "Next, I summon Destiny Hero – Dread Servant (ATK 400, DEF 700) in Attack Mode!" And a moment later, there appeared Dread Servant with his staff in one hand and his yellow gauntlet-shield on one arm.

The Jewel Duelist narrowed her gaze. _Perfect—three monsters on his side! All right, Drake…all you have to do now is shift Malicious and Blade Master into Attack Mode, then call an attack…and I'll have you right where I want you, with my Radiant Mirror Force ready to be sprung!_

But then Drake held up the last card in his hand. "And now…I sacrifice all three Destiny Heroes to Special Summon my deck's most noteworthy one: Destiny Hero – Dogma (ATK 3400, DEF 2400) in Attack Mode!"

"WHAT?" The Jewel Duelist reared up in sudden alarm at that announcement—but no sooner had she expressed her surprise than suddenly Dread Servant, Blade Master and Malicious all turned into sinister glowing balls of energy that spun around the field before colliding together in one massive BANG! And…from the light emitted from that bang, there appeared Dogma, his wings spread wide and his arm-blades at the ready.

"Now, feel my dark justice for your defiance of me!" Drake shouted. "Dogma, attack directly!" And Dogma did just that, slashing at the Jewel Duelist with blades of wind so hard-hitting that she got knocked several feet back while her life point score plummeted.

**DRAKE: 7900 LP; JEWEL DUELIST: 4100 LP**

"And with that, I do believe I shall end my turn." Drake sneered at the Jewel Duelist. "Don't worry—before long, your true face will be revealed to me…as per your own word of mouth!"

The Jewel Duelist picked herself up, albeit a little shakily. "Fat chance," she retorted. "I've been in worse scrapes than this in past duels."

"But there's something you haven't taken into account," said Drake. "Of your past opponents…none of them were me."

_Hmm…_ The Jewel Duelist frowned. _No arguing with THAT one…Drake might be a spoilt brat with the temper of a two-year-old, but when it comes to dueling, admittedly, not a lot of people can take him head-on and expect to win. He's not like any of the loser criminals I've dueled since I took on the identity of the Jewel Duelist…he's a real card-master!_ She looked at her deck. _So I'll have to hope that my deck will be kind to me this turn, otherwise…!_

"My turn! Draw!" She drew her next card, so now she held three in hand—but suddenly a blade of wind hit her clear in her midsection, knocking her down and reducing her life points to 2050. "UNGH!"

**DRAKE: 7900 LP; JEWEL DUELIST: 2050 LP**

"Oops—I forgot to mention, didn't I?" Drake asked mockingly. "During my opponent's Standby Phase after I Special Summoned my Destiny Hero – Dogma, he reduces their life points by half."

"Huh…well, that doesn't faze me in the least!" the Jewel Duelist answered stubbornly. "I'll set one monster facedown in Defense Mode, for now…that'll end my turn." She smirked. "Let's see you break through this, now."

"Oh, be _very_ careful what you ask for," Drake answered as he drew his next card. "Do battle, Dogma! Wipe out her pathetic resistance!"

Dogma flapped his wings, then flew forward at blinding speed and completely skewered the Jewel Duelist's facedown monster. As the card was flipped face-up, its representing monster was revealed to be Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise (ATK 600, DEF 2000), whose shell got sliced in two even as the reptile flinched in pain. But as this happened, the Jewel Duelist shouted, "And now I activate my Trap card—Crystal Pair!"

As her facedown card flipped face-up, a brilliantly glittering topaz appeared in one of her Magic/Trap slots. "Crystal Pair could only be activated when one of my Crystal Beast monsters got destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard," the Jewel Duelist revealed. "Then, I chose a Crystal Beast monster, Topaz Tiger (ATK 1600, DEF 1000) from my deck and placed it in my Magic/Trap slot as a face-up Magic card…and also, I won't take any battle damage this turn." Then she chuckled. "And also, since my Emerald Tortoise got destroyed while he was a monster, his Crystal Beast effect will let me place him in my Magic/Trap slot as a Magic card, too." And then an emerald appeared next to the topaz and the amethyst that were already there.

"Uh-huh," Drake shrugged. "In that case, I'll end my turn for the moment…"

"Mr. Drake! We've got an intruder here!"

Startled, both duelists looked as one toward the top of the nearby staircase. "What is this?" Drake demanded—for standing there were the security guards, two of whom were holding an unconscious helmeted individual between them.

"We found this guy lurking in Gabriel Roman's room, Mr. Drake," one of the suits explained. "He tried to take Mr. Roman hostage, but we managed to take him by surprise and subdue him."

Drake looked back at the Jewel Duelist out of the corner of his eye, then swiveled to face her directly. "Oh, I see…so that was your intention all along, wasn't it?" he said in a loud whisper. "This duel was nothing but a distraction, then…you were in league with this intruder all the time, weren't you? Trying to divert my attention while your pal got Roman out of here under my nose…"

"Oh, well…" The Jewel Duelist gave a resigned shrug. "This calls for a change of plans…"

"You're damn right it does!" Drake snapped. "Guards, grab this girl now!"

Several of the guards stormed down the stairs and toward the spot where the Jewel Duelist stood—but not waiting to be captured, she turned and fled for the front door. "Stop her! She's getting away!" the guard at the head of the group yelled, and all of them were in hot pursuit of the fugitive.

**DRAKE vs. JEWEL DUELIST: Duel Inconclusive**

Drake snorted in disgust as he switched his Duel-Disk off, causing the holograms to disappear from the playing area. "I can't believe I actually fell for a plan like that," he grumbled. "But that Jewel Duelist won't get far—I'll send out an announcement throughout all of Kaiba Land for her right now!"

Then he beheld the guards who were still present, holding the Jewel Duelist's accomplice. "Of course, first things first…if I can't have the Jewel Duelist's true identity, at least I can see who's been working with her…" He approached. "Get that helmet off this guy's head now!"

One of the guards complied, pulling the stranger's biker helmet off—and Drake's face was a picture of astonishment when he saw who it was. "Wow…this was unexpected…" He blinked. "Adam Rhodes—Janus's cousin? Who'd have thought?"

"What shall we do with this guy, Mr. Drake?" asked one of the guards.

"Hmm…" Drake considered for a moment. "All right, listen up. Make a mental note of his face, then throw him out of Kaiba Land. I don't know how he managed to get in to begin with, but…if at any point he tries to come back in after this, make sure you have him arrested for trespassing."

"Understood!" The guards proceeded to drag Adam's unconscious self toward the door.

"Hmph. So much for _you."_ Drake turned and headed for the staircase. "All right—time to compile and put out a little bulletin about the Jewel Duelist…"

----------

9:30 p.m., A SHORT WHILE LATER

Drake's face lit up the TV billboards and television sets across the Kaiba Land compound; those patrons who were still up and about looked at the tournament host's face with curiosity as he spoke. "Kaiba Land guests and tournament participants, this is Drake Phoenix, your host," Drake said. "I have urgent news. Somewhere in Kaiba Land, at this very moment, there is a criminal hiding out—the vigilante who calls herself the Jewel Duelist. A short while ago she attempted to break into the host's abode, the Dark Lord Castle, for reasons as yet unknown; however, we have reason to believe she may have intended to sabotage the tournament for her own purposes."

A picture of the mysterious masked vigilante popped up in place of Drake's face. "This is a computer-generated sketch of what she looks like, gleaned from the Internet reports of her exploits so far," Drake's voice continued in the background. "She wears a blue jacket with a hood and a mask that covers the lower half of her face; as well, she wears blue jeans, gloves and high-heeled boots. She also sports a jewel-studded Duel-Disk. If she is spotted, please alert the nearest Kaiba Land security personnel. I repeat, please alert the nearest Kaiba Land security personnel if you should spot the Jewel Duelist anywhere in the amusement park at any time. Thank you."

Usagi Saiou happened to be walking past an enactment of a stereotypical movie kung fu monastery when Drake's announcement rang out over Kaiba Land. She paused for a moment, looking at a nearby TV billboard as Drake spoke and provided a description of the Jewel Duelist. Then she shook her head.

_I see…so she attempted to do THAT, but failed…_ Usagi's eyes narrowed. _Drake slides further and further into darkness with every decision he makes…_

"Usagi Saiou…interesting that you should be the next person I run into."

Usagi glanced toward the monastery's makeshift stone courtyard out of the corner of one eye. "You've been there a while…did you get a chance to sleep?"

"Come over here and I'll tell you."

She complied, stepping through the arched entrance and into the courtyard, which was illuminated by two fluorescent lamps hanging from tree-branches directly overhead. "Come out of the darkness and face me."

"As you wish." Then, from the opposite end of the courtyard…Jan Shimizu appeared. "Yeah, I managed to catch a little nap after my duel against Diane Chill earlier this evening," he admitted. "There're a couple of cots inside that are actually quite comfortable. Not too warm, but not too cool either…just the right temperature for a place set mostly outdoors."

"I can most certainly imagine." Usagi regarded Jan. "So…did you see or hear Drake's announcement just now?"

"Yeah, I saw and heard. So what?" Jan shrugged. "If the Jewel Duelist wants to play around in Kaiba Land, that's her business. As long as she doesn't do anything that'll get in my way, I could care less."

Usagi closed her eyes for a moment—then opened them again and smiled. "Wouldn't you like an opportunity to have a rematch against her, after how she defeated you last time?" she queried.

"You looked and saw the past." Jan shrugged again. "I can't be bothered to hold grudges. Right now, all that concerns me is getting through this tournament."

"Perhaps so." Usagi pulled out her Duel-Disk. "Well, Jan Shimizu, since you are an eliminator, you and I ought to do battle, that one of us can advance in this tournament. I am now down to 2000 tournament points, and I do believe you have a lot more than that…defeating you will strengthen my chances of victory greatly."

"Tell me…" Jan pulled out his own Duel-Disk and readied it. "You're a fortune-teller. Did you, or did you not, foresee which of us will win this duel?"

But Usagi shook her head. "If I told you, would it matter?" she asked. "Whether you know the answer to that question or not, the outcome of this match will be what it will be regardless."

"Yeah?" asked Jan. "Well, I may not be able to see the future, but I've already made my own prediction—your tournament points will be mine."

"We will see." Usagi readied herself as she prepared to face off against Jan…

----------

_**Neomage:**_ So now, Drake and the Jewel Duelist's duel has ended on a rather sour note…but another duel is coming up almost immediately: Usagi Saiou vs. Jan Shimizu! Which of these two—one the fortune-teller of Drake's House of Cards, the other a newbie in the House of Cards who's nonetheless proved himself a powerful eliminator in the Phoenix Herald Crown—will prevail?


	69. The Demon and the Seer

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Nope, folks, Neomage still doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any other Yu-Gi-Oh medium.)

**CHAPTER 69 – The Demon and the Seer**

KAIBA LAND, 9:38 p.m.

**USAGI: 8000 LP; JAN: 8000 LP**

As the two duelists' respective life points rose to 8000, they both drew their opening hands. Meanwhile, on TVs and billboards everywhere, their respective dueling information for the tournament appeared. First was Usagi's info. _Usagi Saiou. Age: 22. Nationality: Japanese-Romanian. Professional dueling experience: Third place in Duel Monsters World Championships of 2015; consistently in the Top 3 ranking of all collective pro-circuit tournaments from 2015 onward. Deck strategy: Arcana Force monsters._

Then, Jan's. _Jan Shimizu, appointed eliminator. Age: 25. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: No known prior tournament experience. Deck strategy: Archfiend._

"I'm the eliminator, so I'll start," and Jan drew a sixth card to begin. "And know this, seer: if you've predicted that I'll be the winner here, fine; but if you've predicted anything else, I will verily _defy_ that prediction."

"Your determination is certainly great, and as a duelist I have already seen that you are strong," Usagi acknowledged. "All the same, don't assume you'll win. You never can tell what fate may have in store for you."

"I'd give fate a gesture, but my hands are occupied at the moment," Jan responded, before looking at the cards he held in his hand. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (ATK 1900, DEF 1500) to battle!" Then a moment later, his green-caped Archfiend swordsman appeared. "Then I'll toss two cards facedown, for good measure. Your move, seer."

"Yes, it is." Usagi drew her card. "Now to answer your summon just now, I summon Arcana Force IV – The Emperor (ATK 1400, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" In seconds her multi-tentacled creature appeared. "When he is summoned, I toss a coin; if the result is heads, all 'Arcana Force' monsters gain 500 ATK. If the result is tails, all 'Arcana Force' monsters _lose _500 ATK instead. So…coin toss!"

A holographic coin appeared and was spun…then landed on the ground…and the result was heads—and the Emperor's ATK got the appropriate boost, to 1900. "Then, I shall end my turn for the moment."

Jan lifted an eyebrow. "No support cards placed facedown to back up your monster? That's putting yourself far out on a limb," he remarked. "Or perhaps you don't have any of those kinds of cards in hand just now…"

"What is that to you?" Usagi replied. "You're an eliminator. Your only concern should be to gain my tournament points by defeating me in this duel."

"Hm. True. Well, my turn. I draw." Jan did just that; then he eyed Usagi. _All the same…whether she's really using special powers to foresee the outcome of this duel or not, I'll have to assume that she does in fact know what's in my hand, and also what my two facedown cards are. That being said, I'll have to play it as safely as I can manage…and hope for a clean break._ "All right—I'll set a monster facedown in Defense Mode, and call it a turn for now."

"My draw, then!" Usagi drew another card. "And this time I summon Arcana Force VII – The Chariot (ATK 1700, DEF 1700) in Attack Mode!" A shower of light later, the Chariot emerged next to the Emperor. "Now, when the Chariot is summoned, a coin is tossed. If the result is heads, then each time Chariot destroys a monster in battle, I can Special Summon that monster to my field. If the result is tails, control of Chariot will be switched to you."

The holographic coin appeared again and was flipped; and the result when it landed and remained still was—tails. Instantly Chariot floated over to Jan's side of the field. "Hmm…so much for your attempt to bolster your forces," Jan shook his head, even while the Emperor's active effect increased Chariot's ATK to 2200.

"For which I have a contingency plan," whereupon Usagi held up another card. "The Magic card Dark Hole, to destroy all monsters on the field."

A huge black hole suddenly opened up above the field, sucking both Arcana Force monsters and Jan's Archfiend Soldier and facedown monster into its depth as well; then, as suddenly as it had opened up, it closed right back. But Jan remained unfazed in spite of this. "And I suppose you have something planned for this…?"

"Indeed, I do." Usagi held up another card. "I activate Premature Burial, paying 800 life points to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode and equip this card to it. I choose Arcana Force IV – The Emperor." And then, while her life points dropped to 7200, the Emperor appeared back onto the field.

**USAGI: 7200 LP; JAN: 8000 LP**

"And again, the Emperor's effect activates, so I toss a coin," Usagi continued. At once the coin was tossed, and the result was—heads. The Emperor's ATK rose to 1900 accordingly. "And now, Emperor, do battle! Attack directly!" Which the Emperor did swiftly, flailing its tentacles forward and hitting Jan all over the body.

**USAGI: 7200 LP; JAN: 6100 LP**

"Finally, I will place one card facedown," which Usagi did, "and hand over to you."

Jan said nothing in reply, but drew his next card so now he held four. "Impressive play you pulled a while ago, clearing the field so you could get a direct shot at my life points," he declared after a moment. "And yet, any duelist with enough skill can do that, as I'll show you shortly. I summon my Shadow Delver (ATK 1500, DEF 500) in Attack Mode!"

A short moment later his mysterious shadow-bearer emerged on the field. "I remember this monster…it's the same one you used to defeat Alyx, when Drake was testing you for entry into the House of Cards," Usagi recalled.

"Glad to see you remember," said Jan. "Now watch as I up the ante a bit! I equip Shadow Delver with the Sword of Deep-Seated, increasing his ATK and DEF by 500 points!"

Shadow Delver was soon holding a purple-bladed sword—and a deep mauve aura enveloped him while his ATK rose to 2000 and his DEF to 1000. "Yes, it's enough to simply destroy your Emperor—but I've got something else in mind," said Jan as he held up another card. "I activate the Magic card Change of Heart, forcing your Emperor to switch sides till the end of this turn!"

As Usagi watched, the Emperor floated over to Jan's side of the field, then turned to face her alongside the battle-ready Shadow Delver. "Now, both monsters, attack directly!" Jan commanded, and they did just that—Shadow Delver's shadow gliding along and slashing at Usagi while her life points dropped to 5200, then Emperor hitting her repeatedly with its tentacles to lower her score further to 3300.

**USAGI: 3300 LP; JAN: 6100 LP**

"My turn's over now," Jan finished—and Emperor immediately floated back to Usagi's side of the field.

Usagi straightened up, recovering from the assault she'd just endured. "Now my Emperor's control has been returned to me—and you have a monster strong enough to do battle with the Emperor if it comes down to it," she said.

"I can't help but be curious, though…" Jan looked intently at her. "I would think that, for an oracle, you'd have been able to foresee all of this and be prepared to deal with it." His eyes narrowed. "You're not trying to lose deliberately, are you? Because if you are, then you may as well just forfeit right now."

"Forfeit? Just like that?" Usagi shook her head. "Sorry, but I am not aware of the rules of this tournament saying competitors can simply forfeit their points to other participants."

"The rules don't say you can't, either," Jan pointed out.

"True…" Usagi smirked a little. "But even so, I do know that I have fans around the world who are watching at this very moment. Some of them are, perhaps, urging me on to defeat you. I may be in a slight slump at the moment, but they are hoping I will bounce back and deliver defeat unto you. So, whether I can simply forfeit right now or not—I won't."

Jan shrugged. "Well, it makes no difference to me either way. Do what you want."

"Very well, then—my move!" Usagi drew her card, giving her a total of three in hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card Graceful Charity! I'll now draw three cards, but then I must discard two from my hand!"

Graceful Charity's green-robed angel appeared and handed three cards to Usagi, who quickly picked two and discarded them to the Graveyard. "Next, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy one of the cards in your Magic/Trap zone…" She eyed Jan's two facedown cards. "And I choose the facedown card on my right!" And as she said this, a typhoon-force wind blew onto the field, tearing Jan's card asunder.

"Now, let's make a check of the Graveyard, hmm?" Usagi continued, touching a button on her Duel-Disk and bringing up Jan's Graveyard information. "Yes…the card I just destroyed was your Bark of Dark Ruler trap card. That is a card that you could only activate during the damage step when a Fiend-type monster under your control was involved in battle, whether as an attacker or defender—then you'd be able to pay life points in multiples of 100 to decrease the opposing monster's ATK and DEF by the same amount till the end of the turn. Not a bad strategy, I believe—in fact, it was quite well-planned, if risky in terms of the cost you'd probably have to pay."

"Hmm…whether your choice to destroy that card instead of my other facedown card was sheer luck, or whether you really did foresee it…it was a decent play you made, too," Jan acknowledged gruffly.

"Thank you," said Usagi. "And here's one more—I activate my Trap card, Arcana Call!"

Instantly her facedown card got flipped face-up. "This card lets me select one Arcana Force monster I control—in this case, my Emperor," she explained. "Then, I select and remove from play one Arcana Force monster in either of our Graveyards…and I choose, from my Graveyard, a monster that I just sent there with my Graceful Charity's effect—Arcana Force VI – The Lovers (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)."

A silhouetted form of the Lovers monster appeared in front of the flipped Arcana Call card. "What happens next is," Usagi explained further, "until the end of this turn, the effect of the Arcana Force monster I selected on the field becomes the effect of the removed-from-play monster for the same coin toss result. So, the Lovers' effect for a coin toss that results in heads is, it can be treated as two tributes for the Tribute Summon of an Arcana Force monster. And since the Emperor's effect is currently the heads result for his coin toss, the Lovers' heads result will become his effect!"

As the Lovers vanished from sight altogether, the Emperor's ATK dropped back down to its original 1400. Jan frowned. "And I'm to assume that you'd only have done that particular play if you had a two-tribute Arcana Force monster in your hand…?"

"You assume correctly." Usagi held up one of her two hand-cards. "Now, I tribute the Emperor to call upon an even greater force: Arcana Force XXI – The World (ATK 3100, DEF 3100) in Attack Mode!"

The Emperor and its equipped Premature Burial card vanished—and then, hovering over the field was the gigantic metallic form of the World. "When summoned, the World's effect causes me to toss a coin," Usagi told Jan. "If the result is heads, then during my End Phase I can send two monsters I control to the Graveyard to force you to skip your next turn. If the result is tails, however, then during your Draw Phase the top card of your Graveyard will be added to your hand. Now—coin toss!"

Another coin appeared on the field and was flipped—and the result was tails. "So its tails effect will be in force—but that matters not, for your Shadow Delver is still greatly outmatched!" said Usagi. "Now, battle! Crush his Shadow Delver!" And the World complied, reaching forward with one of its tentacles and gripping Shadow Delver in a constricting hold that squeezed it tight enough to break it apart.

**USAGI: 3300 LP; JAN: 5000 LP**

"Argh…" Jan flinched as his life points lowered. "When the Sword of Deep-Seated is sent to the Graveyard, it gets placed back on top of my deck." He promptly fished it from the Graveyard and slotted it on top of his deck accordingly.

"Well, now the advantage is mine again, so I will end my turn for the time being," said Usagi. "Your life points are higher, but try getting something now that will stand up to the might of the World. Can you?"

"We'll see." Jan stoically drew the Sword of Deep-Seated from the top of his deck, adding it to his hand once again. "Since this is my Draw Phase, your World's current effect adds the top card of my Graveyard to my hand—which in this case is my Shadow Delver," and as the World glowed in response, he pulled the card from his Graveyard and added it back to his hand. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn. Go."

Usagi furrowed her brow as she drew her next card. "Well, now…I shall equip the World with the Fairy Meteor Crush card." A second later the World began to glow with an intense red energy. "And when a monster equipped with this card battles a Defense Mode monster, and it has an ATK higher than the DEF of that defending monster, the difference will be calculated from your life points as battle damage."

One of Jan's eyebrows twitched.

"Attack again, World! Smash his facedown monster!" Usagi commanded. In response, the World thrust one tentacled arm forward, slamming into the facedown monster—which, as its representing card was flipped face-up, was revealed to be the Shadow Delver—and destroying it completely. The shockwave from the attack knocked Jan back a little, and he scowled as his life points dropped by another 2600 points.

**USAGI: 3300 LP; JAN: 2400 LP**

"Now, in another turn it will all come to an end," said Usagi. "My World's effect will force you to add Shadow Delver back to your hand from your Graveyard during your Draw Phase, and you haven't anything else that can defend you against my World's onslaught. And whether your monster is in Attack or Defense Mode, I will still be able to raze your life points."

"So I see. So am I supposed to just give up now, then?" asked Jan.

"Only if you so choose—you _may_ get a card on your next draw that could aid you," Usagi answered. "But the chances of that happening at this juncture are extremely low. So…let us see if you can alter fate, eh, Mr. Shimizu?"

"Like I said before…if my hands weren't occupied, I'd give fate a gesture," Jan answered, even while he readied himself to draw.

----------

Some distance away, Yugo Muto was walking along, stretching and yawning as he did. "Not much more action today…the numbers of the duelists left must've gotten a whole lot smaller since the last tournament update Drake gave out," he sighed. "I guess I'd better just head back to the hotel for now and get some sleep…try again tomorrow…"

Just then something off to his left caught his eye. "Hmm?"

Looking in that direction, he beheld a shrine. "Something's up over there…" He lifted an eyebrow. "All right—let's go find out what it is!"

----------

"My draw!" Jan swiftly drew his card; now he held three in his hand. At the same time, Arcana Force XXI – The World glowed brightly, and his Shadow Delver got slotted out of his Graveyard; without missing a beat, he added it back into his hand, so he now held four in all. Then he carefully scrutinized the card he'd just drawn. "Huh…how about that…all right, so I'll be betting everything on this card…"

Usagi watched him cautiously.

"I'll set a card facedown," Jan went on, "and then activate this Magic card—Card Destruction! Now we must discard our entire hands and draw cards from our decks equal to the number we discarded!"

Without even flinching, Usagi discarded her one hand-card and drew another, while Jan discarded the two cards left in his hand and drew two more. "Next, I'll activate the power of a Magic card I recently acquired, but haven't had an opportunity to use until now…Fiend's Sanctuary!"

In a few seconds, a silver gargoyle statue appeared on Jan's side of the field, crouched in a defensive stance. "This creature that you see here is a Metal Fiend Token," Jan explained further. "It's currently being treated as a Dark-attribute, Fiend-type, Level 1 monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF. It can't attack, so I summoned it in Defense Mode."

Usagi smirked a little. "And I take it you were counting on me not knowing about the Fiend's Sanctuary card, Mr. Shimizu?" she asked. "Sorry, but I know of this card—in fact, any duelist who knows their history should know this card. It's one of the key cards that gave Yugi Muto an edge in his duel against Marik Ishtar, during the finals of the Battle City tournament all those many years ago. Fiend's Sanctuary has another effect—if the Metal Fiend Token is involved in a battle with another monster, the controller of the other monster takes the battle damage that the Token's controller would have taken. So…whether your Token was in Attack or Defense Mode, if my World attacked it, the damage you would have gotten would be inflicted on my life points instead. So in other words, the Token would serve as a means of defending your life points against my onslaught."

"Yes…but at the same time there's always the danger that on your next turn, you might summon another monster that'll easily defeat the Metal Fiend Token and make the way clear for your World to defeat me," Jan added. "Still, that's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll end my turn."

Usagi drew her next card. "I activate the Magic card, Cup of Ace! Now I'll toss a coin—and if the result is heads, I draw two cards. If it's tails, then you draw two cards. So go, coin toss!"

Jan looked on with narrowed eyes as yet another holographic coin appeared and was flipped. _If she gets a heads result and draws two cards, there's a good chance she might get a monster that can destroy my Metal Fiend Token while it's in Defense Mode as it is right now…but still, it's a 50-50 chance she'll actually get a toss result in her favor. So…_

Then the coin landed, and the result was…tails. "Hmph. So I get to draw two cards," Jan noted, even as he drew to give him a total of three cards in hand.

"No matter," said Usagi. "Even if I have to wait to get a good card, and even if I can't attack your Metal Fiend Token with the World in order to spare my own life points, all I need to do at this point is wait you out…after all, the effect of Fiend's Sanctuary carries a toll with it." She smiled a little. "During each of your Standby Phases, you must pay 1000 life points or else your Metal Fiend Token will be destroyed. And you have only 2400 life points now—which means your Token will only be able to defend you for another two turns at most."

"Can't argue with that," Jan admitted. "However…considering the cards I'm currently holding…the sacrifice will be well worth it."

"Eh?" Usagi blinked.

"My turn now! I draw!" Jan quickly drew his next card—and at once Arcana Force XXI – The World glowed again. "Your monster's effect's activating—I have to add the top card of my Graveyard to my hand. And the top card of my Graveyard at the moment is…" He reached for his Graveyard and pulled out the card in question. "Fiend's Sanctuary!"

At that Usagi frowned. "Yes…because that's the card you used last during your previous turn. However…now it's the Standby Phase…" And as if to emphasize her statement, the Metal Fiend Token glowed bright silver, sapping Jan of 1000 life points.

**USAGI: 3300 LP; JAN: 1400 LP**

"Urgh…" Jan flinched at the loss of life points; but then abruptly he straightened up again. "No matter. I've got all I need at this point." He held up the returned Fiend's Sanctuary card. "I activate Fiend's Sanctuary once again!"

A second Metal Fiend Token promptly appeared on his side of the field, this one also in Defense Mode like its predecessor. "And now…" Jan held up another card. "I sacrifice both of my Metal Fiend Tokens to summon a monster of incredible power…the most powerful of the basic Archfiend hierarchy…" His eyes flashed. "In the game of modern chess, the queen is considered the most powerful piece on the board. The monster I'm calling upon is an embodiment of all the powers the queen possesses. Now—rise up—Imprisoned Queen Archfiend (ATK 2600, DEF 1700)!"

Both of the Metal Fiend Tokens melted and merged into one. They then took on the shape of a tall, frightful-looking winged being with what appeared to be chains constricting its wrists and ankles; yet as it emerged on the field, it snarled defiantly at Arcana Force XXI – The World. "And to further increase her power, I'll flip my facedown Sword of Deep-Seated and equip it to her, to increase her ATK and DEF by 500 points!" Jan continued—and moments later, the purple blade appeared in the Queen's hand, her ATK and DEF rising to 3100 and 2200 respectively.

"Now both of our monsters are at a stalemate in terms of ATK," Usagi observed.

"Guess again!" Jan shot back. "Because now I equip the Queen with the Axe of Despair—and her ATK will rise by an additional 1000 points!" And then seconds later, in the Queen's free hand there appeared the infamous axe-blade, while her ATK shot up further to 4100. "Now attack, my Queen! Prison-Breaker Rampage!"

Roaring loudly, the Imprisoned Queen Archfiend lashed forward with both of her equipped weapons—creating two energy blades that sliced cleanly through the World, cutting it into three pieces that fell apart like broken glass. The shockwave of the impact pushed Usagi back somewhat, forcing her to cross her arms in front of her face on instinct.

**USAGI: 2300 LP; JAN: 1400 LP**

"And for added effect," Jan went on, "I'll now activate my facedown Trap card…Battle-Scarred!" Then as his facedown card finally got revealed, he continued, "When I activate Battle-Scarred, it lets me select one Archfiend monster on my side of the field. Most Archfiend monsters require a life point cost during each of my Standby Phases, and Imprisoned Queen Archfiend requires 1000 of my life points at that time…what Battle-Scarred does is, when I pay my life points, my opponent will be forced to pay the same amount at that time as well!"

"I see…" Usagi lowered her arms from in front of her face. "Then it falls upon me to find a way to defeat your monster…or at least stall for time until your Archfiend's life point cost drains you of what's left of your score. Yours is lower than mine, after all."

Jan crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's see you try, fortune-teller. For now, I'm ending my turn."

"Usagi! So it was you who was dueling over here!"

Usagi and Jan looked up as one toward the shrine's entrance—and standing there was Yugo. "Ah, Yugo Muto!" Usagi exclaimed. "So you saw the action here and came to bear witness, did you?"

Jan's eyes narrowed on seeing the newcomer. _Yugo…Muto…_

"Yeah, pretty much," Yugo answered Usagi. Then he beheld Jan. "And…who's your opponent?" He frowned. "Say…wait a minute, you look familiar somehow…"

Jan turned to face Yugo's direction. "Let me save you the pressure of trying to remember me," he said. "This is the first time you and I are meeting in person…but I know of you from a long time back, and I'm sure you've been told about me as well." He nodded with meaning. "My name's Jan. Your friend Kyo is my brother."

"Kyo's brother…?" Yugo blinked. "Oh, I see. Then you're the black sheep of the Bakura clan…and you were also involved…with Keisuke Odachi and JUDAS…and you're the guy that attacked Miki Taylor in her house that day, when I met Jude Lassiter for the first time…"

"That's all old history now, as far as I'm concerned," said Jan. "It may not set your mind at ease, but I've already made my peace with your friend Miki for…the way I treated her. I don't look back at it with pride now, of course…and Kyo has already avenged that slight."

"But why are you here?" Yugo wondered. "Wait—don't tell me you're one of Drake Phoenix's tournament eliminators?"

"I am." Jan nodded. "How that happened—that's a whole other story."

"Pardon me for cutting the reunion short, but we still have a duel to finish," Usagi interrupted. "The next card I draw may make or break me…what remains to be seen is just what card I _will_ get."

"Very well," said Jan, turning back to face Usagi. "Do your thing, then."

"Right. My draw!" Usagi drew her card. "Huh…I'll set a monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."

"Mmm-hmm," said Jan. "My turn again." He drew his next card—and the Battle-Scarred card promptly sapped both players of 1000 life points in conjunction with the Imprisoned Queen Archfiend's effect.

**USAGI: 1300 LP; JAN: 400 LP**

Then Jan took a look at the card he'd drawn. He frowned. Then he turned to look at Yugo again. "Kid…you still in this tournament's roster?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I am," Yugo answered. "Why?"

"Because right after this duel, I'll be challenging you," Jan replied.

Usagi narrowed her gaze. "I take it you have something that may help you?"

"That, and more." Jan touched a button on his Duel-Disk—bringing up his Graveyard information a moment later. "Just a check of the monsters currently in my Graveyard…Archfiend Soldier, Shadow Delver, Darkbishop Archfiend (ATK 300, DEF 1400)—that's the monster I had facedown when you activated your Dark Hole magic card earlier—and Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300), which I discarded from my hand when I activated my Card Destruction magic card. That's four monsters, all of them Dark-attribute, all of them with different names…and with those criteria fulfilled, I can tribute my Imprisoned Queen Archfiend to summon my deck's new trademark monster: Darklord Zerato (ATK 2800, DEF 2300), in Attack Mode!"

Imprisoned Queen Archfiend, her two equipped weapons, and the Battle-Scarred trap card vanished from the field in the blink of an eye—and then, moment later Darklord Zerato loomed where she had been standing only moments ago, his crimson wings flapping ominously as his sword was held aloft. Yugo's eyes widened on seeing this monster. "Whoa…"

"Since the Sword of Deep-Seated was sent to the Graveyard, it gets returned to the top of my deck," and Jan pulled the card out of the Graveyard and placed it back on top of his deck as stipulated. "And since Axe of Despair's been sent to the Graveyard, I can offer a monster as a tribute to place the Axe back on top of my deck—but I won't do that. Instead, I'll activate Darklord Zerato's other effect…" Here he revealed one of the two remaining cards in his hand, Vilepawn Archfiend (ATK 1200, DEF 200) and sent it to the Graveyard. "By sending one Dark-attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy all monsters my opponent controls."

Usagi scowled. "So you'll slash right through my defense…!"

"Go, Darklord! End this battle now!" Jan commanded. In response, Zerato slashed forward with his sword, creating a red crescent wave that completely sliced through Usagi's facedown monster. Zerato then flew forward—and all that could be seen was a brief flash of light as his sword swung; moments later Usagi crumpled to the ground, holding her middle while her remaining life points were exhausted.

**USAGI: 0 LP; JAN: 400 LP**

_So…I've lost…_ Usagi looked at the top of her Graveyard pile; the card resting there now was Arcana Force 0 – The Fool (ATK 0, DEF 0). _Sorry, my Fool…I was counting on your effect that prevents you from being destroyed in battle to see me through until I could make a comeback…but instead, I was the one who fell. _And even as the thought crossed her mind…on her Duel-Disk, her tournament points now dropped to 0.

Jan looked at his own counter with satisfaction as his tournament points increased to 7000. "One more duelist out of the roster…one step closer to winning the prize," he said softly. "And now…" He turned his eyes on Yugo again. "It's your turn, kid."

"Okay." Yugo pulled out his Duel-Disk and readied it. "In all fairness, I really thought Usagi would've beaten you, being a fortune-teller and all, but…"

"I don't know whether she used her fortune-telling ability during our duel—and since I've defeated her and knocked her out of the competition, that's not important now anyway," answered Jan. "In any case…as much as I wasn't expecting it…to duel against the recently-crowned World Champion…"

Yugo was now slotting his deck into his Duel-Disk. "And I'll be facing off against Kyo's older brother," he said quietly. "Kyo told us about how you and he squared off when we were in Egypt, battling against JUDAS. He defeated you, but just barely…and then he saved your life when he could've easily let you die."

Jan regarded him. "I guess you're really still holding a grudge…considering what JUDAS put you through, I can't say I'm surprised," he said. "Still, that was then…and this is now. And as far as I'm concerned, our dueling each other has nothing to do with revenge or anything of that sort."

"I see," said Yugo.

Jan glanced over to where Usagi was just now steadying herself on her feet. "Can you handle yourself, there?" he asked.

"Yes…thanks for asking," Usagi replied. "I'll tell you, Mr. Shimizu, I was certainly right about you. You do have incredible power surrounding you…" She then turned to Yugo. "As do you, Yugo."

Yugo swiftly held up a hand. "Please don't try to predict the outcome of this one, Usagi," he said.

Usagi shook her head. "Of course not, if that is your wish. However…before you begin, I would have a word with you, Yugo."

"Huh? A word with me? Now?" Yugo blinked.

Jan shrugged. "If she's got something to say to you, kid, let her say it," he told Yugo. "I'm not going anywhere. I've already challenged you, so I'm not going to run away from here now." He took his Graveyard cards out of that slot and shuffled them back into his deck. "Go on."

"Okay…" Yugo stepped over to where Usagi was. "Anything wrong?"

"I just thought I should tell you." Usagi's expression was grave. "I had a vision, before my duel with Jan just now…only a short while earlier this evening, Drake decided to up the ante of the tournament even more in his favor than before. He has blackmailed a former champion duelist to battle for him as a surprise participant in this tournament—a duelist who, up until ten years ago, was renowned and feared in the entire dueling world for his seemingly unbreakable deck."

"A former champion duelist from ten years ago?" Yugo swiveled in Jan's direction. "Hey, Jan…you were appointed an eliminator by Drake, right? Do you know anything about him hiring a former pro to take part behind the scenes in the tournament?"

Jan didn't miss a beat. "If he did, I don't know anything about that," he answered. "Whoever it is the fortune-teller's talking about, it's probably just some second-string duelist who used to be a big name in the dueling arena before our generation."

"Oh, I assure you, this is no second-string duelist. He may have been out of action these last ten years, but he is still as strong now as he was in his prime," Usagi said sternly. "Tell me, gentlemen…does the name Gabriel Roman mean anything to you?"

Jan was instantly alert. _"What? _**The **Gabriel Roman?" he demanded. "What would he be doing here?"

"Uh…who?" Yugo looked clueless.

"Gabriel Roman was the Duel Monsters World Champion after your father and Seto Kaiba retired from competitive play," Usagi explained. "Of course, you'd probably be too young to remember him ten years ago…but the legend goes that no contender of his generation back then could match him. Why he quit remains a mystery to the general populace."

"And I suppose you know the reason for that, being a fortune-teller and all," Jan chuckled.

Usagi frowned. "Actually…even my power has not been able to show me anything regarding Gabriel Roman," she admitted. "It's like…there's this constant dark shadow, shrouding his past from my vision…" Then she looked at Yugo. "But in any case, Yugo, the point is, since Drake's got Gabriel in his clutches, you need to be extra-careful."

Yugo sighed. "Well…truth to tell, I'm not really surprised that Drake's taken such a step," he confessed. "Before we even came here, Seta, Janus and I knew that Drake would try to use this tournament against the three of us in some way, because we're the top three world-ranked duelists after Dueltropolis. So to somehow get a legendary pro on his side…" He considered a minute. "Say…hold on…now that I think about it…"

"Hmm?" Usagi looked at him.

"I recall…" Yugo sucked on his lower lip a moment. "Yeah, that's right—I met a guy earlier this evening named Gabriel. I wonder if it might've been him. This Gabriel Roman—red hair, with yellow highlights?"

"That's him, all right." Jan nodded grimly.

Yugo whistled sharply. "Whoa." He ran a hand through his hair. "Who'd have thought…I talked to a former World Champ, and I never even realized it…"

"And if you continue to win and defeat all opposition, you just may get the chance to face him in combat, if Drake should so choose to match you against him," said Usagi.

_"If_ he wins." Jan fixed a steely gaze on both of them. "Because there's still my challenge to be resolved…and I don't mind telling you," directing this at Yugo, "that I've got my own reasons for wiping out opposition and getting to the final fight. I've got a little something of my own to settle with Drake Phoenix…and as long as someone's in the way, I'll mow through them if I have to."

"Well, you won't mow through me." Yugo held up his Duel-Disk. "Usagi, you'd better step back."

"Agreed." Usagi retreated a few paces, keeping a close eye on the two other duelists as she did so.

For their part, Jan and Yugo were now on opposite ends of the shrine's courtyard, holding up their Duel-Disks. "Like I said, I'm interested to know how I'd fare against the World Champion…and more than that…I want to see the strength of the boy who could defeat Keisuke Odachi, leader of JUDAS."

"You'll see that and more besides," replied Yugo. "As for me…like I said before, Kyo said a lot about you, including about your dueling skill. I want to see if anything he said about that is true."

"The best way to find out is through hands-on experience." Jan nodded with determination. "And know this, Yugo Muto—you may be the child of a dueling king, and you may be a dueling king now yourself, but I have been to hell and back to be the duelist I am now. Only one of us will leave this battlefield victorious—but it won't be you. Count on that."

"Let's find out if you're right, then." Yugo clenched his fist. "Now let's do this!"

----------

Elsewhere in Kaiba Land, at that very moment…

"Oh, geez! Cripes!" Calhoun glanced out of the booth where he and Vasha were currently sitting in one of Kaiba Land's many restaurants. "Oh man, oh man, oh man…"

Vasha had had a menu held up to her face; now she lowered it and peered over its top. "Calhoun, will you please stop?" she hissed in exasperation. "We ditched that Dawkins guy ages ago! That mystery girl distracted him enough so we could escape, remember?"

"Still, just thinking about how he almost killed us…it gives me the willies, you know?" Calhoun shivered. "I mean, a member of the House of Cards…carrying a _gun…_does Drake even know about it?"

"If he knew, we wouldn't be hiding like this," Vasha sighed.

"Hey, everybody! Check out the billboard out here—the champ's going to duel again!"

That call came from just at the restaurant's door. Now, heeding it, excited patrons either crowded the windows or headed for the door, all looking up to where a large TV billboard had been erected just a few hundred feet away. On the screen could be seen images of Yugo Muto and Jan Shimizu, standing in the courtyard of what appeared to be a shrine, getting ready to do battle.

Only Calhoun and Vasha hadn't immediately gotten up from their seats. "Should we go out there?" Calhoun asked a little nervously.

"Calhoun, it's a duel with Yugo Muto, the World Champion. I'm not missing it for anything," said Vasha, and she put her menu down and hurried for the door. Calhoun wasn't far behind her…and as they reached outside, they soon saw who Yugo's opponent was.

"Well, how about that? It's Jan Shimizu!" Calhoun exclaimed. "So he and Yugo are going to fight, huh? Who're you putting your money on, baby?"

"Well, I'm not going to gamble…but I do think it would be interesting to see how Yugo manages against a tough guy like Shimizu," Vasha answered. "So let's just watch and see how it turns out."

"I hear you!" Calhoun agreed.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ As one duel ends, another is about to begin! And that duel is Yugo vs. Jan Shimizu! Now the question is: Who will win? Stay tuned!


	70. Yugo vs Jan

Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal

A Fan-Fiction by Neomage

(DISCLAIMER: Neomage doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its spinoffs or sequels.)

**CHAPTER 70 – Yugo vs. Jan**

KAIBA LAND, 9:55 p.m.

At the Kaiba Land hotel…

Everyone in the dining hall had their eyes fixed on the specially-placed wall-mounted TV, on which Jan and Yugo were preparing to face one another. "First Jan Shimizu defeats Usagi—and now he prepares to fight the World Champion himself!" Gaston Altair, sitting at a table with Kent West, remarked. "Do wonders never cease?"

"Who're you betting on, Gaston?" Kent asked with interest.

"Hmm…hard to say, _mon ami,"_ Gaston confessed. "We have already witnessed that Shimizu is an excellent duelist, and I have seen for myself that _Monsieur_ Yugo is no slouch himself. I suppose we shall just have to see."

Several tables away, Raven was rubbing his eyes. "Don't those guys even sleep?" he complained, pointing to the TV.

"Rub the sleep out of your face, Raven—this is a duel to watch, for sure!" Honey chided him.

"The little lady's got a point," Buck Morgan spoke up. "I was hoping I'd get the chance to face one of the three top contenders from Dueltropolis, but this is the best I'll be able to manage for now. We can all go to bed after the duel's done."

"Yugo had better watch himself—that Shimizu isn't a regular duelist," Jillian sighed, brushing her single red bang out from over her eyes. "Question is, though, which of them will stand, and which will fall…?"

----------

Meanwhile, at the Dark Lord Castle…

Gabriel Roman lay on his bed in his room, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. There came a knock on his door—then Drake waltzed in. "Oh, good, you're still awake," he greeted the other.

"What do you want?" Gabriel asked in a gravelly voice, not turning to look at Drake.

"I just figured you might want to know," Drake answered, looking smug. "Right now one of my tournament eliminators is about to duel the current World Champion, Yugo Muto. Perhaps you'd like to see how your latest successor fares against the kind of skill I've hired for my tournament…?"

Gabriel's expression was deadpan. "Not interested."

"Huh. Well, I think I'll watch, anyway." Drake then turned his attention to a TV that sat on a stand on the other side of the room, one that was smaller than the wall-mounted one in his own room. Crossing over to this TV, he switched it on, just in time to show Yugo and Jan on the screen, with their respective dueling information being showcased. "Now to see Shimizu give that Yugo Muto what he so richly deserves—humiliation."

Gabriel shifted his vision a little to see the TV. He could see Yugo's information on the screen: _Yugo Muto. Age: 14. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: Winner of the Kaibacorp Challenge Cup and this year's British Intercontinental Championship, and winner of the recently-ended Dueltropolis World Championship. Deck strategy: Dark Magician._

Then Jan's info popped up. _Jan Shimizu, appointed eliminator. Age: 25. Nationality: Japan. Professional dueling experience: No known prior tournament experience. Deck strategy: Archfiend._

But Gabriel's expression still didn't change even as he shifted himself away, while Drake leaned against a wall and watched the TV with great interest.

----------

At the dueling site itself, while Yugo and Jan drew their respective opening hands, Usagi stood to one side looking from one to the other. _Now…both of these two possess incredible strength, but…who will triumph in this struggle…?_

**YUGO: 8000 LP; JAN: 8000 LP**

"I elect to go first," said Yugo. "My draw!" and he drew a card to begin. "It's night-time now, but I hope you don't mind a little extra darkness…for I'll now activate the Field Magic card, Yami!"

The natural night-time darkness around them suddenly got shrouded by red-lined clouds of shadows. "I know of this card," Jan remarked, looking around. "It increases the ATK and DEF of all Fiend and Spellcaster-type monsters by 200 points, while decreasing the ATK and DEF of all Fairy-type monsters by the same amount."

"Righty-o!" said Yugo. "And I'll now summon a monster who compliments that effect—Gil Garth (ATK 1800, DEF 1200) in Attack Mode!" He then summoned a mechanical-looking golem with spikes protruding from its arms and legs, and equipped with a green-bladed katana. As the monster appeared, Yami increased its stats to 2000 ATK and 1400 DEF. "And that's the end of my turn. You're up!"

Jan drew his card without missing a beat. "I'll set one monster in Defense Mode. That's all for now."

"That's all? Well, if you say so…my turn!" Yugo drew his next card. "And to play it safe, I'll also set one monster in Defense Mode. Now attack, Gil Garth—with Emerald Iaido!"

Gil Garth dashed forward with surprising speed despite its bulk, and a second later it slashed vertically through Jan's facedown monster, revealing it at the same time to be Terrorking Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1500). But as the kingly fiend shattered into numerous pixels, Jan held up another card from his hand. "By destroying my Terrorking Archfiend, you've made it possible for me to activate the effect of a card from my hand—Desrook Archfiend (ATK 1100, DEF 1800). Now, I can send Desrook Archfiend from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon Terrorking Archfiend back to the field—and he'll be returning in Attack Mode!"

As Jan shuttled the Desrook Archfiend card to the Graveyard, Terrorking Archfiend re-emerged in a flash of light, growling as Yami's effect increased his stats to 2200 ATK and 1700 DEF. "Crap—now my Gil Garth's outmatched!" Yugo exclaimed in a panic.

"My Archfiends, for the most part, are based on the chess game," Jan spoke to him. "In chess, there is a move known as 'castling,' wherein the rook and the king can switch places. That fundamental principle is the core of Desrook Archfiend's unique ability—and the reason Terrorking Archfiend could return. And by the way, Terrorking Archfiend himself couldn't be Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned unless I had another Archfiend monster in play—which, as you well know, I don't. So I had to use this little strategy to get him into fighting mode. And furthermore, since my Archfiend monsters are, obviously, Fiend-type monsters, your Yami field card aids them as much as it aids you." He leveled a look at his opponent. "Since my chosen deck theme is based on chess, I've studied chess itself to understand the basis of strategy. As a result, I know how to formulate needed strategies, even on my feet. You'll have to do better than you just did if you expect to stand any chance against me, let alone to defeat me."

"Grr…well, at least it's still my turn." Yugo examined his hand. "I'll set a card facedown, and end my turn."

Again Jan drew his next card, so now he held five—but then both he and Terrorking Archfiend got engulfed by a red aura, and Jan flinched as his life points were lowered. "A side-effect of most Archfiend monsters," he explained to Yugo. "During each of my Standby Phases, I must pay a certain amount of life points for each Archfiend monster; in Terrorking Archfiend's case, his cost is 800 life points."

**YUGO: 8000 LP; JAN: 7200 LP**

"Whoa…sounds like an expensive deck to have," Yugo commented.

"It pays to know how to wield it well—which is why I told you I know how to come up with strategies as I need them," Jan reminded him. "Now…I summon Darkbishop Archfiend (ATK 300, DEF 1400) in Attack Mode!" And then there appeared a blue-robed skeletal figure, bearing a staff with a skull on its tip. Yami promptly raised its ATK and DEF to 500 and 1600.

"Another Archfiend…" Yugo narrowed his eyes.

"Next," Jan continued, holding up another card, "I'll equip my Terrorking Archfiend with the Magic card, Sword of Dark Destruction, increasing his ATK by 400 while decreasing his DEF by 200!" A moment later Terrorking Archfiend's regular broadsword vanished from sight—replaced almost instantaneously by a curved blade with a fiendish-looking hilt. The monster's ATK shot up further to 2600, while his DEF dropped back to its original 1500 value.

Then Jan held up one more card. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Checkmate! Now, I offer one Archfiend monster as a tribute, in which case I tribute my Darkbishop Archfiend…" and the fiendish bishop vanished. "And now, during the turn when Checkmate was activated, Terrorking Archfiend can attack your life points directly! Go to it, Terrorking!"

"NO!" Yugo shouted—but Terrorking Archfiend promptly swung the Sword of Dark Destruction, creating a blade of black energy that cut right in between Gil Garth and Yugo's other facedown monster and struck Yugo himself, seeming to slice right through him and knock him off his feet! He ended up tumbling backwards into Yami's dark shadows, while his life points plummeted to 5400.

**YUGO: 5400 LP; JAN: 7200 LP**

"Ow…ow…ow…" Yugo gingerly picked himself back up. "Boy, _that's_ gonna sting tomorrow…"

"Consider yourself lucky. Back when I was still with JUDAS, such an attack would've cut you cleanly in half—as it is, Terrorking Archfiend's deliberately holding back, so the physical effect doesn't go beyond you merely feeling the pain." Jan then shook his head in disappointment. "But I wonder—is this really the same boy who defeated Keisuke Odachi and later became the World Champion?" and the disappointment showed now in his voice. "Maybe becoming World Champion has softened you, or made you careless. Either way, you're not dueling like I'd expect the World Champion to do."

But Yugo shook his head. "It's still too early in the duel for you to jump to conclusions. Just wait—on my next turn, I'll knock that Terrorking Archfiend of yours off the field and back into the Graveyard where he belongs!"

"Try," Jan answered. "I'll end my turn."

Defiantly, Yugo drew his next card, giving him four in hand. _No doubt about it now…Kyo wasn't kidding when he said his brother was mad-crazy-powerful! But even so, I'm not about to go belly-up for him just because he's got skills…and I'll show him, without a shadow of a doubt, that I didn't get my status as World Champion by a fluke! Now…_ He looked at the cards he held. _Get ready, Jan—I'm about to shake you up bad!_

"Okay! I summon Magician's Valkyria (ATK 1600, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode!" Yugo then brought forth a brown-haired woman clad in bluish-green magician's robes with pink skirt-tails, armed with a large emerald-studded staff. As she appeared on the field, Yami's influence increased her ATK to 1800 and DEF to 2000. "And there's more…I also activate the Magic card, Magical Dimension!"

The next thing Jan knew, a large coffin emerged on Yugo's side of the field. "And what is that thing supposed to do?" he asked.

"Here's how it works," answered Yugo. "I could only activate it when I had at least one Spellcaster-type monster on my side of the field, a requirement that my Magician's Valkyria fulfills. Then, by tributing one monster I control…" His facedown monster suddenly got turned into mist and was absorbed into the mystery coffin. "I Special Summon one Spellcaster-type monster from my hand to the field. And the monster I choose is—my always reliable Dark Magician Girl (ATK 2000, DEF 1700)!"

The coffin then burst open—and out popped a blond-haired woman in blue robes similar to Magician's Valkyria, but wielding a smaller staff. Yami immediately raised her stats to 2200 ATK and 1900 DEF, but Jan scoffed at this. "So what? Terrorking Archfiend is still stronger than any of your monsters."

"I'm not done—Magical Dimension has one more effect." Yugo smirked. "After I Special Summon my selected monster…I can destroy one monster on the field. And there's only one I want to apply that to—your Terrorking Archfiend!"

Jan frowned. "Oh."

"Go, Dark Magician Girl! Use the power of Magical Dimension and destroy his monster!" Yugo cried. In turn, Dark Magician Girl twirled her staff in hand for a moment, then pointed the business end at the archfiend king and fired a ball of magic at him. The magic ball collided with the other monster, ripping him to shreds and obliterating him from existence.

Usagi, watching all this, blinked at the spectacle. _Impressive comeback, Yugo…especially after having taken such a hard hit from Jan only moments ago!_

But then Jan held up one of his two hand-cards. "Terrorking Archfiend was just destroyed—so I will send this second Desrook Archfiend card from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon the Terrorking back to the field, in Attack Mode." And as he put the second Desrook Archfiend into the Graveyard, Terrorking Archfiend came back, roaring loudly as Yami once again increased his ATK and DEF to 2200 and 1700.

"Damn…you had _two_ of those Desrooks…" Yugo frowned.

"Naturally—in chess, there are two rooks per side," Jan told him. "And as it stands now, Terrorking Archfiend is back to fight again, and only your Dark Magician Girl is strong enough to withstand an assault from him…but even _that_ is not guaranteed. Now…what will you do?"

"Hmm…I'll end my turn," Yugo conceded.

"Then I take my turn. Draw!" Jan did just that—now he held two cards. At once, though, Terrorking Archfiend glowed brightly, and the same sinister energy surrounded Jan, causing his life point score to drop again.

**YUGO: 5400 LP; JAN: 6400 LP**

Recovering, Jan examined the card he'd just drawn. "All right…I summon Vilepawn Archfiend (ATK 1200, DEF 200) in Attack Mode," he announced, and in a moment the blade-and-shield-armed Archfiend appeared next to Terrorking Archfiend. As the new monster snarled at those on Yugo's side of the field, Yami increased its stats to 1400 ATK and 400 DEF. "Then…I'll set a card facedown. And…"

He eyed Yugo's side of the field, his gaze resting squarely on his opponent's facedown card. _He had that card facedown when I attacked a while ago with Terrorking Archfiend, and he didn't activate it then…could it be that it can only be used when a specific condition is met? Maybe…but if so, what condition could that be?_ He cocked his eyebrow. _Let's find out… _"I battle!"

"All right, then—but you'd better know that you can't attack any other Spellcaster-type monster while Magician's Valkyria is on the field, so my Dark Magician Girl is safe—so if you were planning to suicide your monster into her, that plan's foiled!" Yugo told him.

"But your Gil Garth _isn't _a Spellcaster—which means I can attack HIM!" Jan rebutted. "Go, Terrorking! Defeat your enemy!" And Terrorking Archfiend lifted his sword in response and rushed at Gil Garth. The latter monster lifted his own sword to counter the incoming attack—only to be carved cleanly in twain by Terrorking's larger sword.

**YUGO: 5200 LP; JAN: 6400 LP**

Again Jan cocked his eyebrow. _So, his facedown card didn't activate when I attacked him directly…nor did he use it when I attacked one of his monsters…what could the condition be, then? He'll likely have to use it soon, if at all…and I shouldn't drop my guard just now. He DID defeat Odachi in Egypt, back then, after all… _"I will end my turn."

Without missing a beat, Yugo drew his next card. Immediately he narrowed his eyes when he saw what it was. "I see…well, it'll be risky to use these two cards together now…but…"

"Eh?" Jan frowned.

Yugo held up one of his two hand-cards. "I activate this card—the Ritual Magic card, Dark Magic Ritual! Now, by offering monsters from the field or my hand whose total levels equal 8 or more, I can summon one of my deck's more powerful monsters…and so, I'll offer Dark Magician Girl, a Level 6 monster, and Magician's Valkyrie, a Level 4 monster, for the ritual!"

Both magicians vanished at once into a purplish flame that emerged as from thin air…then from the flame there could be seen the outline of a new being, in a stylish headdress and clutching a long, thin staff. Then the flame exploded outward before dissipating—and the new arrival could be seen more clearly: his headdress was black and red, his hair underneath was wild and streaking, and tight black leather covered his thin body from neck to feet. "Meet my great mage," Yugo announced. "The Magician of Black Chaos (ATK 2800, DEF 2600)!" and as if to punctuate the point, Yami increased the mage's stats to 3000 ATK and 2800 DEF.

From where she was watching, Usagi gave a small nod of appreciation. _Impressive attacking force you have now, Yugo…the Magician of Black Chaos has tremendous power on his own, but augmented with the power of the night as it is seen in the Yami field magic card, his full potential is tapped! But…_ Here she glanced at Jan's side of the field. _How will Jan respond?_

For his part, Jan remained unfazed at the magician's arrival. "Not too bad, I dare say," he commented. "I'll advise, you, though—as long as Vilepawn Archfiend is on my side of the field, you cannot select another Archfiend monster as an attack target."

"That's perfectly fine—since he's the one I was going to attack anyway, having the weaker ATK of your two monsters, and all!" Yugo fired back. "Attack, Magician of Black Chaos! Use your Chaos Scepter Blast!"

The magician raised his staff, even as nebulous energy began to form in a sphere at its tip, and pointed it in Vilepawn Archfiend's direction…and then Jan suddenly announced, "And I counter that by activating my Trap card, Hate Buster!"

All at once, as Jan's facedown card flipped face-up, electric-yellow energy covered both Vilepawn Archfiend and Magician of Black Chaos, electrocuting both of them till their bodies were nothing but standing skeletons! At the same time, some of that energy coursed toward Yugo, tearing right through him. "GYAAAAH!" he screamed out as he got flung back by the surge of energy, while his life point counter dropped drastically.

**YUGO: 2400 LP; JAN: 6400 LP**

"Allow me to explain that," Jan said coolly. "That was the effect of my Hate Buster trap card—I could only activate it when one of my face-up Fiend-type monsters was declared as an attack target. The card's effect destroys both the attack target and the attacking monster, and then my opponent receives damage equal to the original ATK of the attacking monster. So, in this case, your Magician of Black Chaos had an original ATK of 2800—and that amount was deducted from your life points, even though I ended up losing Vilepawn Archfiend as well. But…" He tapped the side of his own head with one finger. "In any game of strategy, whether chess or Duel Monsters, a player must be prepared to lose even one of his pieces to reach a greater goal…and I'll soon achieve my greater goal in this duel by defeating you."

"Oh…yeah…?" Slowly, grimacing as he did so, Yugo sat up, then lifted himself to his feet. "Well, guess what? You might've knocked me down for a bit…but it'll take more than that to keep me down!"

"I suppose we'll soon see how much more," answered Jan. "Look at you—no monster on the field, no cards in your hand, and it's _still _your Battle Phase. I, on the other hand, only have to draw a monster on my next turn, and your life points will be completely erased."

"Try your luck," Yugo challenged. "I'm ending my turn."

Shaking his head, Jan drew his next card and replenished his hand. Yet again, the same red energy from before surrounded both him and Terrorking Archfiend, sapping Jan of 800 more life points.

**YUGO: 2400 LP; JAN: 5600 LP**

"Pfft…that's nothing more than a minor annoyance now, considering the advantage I have over you," Jan remarked. "Now…I summon Shadowknight Archfiend (ATK 2000, DEF 1600) in Attack Mode." Then there appeared, next to Terrorking Archfiend, a blue-haired fiend with a blood-red sword for a right arm; Yami's still-present effect immediately increased his stats to 2200 ATK and 1800 DEF. "And the Shadowknight may only be able to inflict half his ATK in battle damage as a result of his effect, but between him and Terrorking Archfiend, this is game over for you."

----------

At the Dark Lord Castle, Drake grinned as he observed the stats on the TV. "How about that, eh?" he addressed Gabriel. "That hack Yugo Muto is about to get what's been coming to him a while now!"

Gabriel, still lying on the bed and facing away from the TV, didn't move an inch. But on his face was a weary expression. "You give the guy too little credit," he muttered.

"What?" Drake demanded. "Oh, would you come on and just look at the screen for yourself, man? Muto's about to bite the big one—just look and see!"

Sighing, Gabriel shifted his body a little so he could get a glimpse of the TV…and then promptly turned back over. "He still has one card facedown. That's all I need to know."

"That card?" Drake fumed. "But he hasn't even used it yet! If it was worth anything, he'd have used it already! It's just a bluff!"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Phoenix…you might be a champion duelist amidst your peers…but you don't know the _first_ thing about being a true duelist. And if that eliminator of yours was really any good, he'd keep himself in check before rushing headlong into a trap."

"What do you know?" Drake demanded angrily.

"Have you forgotten the reason you drafted me here already? Isn't it because of my experience as a former World Champion at this game?" and now Gabriel allowed himself a tiny smirk at the comment.

"Grr…" Drake scowled deeply, his glare now focused entirely on the TV.

----------

"Battle, Shadowknight Archfiend! Attack directly!" Jan ordered. In turn, raising his crimson sword-arm, the Archfiend knight charged forward…

…but then Yugo shouted, "Like hell! Activate, Trap card—Call of the Haunted, to Special Summon my Magician of Black Chaos from the Graveyard in Attack Mode!"

A whole row of gravestones suddenly emerged from the ground, halting Shadowknight Archfiend in his tracks—and rising from the ground with them was the Black Chaos Mage. As he glared at the two fiends on Jan's side, Yami increased his stats once again to 3000 ATK and 2800 DEF. "I see…so that was your trump card all along," Jan mused. "Shadowknight, stand down. I'll shift both of my monsters into Defense Mode, and end my turn." And then both of his monsters knelt in a defensive pose.

Observing this, Usagi nodded. _Very good strategic move…since Magician of Black Chaos's reappearance forced a replay of Shadowknight Archfiend's attack, Jan chose not to replay that attack, so that's why he could shift Shadowknight Archfiend in Defense Mode alongside Terrorking Archfiend…and with both of them in Defense Mode, they may still get destroyed in battle, but at least his life points will be protected from Yugo's onslaught. Now…how will Yugo use this to his advantage?_

"My draw!" Yugo drew his card from his deck, replenishing his hand. "Hmm…Okay. I'll set one monster in Defense Mode…and end my turn."

"Hmm?" Jan cocked his eyebrow again. "Not attacking?"

Yugo shrugged. "It's true, I could lower your defense force if I attack you…however…" A small smile crept onto his face. "I just got a better idea—why not let your own defensive force do you in?"

Jan blinked once at this statement…then slowly a grimace came onto his lips. "I see what you mean."

He looked down at his deck. "Grr…my turn." He drew his card and replenished his hand—and suddenly red energy surrounded both Terrorking Archfiend and Shadowknight Archfiend, then seeped over to Jan, who flinched as the energy enveloped him and sapped a great deal of his life points.

**YUGO: 2400 LP; JAN: 3900 LP**

Yugo grinned now. "Just like that. And if my math's right, you just lost 1700 life points—which means that in addition to the 800 life points Terrorking Archfiend takes from you during your Standby Phase, Shadowknight Archfiend must take, oh, I don't know…900 points or something like that from you, right?"

"Yes…you're right," Jan acknowledged.

Usagi shook her head as she beheld this. _Ah, yes…I'd almost forgotten, myself…most of the Archfiend series of cards require life point costs, though the amount varies from card to card…_ She looked over at Yugo. _Interesting strategy…you intend to let Jan burn himself into defeat by the drawback of his own cards…using his own cards against him! But even so…Jan isn't defeated yet. Will he pull himself away from the jaws of defeat—and if so, how?_

Jan, meanwhile, was examining the card he'd just drawn. Then he looked back at Yugo. "I told you earlier, Yugo, that nothing and no-one is going to stand in my way…and I still hold fast to that claim. To that end, I'll tribute Shadowknight Archfiend to set one monster in Defense Mode…"

Shadowknight Archfiend promptly vanished from the field, replaced a second later by the image of a facedown card. "And with that, the amount of life points I'll be required to pay for an Archfiend card each Standby Phase is significantly reduced," continued Jan. "I'm ending my turn now."

Yugo promptly drew his next card, replenishing his hand. "So now you'll only get 800 points of damage from Terrorking Archfiend each turn…but no worries, I can wait you out if I have to," he asserted. "Meanwhile, I can take down your facedown monster with my Magician of Black Chaos! Go, my magician—Chaos Scepter Blast!"

Again the Black Chaos Mage fired a ball of mystic energy at Jan's side of the field, consuming the facedown monster upon contact. But even as the card's holographic image erupted into shrapnel-like pixels—the image of a winged monster with a horn on its forehead, red armor-like plates here and there on its wrists, chest and back, and a malevolent grin on its face showed up where the card had been only a moment ago. And Jan smirked. "Got you."

The ghostly image of the fiendish monster flew toward the Magician of Black Chaos—and flew INTO the magician's body. The next thing, the spellcaster's ATK sharply dropped to 2500! "Huh?" Yugo stared in bewilderment. "What happened?"

"It's the effect of the monster you just destroyed," Jan told him. "The Archfiend of Gilfer (ATK 2200, DEF 2500)…when it is sent to the Graveyard, its effect is activated. I can treat it as an Equip Magic card and equip it to one face-up monster on the field. The equipped monster then loses 500 ATK points." He then indicated his side of the field, where the Archfiend of Gilfer card was featuring prominently in one of his Magic/Trap slots. "And it's equipped to your Magician of Black Chaos, so his ATK's been cut down considerably."

"Huh—didn't see that one coming," Yugo muttered. "But even so, my monster's still strong enough to take on any monster you can throw at him!"

"So I realize," answered Jan. "And yet, how long is that going to last, eh?"

"Until you run out of life points," Yugo quipped.

_Pfft…_ Jan's expression became thoughtful. _At 800 points a turn for Terrorking Archfiend's effect, and with my life points at 3900 right now, if he deliberately doesn't attack the Terrorking, I'll have about…five more turns until my score's completely depleted and I end up losing this duel. And if that happens…_

"I'm ending my turn now," Yugo spoke up, jarring Jan out of his reverie. "You're up."

"Mmm-hmm." Jan made as though to draw his next card…and then paused in his action. "Kid…before I continue…"

"Hmm?" Yugo blinked.

Jan straightened up. "Earlier, I told you that I have my own little account to settle with Phoenix. Therefore, right now, failure is not an option for me. Even if I have to fight to the very last to get the chance to face him, I _will _face him. And to me, it matters not how powerful the opponent is…as I said, if they stand in my way, I'll mow my way through them."

"And it seems you're forgetting what I said before—you won't mow through me." Yugo shook his head. "You might have your own reasons for wanting to duel Drake—but so do I, and so does everyone else who's left in this tournament by this point. You might be skilled, but you're not the alpha-male here…and if you push against me, I guarantee you I'll push back."

"Is that right…then so be it. My draw!" Jan swiftly drew his card—and flinched as red energy surrounded both him and Terrorking Archfiend, draining him of another 800 life points.

**YUGO: 2400 LP; JAN: 3100 LP**

"Now…" Jan looked at the card he'd drawn, then back at Yugo. "I've got a card in my hand that will change the outcome of this duel! Once I play it, your tournament points will be mine to claim!"

"I'm not convinced yet," said Yugo.

"I'll soon change that!" Jan held up his card. "The Magic card…Change of Heart!"

"WHAT!" Yugo's eyes widened in sudden alarm. "You've got THAT card?"

"I see you know what it's capable of," Jan answered, even as on his side of the field, a white-robed figure with two different wings on his back—a black bat's wing on one side and an angelic bird's wing on the other side—appeared. "Now, I'll take control of a monster on your side of the field…and I elect to take your facedown monster!"

Change of Heart's spirit flew into the facedown monster card—and before Yugo's eyes, it shifted from his side of the field to Jan's. "This facedown monster of yours has just been sitting there since you placed it there, as though you've all but forgotten its existence," said Jan. "Well, it's time I took a look for myself and identified it…whether it might be something to hinder me, or…" He tapped a button on his Duel-Disk, and a moment later the mystery card's stats were revealed to him. "I see…well, in that case, I Flip Summon the monster!"

The card immediately flipped face-up and vertical, and the image of a monster appeared on top of it—this monster being in the form of a decrepit old man clad in red armor and tattered blue skirts, clutching a jagged green staff. "Ah…this is Old Vindictive Magician (ATK 450, DEF 600)," Jan noted, even as Yami's power increased the old mage's stats to 650 ATK and 800 DEF. And—the mage held up a condemning hand, filled with bright green electrical energy all of a sudden. "It's not very strong physically, but it has a devastating effect to make up for it—when it is flipped face-up, it destroys one monster the opponent controls. Very well—destroy the Magician of Black Chaos!"

Old Vindictive Magician, with a snarl on his lips, promptly unleashed the energy he held in his hand toward the Black Chaos Mage. The green energy formed into the shape of an arrow and struck right at the other magician's heart—and the Magician of Black Chaos was instantly ripped in two. As this happened, though, the disembodied Archfiend of Gilfer emerged from what was left of the destroyed spellcaster. "Archfiend of Gilfer was sent to the Graveyard when your Magician of Black Chaos was destroyed, so its effect activates once again," said Jan. "But this time, I choose not to activate its effect to equip itself to a monster." And with that, the fiendish being vanished into thin air.

Usagi, observing this, narrowed her eyes. _I see…_

Yugo, for his part, did not look happy. "Aw, man…and I was saving Old Vindictive Magician as a contingency plan," he complained.

"Yet, it was your own monster that proved to be your undoing," Jan replied coolly. "Now, this duel is over. Terrorking Archfiend, Old Vindictive Magician, attack directly and end this battle!" And in response, Old Vindictive Magician sent another arrow-like blast of green energy at Yugo, hitting the blond-haired boy and reducing his life points to 1750; then Terrorking Archfiend rushed forward and slashed at Yugo with his sword, pushing the boy back and bringing his remaining score down to 0.

**YUGO: 0 LP; JAN: 3100 LP**

----------

Back at the hotel…Malachi Jordan was in his room, on his bed, still in his clothes, watching the aftermath of the duel between Jan and Yugo on the TV. Disgusted, he switched it off. "You disappoint me, Yugo Muto," he muttered. "One eliminator shouldn't have been that difficult for you…you should get more training." Then he leaned back on the bed and sighed. "Of course, I shouldn't talk…I need more training, myself…"

A knock on his door disturbed him. "Who it is?" he asked gruffly.

"Luke and Miriam. Open up, Malachi!" his sister's voice sounded on the other side of the door.

Hopping off his bed, Malachi walked over to the door and opened it—and indeed, standing there were his sister and her boyfriend. "Oy, boss, we've been looking all over for David, but we can't seem to find him anywhere," Luke spoke up.

Malachi cocked an eyebrow. "Did you check the front desk?"

"We were just about to go down there and ask if they'd seen him," Miriam admitted, "but we thought we'd come to you first—maybe you might've heard from him. I'm worried, Malachi…David's been missing ever since he got knocked out of the competition, and we can't figure out where he might be. And he wouldn't just check out of the hotel and go off on his own or anything like that…"

Malachi sighed. "Come inside, you two. Now."

----------

"Ow…ow…" Yugo clutched his chest, where the two monsters' attacks had hit him, even as the card images on the field now disappeared and Yami's darkness receded, returning to the normal darkness of the night. "What a letdown…"

"Don't get weepy-eyed, kid—it's not like your World Champion's title was on the line in this duel," Jan told him. "Besides, this duel wasn't easily won. If I hadn't drawn the Change of Heart card when I did…well, truthfully, the duel could've gone either way. As it is, I won, and you lost. And…" He held up his Duel-Disk; where his life points had been prominently displayed moments earlier, his tournament points now glared brightly, revealing a total of 9000.

Yugo heaved a sigh. "Well…guess there's nothing more I can do, now. And I imagine Drake must be watching this on TV and laughing at me right this minute…"

Jan shrugged. "Let him laugh. Someone will have to come and face him soon—then everyone will see whether he can still laugh or not." He turned and began to walk away. "Now, to both of you…go back to the hotel and sleep. You've had a long day."

"What about you?" Usagi queried.

"You're the fortune-teller. Figure it out," Jan flung over his shoulder as he continued walking off. "As for you, Yugo Muto…maybe there'll be a next time for you and me to duel; maybe not. But if there is…I expect you to be stronger by then. You have to amp up your deck as much as you possibly can—don't let any potential upgrades pass you by. Pass that message on to Kyo and your other friends, as well."

And with that said, Jan was gone.

"Well…" Yugo inhaled deeply, then slowly let the air out. "One thing I'll say about him. He really knows how to take advantage of any situation, just like he did in this duel."

"You're not taking the loss too much to heart, are you?" Usagi asked him.

Yugo shook his head. "Not really…it's like he said, after all, this tournament has nothing to do with my being World Champion." His look turned grim. "Although a certain SOMEONE would think otherwise, I should imagine…"

"Let Drake Phoenix think as he will. Pride goes before a fall." Usagi reached over and tugged at Yugo's arm. "Shall we head back to the hotel, then? Jan is right…it has certainly been a long day for both of us."

----------

"Ha!" Drake sneered at the TV screen even as, on it, Yugo and Usagi were now beginning to walk away. "Take that, Yugo Muto! Crawl back under that rock where you came from, like the loser dog you are!"

Gabriel, still lying on his bed and facing away from the TV, still didn't budge. "You saw what you wanted to see. Now I want to sleep. Turn off the TV and leave me be."

"Such a killjoy you are…but oh well, you _are_ my guest." Drake switched off the TV. "Besides…it _is_ pretty late now. I ought to go to bed, myself. Sleep tight, Gabriel—don't let the bed-bugs bite."

Receiving no answer from Gabriel, Drake turned and walked out of the room. And as he turned and headed down the corridor to go back to his own room, the grin remained on his face. _One down, two to go…_

At length he reached his own room, and walked over to the couch. Settling down comfortably in it, he picked up the remote and switched on the big-screen TV. A graphic of the remaining tournament participants was showing on the screen at that moment.

"As of now, 10:10 p.m., four characters officially remain on the roster," he read aloud. "Eliminator Jan Shimizu, with 9000 tournament points; eliminator Jessica Phoenix, 10,000 points; Seta Kaiba, 2000 points; and Janus Yuki, 4000 points." He shook his head. "Never mind, you two bastards…Shimizu and Jessica will soon wipe you out in good time—then they'll fight each other—and whichever one wins will come here and face me. And it doesn't matter who it is…I've got my own little surprise waiting for them, right here at the Dark Lord Castle…"

He chuckled. "Rest now, if you wish…or keep going straight through the night…either way, the victory will be mine!" And then his chuckle escalated to ever-growing, riotous laughter that seemed to echo beyond the walls of the castle.

----------

_**Neomage:**_ Just a few reminders I'd like to give. First and foremost: I've opened up a G-Mail account for the express purpose of imitating a feature that the _One Piece_ manga writer, Eiichiro Oda, has for his series: the SBS corner! Basically, its purpose is to answer any and all questions you may have about nay aspect of my _Yu-Gi-Oh_ fan-fiction universe continuity—whether it has to do with my completed fic, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Forever," or the tie-in prequel ficlet "Fifteen Years Ago," or about this one that you're reading, whether the questions have anything to do with personal information about individual characters, plot points you want to question, or whatever it is—my new e-mail is the place to go! The link is **sageneomage at gmail dot com.**

Second, just a comment from me re the latest developments in _Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's,_ and I'll say it here because I want everyone to know how I feel about this. While I'm happy that Crow now has a Signer Dragon for himself, I'm having mixed feelings about it because (a) the dragon in question is not the same as the brown dragon that was with the other Signer Dragons in Luna's vision about the ancient battle, in Season 1, and (b) it is the same attribute as the Red Dragon Archfiend, with both of them being Dark-attributes, although I was hoping the fifth Signer Dragon would have an Attribute unique to itself and be either an Earth or Water monster. But that's just me. What say you?

Thirdly, just because I felt like it, I wrote up a Microsoft Word document about my _Yu-Gi-Oh_ fanfic series, reminiscent of the style at the website TV Tropes. In that document, I've identified a bunch of tropes that I feel the three stories—_Forever, Eternal,_ and _Fifteen Years Ago_—fall under. What about you guys—what tropes do you feel these three stories provide examples of? Share your ideas, and let's see if they match up with what I've written so far!

Anyhow, as far as this story goes, the Yugo vs. Jan duel is now over! Four duelists—two invited participants, two eliminators—remain, plus Gabriel Roman and Drake Phoenix himself! Who will duel next? Stay tuned for new chapters to come!

Okay, guys, review soon, please!


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